He carried it in his name from birth. Pau Casals was a great musician, but he transcended the art of sound to become an apostle of peace, a man committed to the rights of all men, a symbol of the country and of the resistance against totalitarianism. An example to follow in this turbulent world and a commitment more necessary than ever. His speech at the UN continues to resonate...

The Orfeó Català sings Beethoven's Ninth Symphony every year. At the opening concert of this season, there will be a special Hymn to Joy, remembering that rehearsal at the Palau de la Música on July 18, 1936, ninety years ago, with Casals. While a fratricidal fight was raging in the streets, the Palau was playing “Tots els homes s’agermanen” from the Catalan translation by Maragall, which we will now reproduce.

It was an honor for the Orfeó Català to be the choir chosen for Maestro Dudamel’s last concerts at the helm of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. That performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis was an artistic privilege that we will not forget. But the demonstration of success is that we are also the choir he has chosen for his first European tour as the new conductor of the New York Philharmonic. Together with the Girls’ Choir, we will sing on the most prestigious stages in Europe In the Transmigration of Souls by John Adams, one of the most renowned living composers. A new international challenge for our choirs and another episode in the human and artistic idyll with the Venezuelan maestro.

Another musical love affair is that of the Chamber Choir with the composer and conductor Eric Whitacre, undoubtedly the most famous and media-oriented on the current choral scene. All the choirs will join in a concert led by him, as the resident composer for this season at the Palau de la Música. And we will do new and old projects with him. The other resident composer, Marian Márquez, will also join all the choirs with the premiere of a cantata for the Sant Esteve Concert, based on a text by Manuel Forcano, the season’s guest poet.

Following the trend of recent years, the choirs of the Palau will join the great musical institutions of the country (OBC, Liceu, OSV) to perform the great choral-orchestral works. I would like to highlight the interpretation of the oratorio Elijah by Mendelssohn, one of the most beautiful in the repertoire, with a leading choral part, by a composer whose immense choral work must be claimed. We will insist on promoting Generation C (contemporary Catalan choral composers) by incorporating new composers, this time with a series of choral sardana commissions, in order to link our composers to the great rhythmic and melodic tradition of the country. We will also dance Brahms's Love Waltzes in the new staged concert of the Chamber Choir. And with dance, the little ones in the house will close the season, singing traditional songs accompanied by a dance group. Our Children's Choir will have the privilege of singing the choral part of the St. Matthew Passion with two of the most prestigious conductors today: Simon Rattle and Teodor Currenzis. Without a doubt, an opportunity to compare two great versions of Bach's great work.

I would like to highlight the great moment of the young choirs of the house, with a season full of music projects of all times. From the Baroque of Purcell and Bach, to premieres of current composers, such as the young Miquel de Jorge or the veteran Eduard Iniesta. And this year we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Young Choir with an international exchange and with the Carmina Burana festivities.

A season to enjoy singing and to thrill those who listen. Demonstrating that Catalan choral music is not only made of melancholy, but can also make us dance with the sounds and rhythms of southern Europe that captivate the whole world. From the heart of the Palau, the choirs of the Palau offer you the best choral music, sung with the soul, to take us to Beethoven's Elysium, that space of joy, fraternity and peace that Pau Casals imagined ninety years ago at the Palau de la Música Catalana. Now, more than ever, our cry is: PEACE!