Raimon began to sing professionally in Valencia in 1961, at the same time as the “Nova Cançó” movement began in Barcelona. Raimon contributed to this new genre with his songs and singing style, an unprecedented and wholly original personalised style, both in terms of the movement and in relation to the Spanish music scene in fashion then.
He studied a degree in History at the Universidad de Valencia and sang for the first time in Barcelona at the Fórum Vergés in 1962.
His music, words and singing style met with surprised reactions from the art scene in the early sixties. AL VENT, his first song, released only months later, was immediately successful throughout Spain.
The chronology of Raimon’s concerts represents a type of collective autobiography, from the recitals performed during the dictatorship until the present. Important examples of this collective autobiography include recitals given at the Instituto QuĂmico in Sarriá (1966), his solo dĂ©but at the Palau de la MĂşsica Catalana (1967), a concert at the Faculty of Economics in Madrid (1968) and a recital at the Palacio de Deportes in Barcelona which was received with agonized consternation by the dictator due to the presence of an underground anti-Franco political class in the audience (October 1968). It also includes the only recital of four performances scheduled to take place at the PabellĂłn de Deportes of Real Madrid (February 1976).
On the same year, four days running, Raimon sang at the Palacio de Deportes in Barcelona and at the Football Club Levante, Valencia. These performances represent more than just music for music lovers; they form part of a social phenomenon.
On April 23rd 1993 at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Raimon attracted an audience of over twenty thousand people to the concert: “Raimon, 30 Anys d´Al Vent” (Raimon, 30 years of To the Wind). Raimon performed on stage with friends Pete Seeger & Tao RodrĂgurez Seeger, Michel Portal, Paco Ibáñez, Japanese performers from Warabi Za, LuĂs Cilia, Ovidi Montllor, Joan Manuel Serrat, Mile Laboa, Banda La Lira Ampostina, Coral Sant Jordi, Daniel Viglietti, Luis Cilia, Michel Portal, Quico Pi de la Serra.
1997. Raimon performed with the Euskadi Symphonic Orchestra and the OrfeĂłn Donostiarra at the Estadio de Anoeta in San Sebastian. The same year, he took part in an act of remonstration against the assassin Miguel Angel Blanco at the Plaza de las Ventas in Madrid. This event was an act of solidarity with victims of ETA, during which Raimon sang the Basque Country hymn, while people whistled with him.
2000. Raimon performed seven recitals at the Palau de la MĂşsica Catalana in Barcelona that were hugely successful with both critics and spectators. These concerts coincided with the release of Nova Integral 2000.
2002. June 21st, 22nd and 23rd, Raimon performed in Madrid at the Teatro Albéniz. The media highlighted Raimon as a mythical figure within the singer-songwriter panorama and the general public in Madrid responded enthusiastically. On July 12th and 13th, Raimon sang at the Festival de Almagro in the Corral de Comedias, where he interpreted Clásicos Valencianos de la Literatura Catalana from the 15th and 16th centuries.
On October 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th of the same year, he performed a show called “Clásicos y No”, in Barcelona at the Sala Gran del Teatre Nacional of Catalonia. One week before his recitals were due to start all tickets had complete sold out and reviews unanimously heralded recitals of high artistic quality.
2003. On May 28th, 29th and 30th and June 1st, Raimon premiered his show “Raimon Canta Espriu” at the Sala Puigserver of the Teatre Lliure. The show, once again, deserved the outstanding reviews it received from expert critics. The box office hit was hugely popular with crowds that filled the Teatre Lliure from top to bottom. A live recording was made on both occasions, and is available on two CD’s. ClĂ ssic i no” y Raimon-Salvador Espriu, PoesĂa Cantada”
2004. As part of the “Visions” series at the Auditori in Barcelona on February 13th, Raimon once more sang all the poems by Salvador Espriu that have been set to music until now. Amongst reviews published, El PaĂs reported: “One year ago Raimon returned to Salvador Espriu and revived all the poems that he had sung over the last four decades. This magnificent performance was later transformed into an equally magnificent album. Recently, he performed these songs again, without making any changes, which was also magnificent. He should perform them again and again, next year and the following year, and continue to perform them while he still has the energy. Leaving these songs to one side would be unforgivable as our culture today boasts few gems as precious as this”.
2006. On January 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th and February 2nd, 3rd and 4th, Raimon performed a completely original set, unprecedented in the field of music, at the Teatre Nacional of Catalonia. Accompanied by new musicians and directed by Francesc Burrull, every day he performed a different repertoire, which spanned his entire career. The concerts “Raimon, Lletra i música Salvador Espriu-Raimon” (Raimon, Lyrics and Salvador Espriu-Raimon music); “Ausias March y otros poetas de los siglos XIV, XV i XVI” (Ausias March and other poets of the 14th, 15th and 16th centurias) and “Raimon Antològic” (Raimon Retrospective), received huge press, which again highlighted his great success in bringing people together. The Sala Gran at the Teatre filled with audiences that gave standing ovations to the artist on a daily basis.
In May, Raimon performed again at the Teatro Albéniz in Madrid.
The same year, on June 13th, Raimon sang for the fourth time running at the Olympia in Paris in celebration of the four-year anniversary since his first recital (June 1966). This last concert received huge media coverage: press, radio and television, both in France and in Spain.
An extensive article was published in the fifty-eighth edition of Chorus, a French magazine specialising in music and song. The review was a nine-page spread by the acclaimed critic Marc Legras.
In September 2006, a double CD was released: an unedited recital from 1966 in Spain, prohibited under Franco’s censure, and the same recital broadcast live in 2006.
2008. Raimon performed again in May at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. This concert marked the forty-year anniversary of his mythical recital in May 1968 at the Faculty of Economics in Madrid.
In June, to mark the return of the Castell de Montjuic to the city of Barcelona, Raimon sang before thousands of people at an event broadcast live by TV3, where emotions ran high.
Raimon performed a retrospective anthology at the Palau de la Música Catalana, which included classics from “Al Vent”, written in 1959, and included songs like -Diguem No-, -Jo Visc d´un Silenci”,- Veles e Vents-, Com un Puny-, to – A l´estiu quan són les nou- written in 2008.
At this recital, Raimon showcased a careful selection of songs that reflected the artistic career of an exceptional singer, one that has achieved high artistic standing without compromising his social values.
RAIMON HAS PERFOMED IN:
GERMANY: 1966, 1967, 1969, 1976, 1983
ARGENTINA: 1971, 1972
BELGIUM: 1965, 1967, 1978
CUBA: 1967, 1968
USA: 1966, 1970, 1983, 1984, 1995
FRANCE: 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1988, 2006
GREAT BRITAIN: 1997
HOLLAND: 1967, 1976, 1980
ITALY: 1967, 1971, 1974, 2005
JAPAN: 1977, 1992
LUXEMBURG: 1998, 2005
MEXICO: 1967, 1974, 1979
PORTUGAL: 1998
ROMANIA: 1975
RUSSIA: 2006
SWEDEN: 1975
SWITZERLAND: 1966, 1967, 1972, 1986
VENEZUELA: 1969
CHILE: 1971, 1989
URUGUAY: 1971
AWARDS
- RevelaciĂłn de la CrĂtica Española, Madrid-Barcelona 1963
- Festival del Mediterraneo, Barcelona 1963
- Gran Prix Francis Carco, Académie Française du Disque, Paris 1967
- Long Play de Oro, Madrid 1976
- Ciutat de Barcelona, Barcelona 1982
- FundaciĂł Jaume I, Barcelona 1987
- Cartelera Turia: Musical Contribution, Valencia 1993
- Palmarés des Palmarés: Integral Raimon, Nouvelle Académie du Disque, Paris 1994
- A.C.I.C. : MEJOR Espectáculo del Año 1993, Barcelona 1994
- Premio Nacional de MĂşsica 1993, Generalitat of Catalonia 1994
- Medalla de Oro al MĂ©rito en las Bellas Artes, 1995
- Medalla d'Or, Generalitat of Catalonia 1997
- Premio Ondas, S.E.R., Barcelona 1997
- Premio de Honor de la Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias de la MĂşsica,
Madrid 2007
- Primer premi Liberpress Cançó, Gerona 2007
BOOKS PUBLISHED
- Canzoni contro, Japadre Editore, 1971, L' Aquila (prologue: Giuseppe Tavani)
- Poemes i cançons, Editorial Ariel, 1973, Barcelona (prologue: Manuel Sacristán)
- Poemas y Canciones, Editorial Ariel, 1976, Barcelona (prologue: Manuel Sacristán)
- Les hores guanyades, Edicions 62, 1983, Barcelona
- D'aquest viure insistent, Editorial 3 i 4, 1986, Valencia
- Les paraules del meu cant, Editorial EmpĂşries, 1993, Barcelona (prologue: Joaquim Molas)
BOOKS ABOUT RAIMON
- Joan Fuster, Raimon. Biografies Populars. Editorial Alcides S.A. Barcelona 1964
- Josep Pla, Raimon com a poeta. Retrats de passaport. Vol. XVII Obra Completa Ediciones Destino Barcelona, 1970.
- Joan Oliver, Encontre amb Raimon. Tros de paper. Ariel Barcelona, 1970.
- Eduardo Galeano, Conversaciones con Raimon. Granica Editor Barcelona, 1977.
- Joan Fuster "Presentació" - Salvador Espriu "Raimon i les seves creacions poemà tiques" - Enric Gispert "La música de Raimon". Raimon. Totes Les Cançons. Belter Barcelona, 1981.
- Jaume Pomar Raimon. Ediciones Jucar. Madrid - GijĂłn, 1983.
- Joan Fuster Raimon. Edicions La Magrana Barcelona, 1988, (prologue Josep M. Castellet).
- Josep Palomero Guia didĂ ctica d'AusiĂ s March i altres poetes (s. XV-XVI) musicats per Raimon. Editorial Laertes Barcelona, 1990.
- Antoni Batista Raimon. La construcció d’un cant Editorial La MagranaBarcelona October 2005
- Antoni Batista Raimon . La construcciĂłn de un canto Editorial RBA Libros-S.A. Barcelona 2005
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