Cancion de cuna para dormir a un negrito (1946)

Montsalvatge’s interest in Afro-American music probably derives from the 1930s when Marion Anderson introduced the Negro spiritual to Barcelona and inspired a cult for it there. Certainly, it was a fruitful influence, as the Catalan composer’s most popular work, Cinco Canciones negras - written in versions for both piano and orchestra between 1945 and 1946 - so irresistibly confirms. The fourth song in that set is a characteristic combination of simple melody - in this case a lullaby swaying in the rhythm of a habanera - with seductive impressionist harmonies.