Pau Casals, the great cellist, who worked a few years as a teacher at the Liceu Conservatory, made El Cant dels Ocells (The Song of Birds, a traditional Catalan carol) his trademark melody, playing it in the most important concert halls and venues, as a message of peace, hope and fraternity.
This wonderful melody has become a mournful hymn, being often played in funeral and memorial services. The Liceu Conservatory wants to pay a tribute to the victims of the Coronavirus pandemic. The death in solitude of so many people, in many cases far from their beloved ones, has been obscured by the efforts to convey positive messages.
It is time to remember them, and the best way to do it is with Pau Casals song, and with his instrument, the cello.
The Cello Octet of the Liceu Conservatory, under the guidance of professor Amparo Lacruz, from various parts of Spain and the world, play a new arrangement for cellos of El Cant dels Ocells, made for this occasion by composer Víctor Estapé, the academic director of the Liceu Conservatory.
We don’t want to keep making music without remembering the victims as they deserve.