"El cant dels ocells" (The song of the birds) is a traditional Catalan Christmas song and lullaby. It tells of nature's joy at learning of the birth of Jesus Christ in a stable in Bethlehem. The song was made famous outside Catalonia by Pablo Casals' instrumental version on the cello. After his exile in 1939, he would begin each of his concerts by playing this song. For this reason, it is often considered a symbol of Catalonia.
Joan Baez included it in her 1966 best selling Christmas lp, dedicating the song to Casals.
In 1991, Catalan tenor Josep Carreras recorded "El cant dels ocells" on his album, José Carreras Sings Catalan Songs. His Three Tenors colleague, Plácido Domingo, who is himself part Catalan, also recorded the song on his 2014 album, Encanto del Mar.References
El cant dels ocells Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA