The MatJF Fonds, conserved in the Museum–Archive of Santa Maria of Mataró, is primarily comprised of the ecclesiastic repertoire written and interpreted by this composer between 1910 and 1944, the period when he was in charge of the Santa Maria chapel in Mataró. The fonds contains 203 musical compositions, 163 of which belong to the “authored manuscripts” fonds, 5 “anonymous manuscripts” and 35 the “printed items” collection. The fonds is conserved in 9 archival boxes.

The Barcelona-born composer Joan Fargas i Heras (1875-1944) pursued religious and musical studies at the Major Seminary of Barcelona and furthered his musical training with Josep Ribera i Miró, the chapel master and organist at Santa Anna parish church in Barcelona. During his time in Barcelona, Fargas was the chapel master and organist at the Jesús parish church in Gràcia. In 1910, he sat for public service exams for the chapel master position at Santa Maria of Mataró along with Salvador Pedrola, Agustí Coll and Manuel Pastó, which had been left vacant upon the departure of its last master, Francesc Mas. Fargas secured the job as the chapel master of this church and stayed there for 34 years, during a period when the decline of the old 19th-century chapels was accentuated.

The MatJF Fonds is the main testimony of Fargas’ compositional efforts during his long tenure as chapel master. His works fall primarily within the ecclesiastic repertoire – antiphons, Ave Marias, canticles, Graduals, masses, motets, rosaries, Salve Reginas and trisagions, most prominent among them his Mass of the Immaculate Conception for 3 voices and orchestra along with his Cantata Ego sum Pastor for 4 voices and orchestra. The fonds also contains numerous popular works in Catalan, such as small songs for 1, 2, 3 and 4 voices and piano, along with the zarzuela El Ramo de Violetas, which premiered at the Teatre Clavé in Mataró on 27 January 1941. Some pages of Fargas’ ecclesiastic literature were published by Casa Dotesio, Unión Musical Española, Boileau and Musical Emporium, among others. With regard to the instrumental repertoire, worth noting is the presence of two instrumental caprices and a pair of fantasias for band and orchestra by the same composer. The Music Section of the Library of Catalonia also conserves a Joan Fargas Heras Fonds with 25 works catalogued in 2006. The printed edition of the MatJF catalogue was issued in April 2010.¹

¹GREGORI I CIFRÉ, Josep Maria – CABOT I SAGRERA, Neus. Inventaris dels fons musicals de Catalunya. Volum 4: Fons del Museu-Arxiu de Santa Maria de Mataró. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de Cultura i Mitjans de Comunicació; Bellaterra: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2010.- Arxius i documents. Eines de recerca, núm. 7.

Fonds Factsheet

Acronym: MatJF

IFMuC Link: https://ifmuc.uab.cat/collection/MatJF?ln=en

Title: Joan Fargas i Heras Fonds

Archive and location:
Museu-Arxiu de Santa Maria de Mataró (MASMM)
Carrer de Beata Maria, 3
08301 Mataró

Archive and library schedule:
Thursday and friday, from 6:00 p.m. a 8:30 p.m

Contact:
Email: masmm@masmm.org

Date(s): 18th to 19th centuries

Extent and medium: 9 box files

Creators:
Joan Fargas i Heras

Download the complete fonds factsheet HERE

Entrance door to the Museu-Arxiu de Santa Maria de Mataró