- Sardana was composed in 1927 for an orchestra of cellos. At its premier it was played by 32 of Casals’ cello students at Wigmore Hall. 1
- In 1970 Sardana was performed by 100 cellists from all over the world in a special concert at Philharmonic Hall in New York as a salute to Casals.2
- The sardana is the national dance of Catalonia. It has a fast 6/8 meter and is danced in a circle.3
- Casals was fiercely proud of his native land of Catalonia and worked throughout his lifetime to resist the totalitarian control of Spain and Catalonia by Francisco Franco.4
Sources
- Robert Anderson, “Casals, Pablo,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed August 15, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000005061.
- Donal Henahan, “100 Cellists to Salute Casals Tonight,” New York Times April 15, 1970, 51, NewYorkTimes.com, accessed August 15, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/1970/04/15/archives/100-cellists-to-salute-casals-tonight.html.
- Harvard Dictionary of Music, 4th ed., s.v. “Sardana” (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003).
- Anderson, “Casals, Pablo,” Grove Music Online.
Cut IDs
21902