Cambridge District, Reino Unido
The Joan Gili Lecture, centrepiece of the annual conference of the Anglo-Catalan Society, provides the opportunity to promote Catalan culture through media which are accessible and transnational. In this context, the present study oHers an aural snapshot of the Folk Revival and Civil Rights movements both globally and in the Catalan-speaking areas. Particular attention is paid to the theoretical antagonism frequently posited between issues of an ethical and aesthetical nature. A critical reading of two classic songs of the period, “Diamonds and Rust” by Joan Baez and “Canço a Mahalta” by Lluís Llach, are adduced to show, however, that such tension is little more than a smokescreen. Both elements tend rather to combine to produce the finest examples of the creativity of the period.