Els Setze Jutges (, meaning "The Sixteen Judges") was a group of singers in the

Catalan language Catalan (; autonym: , ), known in the Valencian Community and Carche as ''Valencian'' (autonym: ), is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra, and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern ...

founded in 1961 by Miquel Porter i Moix, Remei Margarit, and

Josep Maria Espinàs Josep Maria Espinàs i Massip (; born 7 March 1927) is a Catalan language writer, journalist and publisher known for his novels, travel writing and newspaper articles. Author of an extensive body of literature, Espinàs has been honored with t ...

. The name comes from a well known

tongue-twister A tongue twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken (or sung) word game. Additionally, they can be used as exercises to improve pronunciation and fluency. Some tongue twisters p ...

in the

: ("Sixteen judges of a court eat liver off a hangman"). The mission of the group was to promote the

Nova Cançó A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

movement and to normalize the use of Catalan in the world of modern music. They started out singing their own songs and Catalan versions of songs by French singers, especially

Georges Brassens Georges Charles Brassens (; 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. As an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and a ...

. From the original three members, the circle grew to sixteen:

Delfí Abella Delfí Abella i Gibert (; February 2, 1925 – February 1, 2007) was a Catalan psychiatrist, essayist and songwriter. A medical psychiatrist by profession, he was head of the Department of Psychiatry at the Hospital de Santa Creu i Sant Pau, ...

Francesc Pi de la Serra Francesc () is a masculine given name of Catalan origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francesco, Francisco, François, and Franz. People with the name include: *Cesc Fàbregas (Francesc Fàbregas i Soler) (born 1987), Spanish professional footba ...

, Enric Barbat, Xavier Elies,

Guillermina Motta Guillermina is a female given name with Spanish origins and may refer to: * Guillermina López Balbuena (born 1973), Mexican politician *Guillermina Bravo (1920 – 2013), Mexican ballet dancer, choreographer and ballet director * Guillermina Cand ...

, Maria del Carme Girau, Martí Llauradó, Maria Amèlia Pedrerol, Joan Ramon Bonet,

Joan Manuel Serrat Joan Manuel Serrat i Teresa (; born 27 December 1943) is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. He is considered one of the most important figures of modern, popular music in both the Spanish and Catalan languages. Serrat's lyrical style ...

Maria del Mar Bonet Maria del Mar Bonet i Verdaguer (Balearic Catalan: ; born 1947 in Palma, Majorca) is a Spanish singer from the island of Majorca. Early life and career Bonet studied ceramics in the school of arts, but eventually decided to dedicate herself to ...

, Lluís Llach, and Rafael Subirachs. Els Setze Jutges began to dissolve at the end of the

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...

and with the progressive professionalization of some of the group's members. With the appearance of professional Catalan-language singers, many of the group's earlier members, such as Miquel Porter i Moix and Josep Maria Espinàs, decided to retire from music. By the time the group ceased to exist in 1968, several of its members - most notably Serrat, but also Llach, Maria del Mar Bonet, Pi de la Serra, Barbat, Motta and Subirachs - had begun to enjoy success as individual musicians. On April 13, 2007, the group of singers received the Medal of Honor of the

Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia ( ca, Parlament de Catalunya, ; es, Parlamento de Cataluña; oc, Parlament de Catalonha) is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. The Parliament is currently made up of 135 mem ...

, in recognition of their work in favor of Catalan culture and language during the dictatorship. However, Maria del Mar Bonet used the occasion to criticize the lack of promotion of Catalan-language songs in the media during the three decades since the Spanish transition to democracy, and Guillermina Motta declined to attend the ceremony, objecting that the distinction was awarded too late, when two of the sixteen had already died: Miquel Porter in 2004 and Delfí Abella in February 2007.

References

External links

Discografía de Els Setze Jutges

Diaria escola: Reconeixement als Setze Jutges
{{Authority control Musical groups from Catalonia Spanish folk music groups

See also

References

External links