El Pessebre

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El Pessebre ( Catalan for The Crib ) is an oratorio by the cellist , conductor and composer Pau Casals .

History of origin

Casals himself called it "the peace sensoratory".

Pau Casals was given the Spanish Civil War as a committed representative of the Spanish Republican government into exile after Prades in southern France near the Spanish border. He vowed not to return to Spain until democracy was re-established. There he met the poet Joan Alavedra (1896–1981), who also fled from the Franco dictatorship . The 10-year coexistence of the two artists in exile in Prades resulted in a great biography of Casals in the hands of Alavedra, as well as Casal's setting of Alavedra's "Nativity Poem" as an oratorio.

Casals caused a worldwide sensation when he broke off an ongoing tour at the height of his career in 1945 and stopped giving concerts. He symbolically expressed his resistance to the Franco dictatorship and the indulgence of neighboring countries. As part of this “personal crusade for peace” he began composing his “peace sensoratorium ” El Pessebre .

In December 1960 it was premiered under his direction in Acapulco / Mexico, where he and his wife Martita, 59 years his junior , moved to Puerto Rico , the birthplace of his mother, in 1956 .

About the oratorio

Casal's deliberately simple setting of the nativity poem by Alavedra comes from the music of the 19th century .

The oratorio is divided into a prologue and the following parts: Cap a Betlem ( On the way to Bethlehem ), La caravana dels Reis d'Orient ( The Caravan of the Kings from the Orient ), El Pessebre ( The Nativity ) and Adoració ( The Adoration ).

In the prologue begins after a prelude , the Christmas story . The angel proclaims the good news of the imminent birth of Jesus and urges people to go to the stable of Bethlehem . The shepherds set off for Bethlehem with gifts. They meet several people who tell and accompany the story of Jesus' passion. The man at the well sings about the pure water that will one day wash away the sins of people. The fisherman sends the message to the child that he will catch the fish that he will one day distribute among the crowd. The man in the field tells of a dream in which an angel appeared to him. He announced the birth of a great sower who will distribute bread in his memory. The couple at the grape harvest work for the wine with which Jesus will one day fill the goblets as a symbol of his blood shed in suffering. The old woman at the spindle tells about the shroud she is weaving.

The second part of the oratorio depicts the procession of the three kings from the Orient. Oriental melodies create an image of a caravan . The pages and camel drivers of the Three Kings weep in a trio this arduous march, the cause of which they do not know. Even the camels sing a lament until the Three Wise Men reveal their secret and tell of the miracle of the birth of Jesus.

The third part, The Nativity , takes the listener to the stable at Bethlehem. An intermezzo is followed by an intimate and gentle soprano solo by the Mother of God, which becomes more dramatic in the course. In it she reports from the proclamation and the story of the passion up to the death of Jesus on the cross. This is followed by choirs and solos by the animals in the stable, singing about the newborn.

The fourth and last part of the oratorio shows Adoration by the arriving shepherds and wise men from the Orient. This joyful worship scene is suddenly interrupted by dissonant roar: an angel storms over Bethlehem like a messenger of an approaching apocalypse . However, the threat soon evaporated. The brief horror is followed by a scene of all-embracing brotherhood. Together, the kings and shepherds sing a hymn of praise that ends with a message of peace: “Pau” (peace).

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