"Cant de la Senyera" ("Song of The Senyera lag) is a composition for mixed chorus with music by

Lluís Millet Lluís Millet i Pagès (18 April 1867 in El Masnou – 7 December 1941 in Barcelona) was a Spanish Catalan composer, musician and co-founder of Orfeó Català in 1891. A student of Felip Pedrell, from 1896 he taught choral music at Barcelona' ...

, lyrics based on a poem by

Joan Maragall Joan Maragall i Gorina (; 10 October 1860 – 20 December 1911) was a Catalan poet, journalist and translator, the foremost member of the movement in literature. His manuscripts are preserved in the Joan Maragall Archive of Barcelona. Li ...

, composed expressly to be the hymn of the

Orfeó Català The Orfeó Català is a choral society based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, which was founded in 1891 by Lluís Millet and Amadeu Vives.William H. Robinson, Jordi Falgàs, Carmen Belen Lord Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí ...

choral group of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. It debuted at

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

in 1896, in a ceremony in honor of the Senyera, the historical flag of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Prohibition

The song was prohibited from 1939 to 1960 under the regime of Spanish ''caudillo''

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

, as part of Franco's ban on Catalan language and culture. In 1960, while Franco was on a rare visit to

, four of his ministers, including Minister of the Interior

Camilo Alonso Vega Camilo Alonso Vega (29 May 1889 – 1 July 1971) was a Spanish military officer and minister. Early life A childhood friend of Francisco Franco, as a Captain he entered in the Foreign Legion and fought in the Rif War. He was initially assigned ...

, attended the centennial ceremony for Maragall at the Palace of Catalan Music. The Civil Governor of Barcelona, Felipe Acedo, had authorized the concert, but forbade the playing of the "Cant" despite its being based on Maragall's work. - ''Don Felipe Acedo concluyó por autorizar el concierto, pero manteniendo la prohibición expresa y terminante de interpretar el Cant de la Senyera, prohibición mantenida no obstante advertírsele que- bastaba esa prohibición para que se '' The orchestra played a musical arrangement of ''Cant de la Senyera'', upon which a number of Catalan nationalists stood up and sang along, marking a key turning point in the history of Catalan nationalism, a happening known as the '' Fets del Palau de la Música'' ("Events of the Palace of Music"). Several people were arrested for singing along, and one,

Jordi Pujol Jordi Pujol i Soley (, born 9 June 1930) is a retired Catalan politician who was the leader of the party Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) from 1974 to 2003, and President of the Generalitat de Catalunya from 1980 to 2003. Early life ...

, who would later become

President of Catalonia President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...

, was arrested, tortured, and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Role

The song served as a de facto Catalan anthem, alongside "

Els Segadors "Els Segadors" (, ; "The Reapers") is the official national anthem of Catalonia, nationality and autonomous community of Spain. History The original song dates in the oral tradition to 1640, based on the events of June 1640 known as ''Corpus de ...

", though the latter was only made official in 1993.

Lyrics

References

{{Authority control Music of Catalonia Catalan nationalism Flag anthems