in the Industrial Revolution. It is believed that the invented traditions are a way to stabilize cultural anchors in a time of rapid socioeconomic or political change. The modern sardana was created in the context of the Renaixença, period in which some people wanted to relate the Sardana with dances of greek origin with the purpose of linking the Classical antiquity with old Empúries while taking advantage of the crescent popularity of the modern sardana in Empordà. With this invented story a myth was started. The invention served the purpose to symbolize the distinct Catalan ethos promoted by the then newborn Catalan nationalism. In fact, today Catalans are known for their musicality throughout Spain and much of Western Europe, so it is not surprising that sardana emerged as a major source of personal and social identity. Ignoring the myth, the creation of sardana llarga or its evolution was driven by three people: Andreu Toron, Miquel Pardàs, and Josep Maria Ventura (Pep Ventura). Andreu Toron was responsible for introducing a type of oboe-tenor known in Catalonia as the tenora. This happened in 1849 at Perpignan. In parallel, influences to the music composition of sardana llarga include the popular Italian and German operas of the time as well as Contrapàs, a Catalan dance which in religious celebrations preceded sardana curta. These influences evolved into sardanes (plural of sardana) of different lengths. As a consequence, people started counting steps in order to finish at the same time. Shorter choreographies could be accommodated in longer melodies. The new melodies which progressively were made popular required new instruments, increasing the size of the cobla. Similar to what happened with the Catalan language when in 1891 Pompeu Fabra published his grammar, the different sardanes were standardised into what today is known as sardana llarga. Choreography was updated with slight differences from the original North-Catalan dance. Pep Ventura is credited for stabilizing the different variants around a clear rhythm and making the instrumental ensemble of a fixed size. He included the today's standard long steps (els llargs) and the eleven player cobla band. Though some Iberian and Mediterranean circle dances follow similar patterns, instrumental music for the sardana has achieved a complexity of its own. In 1850 Miquel Pardàs publishes "Método per aprender á ballar sardanas llargas" (Method to learn how to dance sardana llarga). By 1860 the dance was popular in Barcelona and from there it