Casals: Song of the Birds (at the White House, 1961)

“I have not played the cello in public for many years, but I feel that the time has come to play again. I am going to play a melody from Catalan folklore: El Cant dels Ocells – The Song of the Birds. Birds sing when they are in the sky, they sing: “Peace, Peace, Peace”, and it is a melody that Bach, Beethoven and all the greats would have admired and loved. What is more, it is born in the soul of my people, Catalonia” – Pablo Casals, United Nations 1971