Josep Jurch i Ribas: Un model professional de músic a la Catalunya del segle XIX

Josep Jurch (1808-1891), a clarinettist and composer from Barcelona, left a memoir that shows what musical activity was like in the Barcelona of the 19th century. His activity as a performer was linked to the orchestras of the Liceo Filodramático de Montesión and the Gran Teatro del Liceo. He also played in the instrumental ensembles that livened up liturgical ceremonies and dances at major festivals. The clarinettist provides a great deal of information on how the tours and trips were organised, what instrumental groups they used, the repertoire they performed and even the names of the members of these groups. Josep Jurch was also a composer. The writing of dance music led him to become a renowned composer in this field. His works were not only played in Barcelona, but also in all the towns of Catalonia where Jurch went with the copla. Josep Jurch's memoirs highlight what it was like to be a musician in 19th-century Catalonia: beyond his facet as a performer and as a professor of the clarinet chair at the Conservatori del Liceu, Jurch also explored the field of composition and revolutionised the dance music of the time.