Catalan Parliament Marks Pau Casals's 150th Birth Anniversary

By Elena Vasquez

The Parliament of Catalonia marked 150 years since the birth of Pau Casals on Tuesday. The commemoration, «Pau Casals, música i defensa de la paz», combined music with political reflection. The Parliament's account records an evening of performance, speeches and discussion.

What did Josep Rull say about the cellist's message?

Josep Rull, president of the Parliament, argued for the continued relevance of Casals's message. He said the cellist told the world it was necessary to «situar la paz por encima de la fuerza, la dignidad por encima de la imposición y la humanidad por encima de cualquier conflicto».

Rull also recalled the human cost of Francoism, describing Casals as one of the thousands of Catalans who had to go into exile and never returned. He put it this way: Casals «nunca pudo regresar a su tierra, nunca pudo volver con vida a El Vendrell».

Sònia Hernández, the consellera de Cultura, also addressed the legacy. She recalled Casals's speech at the United Nations headquarters. Both speakers framed the commemoration as a political argument about peace.

In plain terms, the Parliament treated Casals's peace message as a live political case, not a museum relic.

Who performed, and who spoke?

Cellist Mariona Camats and pianist Yoko Suzuki opened the ceremony. They played the prelude and sarabande from Johann Sebastian Bach's Suite No. 1. According to the Parliament, the programme also included works that marked Casals's career. Jordi Pardo, director general of the Fundació Pau Casals, welcomed attendees and set the historical context.

Esther Bonal, president of the Acadèmia Catalana de la Música, and historian and writer Joan Esculies took part in a roundtable moderated by journalist Xavier Mas de Xaxàs. Esculies holds the Càtedra UNESCO - Pau Casals grant, awarded by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya with the Fundació Pau Casals.

Plainly put, the programme ran from Bach to Casals, then to scholarship on the man.

How did the commemoration close?

The event ended with a performance of «El cant dels ocells». Casals's song supplied the final image, after the speeches and the discussion.

The guest list combined parliamentary, regional and consular representation. First vice president Raquel Sans attended with the Mesa secretaries Glòria Freixa, Juli Fernàndez and Rosa Maria Ibarra, along with other deputies. Former Parliament presidents Ernest Benach, Laura Borràs and Anna Erra attended, with former Generalitat presidents Jordi Pujol and José Montilla, Diputació de Barcelona president Lluïsa Moret and El Vendrell mayor Kenneth Martínez. Members of the consular corps were also in attendance.

In short, three former Parliament presidents, two former Generalitat presidents and the mayor of Casals's home town shared the hall.

Where does the commemoration go next?

Related coverage on the Parliament's culture pages, written by José Manuel Baselga, concerns a separate performance of «Cant dels Ocells» in homage to the victims of the train in Toledo.

The ceremony joined a 150-year-old birthday to the commemoration of the Mil·lenari de les Assemblees de Pau i Treva. Its next test is concrete: whether the peace message Rull defended on Tuesday travels beyond the chamber and into the Parliament's own political agenda.