On June 3rd at 7:00pm, the City Council of Sant Joan de les Abadesses, the Liceu Conservatory Foundation, and the Consulate of Mexico in Barcelona will present a trivute concert to composer Jaume Nunó, author of the Mexican National Anthem, as part of the bicentennial celebration of his birth.
Born in 1824 in Sant Joan de les Aba Born in 1824 in Sant Joan de les Abadesses and with musical training linked to the Liceu Conservatory (where his uncle Bernat Nunó served as Secretary and President of the Music Commission), Jaume Nunó also studied in Italy with Saverio Mercadante before moving to the American continent to pursue his musical career. During his years in Mexico, he earned the trust of General Antonio López de Santa Anna, who appointed him to lead the country’s military bands. In 1854, Nunó won a national competition to set music to the Mexican anthem, based on a text by poet Francisco González Bocanegra. The fall of President Santa Anna forced Nunó to leave Mexico and continue his career in the United States, where he lived and worked at various times in Buffalo and New York. Jaume Nunó died in Long Island in 1908. In 1942, the Mexican government transferred his remains to the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons in the Civil Pantheon of Dolores in Mexico City.
The event will feature a selection of Jaume Nunó’s works performed by students of the Conservatory, including the Mexican National Anthem sung by Mexican students from the institution. Cristian Cantón, an expert in the history of Catalan musicians who built careers in the Americas and a scholar of Nunó’s life and work, will give a presentation offering in-depth insight into the artistic journey and the musical and human personality of this distinguished musician from Sant Joan de les Abadesses.