1 TECHNICAL INFORMATION Title A poem in exile. The Manger by Pablo Casals & Joan Alavedra Format 1x77’ - Color - High Definition Genre Historical and cultural documentary V.O. Catalan / Spanish / French / English V.S. English or Catalan or Spanish or French Year of production 2012 Story-Line The unpublished correspondence between the great musician Pablo Casals, and the catalan poet Joan Alavedra, and the accounts given by experts, will tell the story behind the creation ofThe Manger a musical composition born of a poem by the same title, which becamea message for world peace. Produced by El Cant dels Ocells, Inc. (Puerto Rico - USA) Soul Produccions Audiovisuals, SL (Catalonia) [Now QUÉ RICO MAMBO, SL] In co-production with Television of Catalonia (Catalonia) With supported of Puerto Rico Film Commission (Puerto Rico - USA) Ibermedia Program With the participation of Catalan Institute for the Cultural Companies (Catalonia) With the collaboration of Pablo Casals Foundation - Barcelona Auditorium - Puerto Rico Corporation for Musical Arts - Puerto Rico lo Hace Mejor - Catalan Federation of Choral Entities - The Sant Cugat del Vallés Symphony Orchestra - Patronage for La Sagrada Familia - Palau de Música Catalana - City Hall of Prades - Montpellier Opera - Prades de Conflent Pablo Casals Festival - Christian Art Olot - The Retreat Museum - Caldes Motbui Acting Group - Group recreation of the Army of the Ebro. 2 MAIN CREDITS Written and Directed Alba Gómez Escudero Executive Producers Márel Malaret Badrena (Puerto Rico - USA) Oriol Garcia Farré (Catalonia) Music Oratorio The Manger by Pau Casals, based on the poem by Joan Alavedra Concert recorded at The Sagrada Familia (Barcelona) on January 20, 2011 Edition Roger Gispert Jordà Director of Photography Emili Guirao Puerto Rico Film Commission Delegate Mariella Pérez Serrano Ibermedia Program Delegate Maribel Durá Executive Producer - CataloniaT elevision Jordi Ambròs Hortensi Production Coordinators Amalia García Padilla (Puerto Rico - USA) Ivan Buñuel Carrasco (Catalonia) Helena Doz Sanz (Catalonia) 3 SYNOPSIS This is the story of a masterpiece created by four hands. It is the story of the friendship that made it possible. It is the story of a message of peace that went around the world. It is the story of a poem that became music. Just after the 50th anniversary of The Manger (1960-2010), Pablo Casals' most extraordinary composition, we want to narrate the unpublished story of this musical piece that was, in its origin, a poem written by the catalan poet, Joan Alavedra. After the Republican defeat in 1939, as a result of theSpanish Civil War (1936-1939), many catalan politicians, artists and intellectuals were forced into exile in France. The musicianPablo Casals and the poet Joan Alavedra were among them. This forced exile nourished a deep friendship between both men and a creative relationship that lead to the composition Theof Manger. Joan Alavedra's poem, dedicated to the birth of Christ, won an important poetry contest in Perpignan, France in 1943. Inspired by this, Casals decides to turn the poem into an oratorio. The piece acquires a double significance born of the pacifism and the political commitment of both men; on the one hand, it becomes a strong element of catalan identity, and on the other, a message of peace that will be universal. The composition of this musical piece, starts in France, and is finished in Puerto Rico,Pablo Casals' last place of exile. The premiere of The Manger took place in Acapulco, México in 1960. It was, then, taken around the world, performed at the United Nations on October 24th, 1963 and chosen again by the United Nations to commemorate United Nations Day in 1967. 4 BIOGRAPHIES Pablo Casals Defilló (El Vendrell, December 29, 1876 - San Juan de Puerto Rico, October 22, 1973) Pablo Casals was one of the best cello players of the XXth century. He also received international recognition as one of the best musicians and orchestra conductors of his time. He was born in El Vendrell (Catalunya) and -as a child- expressed a strong sensibility towards music. His father, a musician himself, transmitted his musical knowledge to the child, a knowledge that Casals broadened in Barcelona and Madrid. He began a professional career when he was just twenty three years old and performed in the world´s best auditoriums. As a performer, he introduced changes to cello playing by adding innovative technical possibilities. As a conductor, he searched for artistic depth, the same musical essence he achieved with the cello. He was also a music teacher and a composer. His oratorio, The Manger became a song for peace. The outcome of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) forced him into exile, first in Prada de Conflent (France), and later in San Juan de Puerto Rico (USA). In addition to an outstanding career as a musician, Pablo Casals sustained a relentless dedication to the defense of peace and freedom. He gave numerous charity concerts,became involved in humanitarian activities and was invited on more than one occasion to the United Nations, all of which characterized him as a man of peace. In 1971 he composed the United Nations Hymn which he himself conducted on October 24 of that same year at the United Nations. Then Secretary General, U-Thant, awarded him the medal of peace. 5 BIOGRAPHIES Joan Alavedra Segurañas (Barcelona, May 31, 1896 - November 3, 1981) He was a Catalan writer and journalist. He was also Secretary of the Presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya from 1931 to 1934 during the presidencies of Francesc Macià and Lluís Companys. While in exile, he lived in Prada de Conflent where he often met with Pompeu Fabra to whom he would later dedicate a literary profile in his book Unforgettable Characters, Barcelona, 1968. He wrote a biography of Pablo Casals, the musician and friend who turned his poem The Manger Poem into an oratorio. A self-educated man, he started his journalism career in Radio Barcelona. The scripts he wrote for Radio Barcelona were published in the compilationThe Fact of the Day (1935). His most important work is The Manger Poem (1948), which inspired Pablo Casals' oratorio, The Manger. He published Pablo Casals' biography in 1962 and another book for a young audience titledPablo Casals' Extraordinay Life (1970). Other publications are Pilgrims in Montserrat and other writings (1971), Concha Badía, An Artist's Life (1975), and Francesc Macià's biography (1976). 6 PERFORMANCES OF “THE MANGER” (from 1960 to 1973) 1960 17 December in Acapulco (Mexico) 1961 10 January in Mexico, D.F. (Mexico) 1962 19-20 May in San Francisco (USA) 20 June in San Juan de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico) 22 June in Carnegie Hall - New York (USA) 23 September in Assisi (Italy) 25 September in Firenze (Italy) 2 October in Tolousse (France) 1963 1 April in Tallahassee - Florida (USA) 19 April in Philadelphia (USA) 27 June in Ravinia - Chicago (USA) 5 September in Berlin (Germany) 29 September in London (England) 24 October in United Nations - New York (USA) 12 November in New Orleans (USA) 1964 10 April in Buenos Aires (Argentina) 12 April in Cordoba (Argentina) 18 October in Budapest (Hungary) 20 December in Washington (USA) 1965 18 April in Syria Mosque - Pittsburg (USA) 21 April in Buffalo - New York (USA) 7 1966 8 August in Athens (Greece) 11-13 September in Sant Miquel de Cuixà (France) 1967 6 March in Omaha - Nebraska (USA) 29 May in Geneva - Victoria Hall (Switzerland) 21 October in UN Day - Washington DC (USA) 3 November in San Salvador (El Salvador) 15 December in Barcelona (Catalonia) 1968 4 January in Barcelona (Catalonia) 20-22 October in Memphis -Tennessee (USA) 1969 24 August in Jerusalem (Israel) 26 August in Caesarea (Israel) 1970 9 February in Barcelona (Catalonia) 16 March in Guadalajara (Mexico) 1971 7 March in Madrid (Spain) 1972 10 April in El Salvador (El Salvador) 24 June in El Vendrell (Catalonia) 1973 6 November in Barcelona (Catalonia) 8 INTERVIEWS Marta Casals Istomin (Puerto Rico, November 2, 1936) An outstanding Puerto Rican cellist, she was born into a family of amateur musicians and in 1952 won a scholarship to study at the Mannes School of Music in New York. She met Pablo Casals during a visit to the Prades Festival. They were married in 1957 and moved to Puerto Rico. That same year they created and organized the Casals Festival and the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and, in 1959, the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music. After the death of Casals she was the artistic director of The Kennedy Ce nter in Washington and president of the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Macià Alavedra Moner (Barcelona, March 26, 1934 - September 29, 2018) He is a Catalan politician and the son of poet Joan Alavedra. At the end of the Spanish Civil War when he was 4 years old, he crossed the Pyrenees to France on foot as part of the exodus of many Spanish exiles that fled from Francisco Franco's dictatorial regime. He spent a large part of his childhood with his family and Casals in Villa Colette. When democracy was established in Spain, he held various public office posts in the govern- ment of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Among them: Government Adviser, Minister of Industry and Energy and Minister of Economy and the Treasury. 9 INTERVIEWS Gemma Durand Alavedra (Paris, August 28, 1955) The grandchild of Joan Alavedra, she is a doctor and a writer. She was commissioned by the United Nations to write a sentimental biography titled A Poem in a Strange Land: Joan Alavedra and His Poem, The Manger which was published in 1996 during the centenary celebration of the poet's birth. She also translated all of his poetry to the French language.