The centenary of the death of architect Antoni Gaudí will be celebrated with the world premiere of an ambitious new choral and orchestral work, Els Set Somnis De Gaudí (Seven Dreams of Gaudí), composed by Olivia Pérez-Collellmir, to be premiered at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona in June 2026.
The premiere takes place during a significant year for Gaudí, coinciding with the expected completion of the Tower of Jesus, the tallest of the 18 towers of the Sagrada Família, Gaudí’s late architecutral magnum opus. It will make it the tallest church in the world.
Pérez-Collellmir’s composition Els Set Somnis de Gaudí unfolds over seven movements or “dreams”, each reflecting a defining moment in Gaudí’s artistic and personal journey. The composer describes the work as “an artistic exploration of the values of faith, nature, love and pain that shaped Gaudí’s life.”
The piece will also incorporate the first sounding of unique bells, designed by Gaudí for the Sagrada Família, newly reconstructed after the original prototypes were lost during the Spanish Civil War.
The Boston-based Catalan composer worked with poet Anna Gual on the libretto. The piece will bring together 200 musicians from London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and choirs of Orfeó Català, along with Catalan soprano Núria Rial. Conducted by Marin Alsop, the new work will be premiered at the Palau de la Música Catalana on 10th June 2026.
Antoni Gaudí’s artistic creations define Catalan Modernism, and have become a symbol of Barcelona's cultural identity. Combining architecture with unique approaches to ceramics, stained glass, wrought iron and carpentry, Gaudí introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials, such as trencadís, which used waste ceramic pieces. His masterpiece, the Sagrada Família, is the most-visited monument in Spain.
Construction began on the church in 1882 – and on Gaudí's death in 1926 was only around a quarter complete. Progress to complete the structure was slowed by the Spanish Civil War, World War II and a fire that partially destroyed Gaudí's original plans. Work passed the midpoint in 2010, when it was consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI.
Gaudí’s distinctive hyperboloid bells, whose prototypes were lost after his death, are now being recreated by architect and musician Galdric Santana, professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. After more than 12 years documenting and studying Gaudí’s designs for the bells and the basilica’s towers, Santana is now overseeing their casting. The bells will sound for the first time in the finale of Els Set Somnis de Gaudí, fulfilling a dream left unfinished during the architect’s lifetime.
The programme will also feature Arvo Pärt’s Da pacem domine for strings and choir and Tabula Rasa for solo violins, prepared piano, and chamber orchestra.
See more events at Palau de la Música Catalana.
