“That is a dream, I never thought I would get to celebrate it,” said Joan Isaac, clearly moved, at the presentation of the tribute acts for his half century of musical activity, a celebration called 50 years of music, 70 years of life, and which will start this Friday the 24th with a concert at the Luz de Gas room within the Barnasants festival, where he will present the songs from his new album, Tinc una casa al mar (Discmedi). The same label will be responsible for the comprehensive edition of Isaac's 23 albums, published since 1973. On the other hand, an anthology book will also be released that will compile 101 songs chosen by the singer-songwriter himself, accompanied by unpublished texts by Isaac along with others. of journalists, artists and politicians, a work that will be published by Llibres del segle. The celebration events will close in November with a concert at the Palau de la Música where Isaac will perform songs from all of his albums.
The Ateneu Barcelonés auditorium was filled with friends of the singer-songwriter, who stated that “between the 12 points we got from Madrid and today's event, I feel euphoric.” Isaac turned the event into a vindication of the figure of the singer-songwriter, remembering his generation companions, a “lost generation of magnificent singer-songwriters”, musicians such as Marina Rossell, Ramon Muntaner, Quico Pi de la Serra, Ovidi Montllor, Raimon and Joan Manel Serrat. A plethora of artists who, he explained, “saw their careers cut short” with the arrival of the transition.
Against this scenario, Isaac has claimed the figure of the singer-songwriter, "neither musicians nor writers", recalling his influences from singers such as Jacques Brel, Brassens, Leo Ferrer, as well as Serrat, Aute or Llach, authors "who have helped me build myself as people". He has also recalled the difficulties of the seventies, when the musicians themselves had to assemble and dismantle the equipment from town to town. “We were cultural fairgrounds, sometimes they paid us with almonds and oil to the joy of my mother.” This difficult time had to face a long desert that extended through the eighties and nineties that is now finally being vindicated as demonstrated by the work of Enric Hernáez, Daniel Sesé or Sílvia Comas, “singers who had a very bad time and who now “They are releasing albums.”
“As long as I have something to say I will continue singing,” proclaimed Isaac, who recalled that it is not the end of his career, dedicated to “the defense of my country's language through songs.” The singer-songwriter has called for the defense of the sense of belonging to a culture, a territory and a language.
Isaac also wanted to praise the San Remo author festival, to which he feels fraternally linked, “I feel more Italian than Spanish,” he stated, and closed his words with a praise for Pere Camps, director of Barnasants, “a character who "If it didn't exist, it would have to be invented", of whom he recalled his work to promote the author's song: "He has known how to resist, fight and claim a fight through songs."
