Download History correcció Andrew - Escolania de Montserrat

HISTORY
From its beginnings in the 13th century, the Escolania de Montserrat, has been
at the service of Our Lady of Montserrat Sanctuary, under the conduction of the
Benedictine monks in the Abbey. This makes it one of the oldest music schools
still working in Europe.
In the 14th century we find specific details of what the choirboys sing: Matins,
the Salve to the Virgin and the “Goigs to the Virgin” (poetically sung prayers of
Catalan popular origin). Among these “Goigs” we can include those from the
“Llibre Vermell” (the Red Book of Montserrat is a codex from the 14th century)
which were sung together with some musical instruments. The “Ars Nova” had
already been introduced into the monastery.
In the 16th century the choirboys numbered around twenty and they were known
to be good singers. They were invited to sing at the welcoming to the King
Ferdinand II the Catholic in Barcelona in 1479. During the 16th century the new
music school from Montserrat got ready to assume its development all through
the 17th and 18th centuries. The Abbot and reformer of Montserrat, F. Garcia de
Cisneros, at the beginning of the 16th century, confirmed in his “Regula
Puerorum” the special mission of the choirboys, and reduced the number of
boys to twelve. He gave over the conduction of the choir to a priest from the
Sanctuary and not to a monk. With all of this, at the end of the 16th century there
were at the monastery 18 monks who had been members of the Escolania, and
the group of choirboys was augmented by a group of monks (former choirboys)
in order to sing with mixed voices (children and men) with the accompaniment
of instruments and the organ. The construction and consecration of the new
Church in 1952 (the present Basilica) were decisive in making the sanctuary
flourish through the 17th and 18th centuries.
All through these centuries the Escolania reached an unprecedented level of
perfection and strength in its musical production and performances and had
never been at such a high level. This progress can only be understood by the
fact that at the end of the 16th century there were many monks who had been
choirboys so they had a good musical education.
It is known that through the 17th century at least 30 monks were former
choirboys, but only six names have remained. The most important ones are:
Joan March (1582-1658), who a very similar style to T.L. de Victoria; Joan
Cererols (1618-1680), maybe the most well-known composer from the
Escolania, whose works have been published in a five-volume edition. Miquel
López (1669-1723) joined the 17th and the 18th centuries; he was a prolific
composer who introduced the stringed instruments in his works using a style
which is more Baroque than Renaissance.
The most important musicians from the 18th century are: Josep Martí (17191763), one of the most significant musicians in Montserrat’s musical school,
since he introduced the Italian style so common among the musicians of that
time in Madrid, where he lived for many years. Benet Julià (1727-1787) is
important because his works were very classical and profound. Anselm Viola
(1738-1798) was a classical but open-minded composer (as shown in his
“Magnificat” for seven voices); he was a good pedagogist and a teacher to
Ferran Sors. Narcís Casanovas (1747-1799), thanks to his abundant musical
production, is the one who is nearest to the great composers of his time. He
was a well-qualified organist and he composed music for organ and for choirs.
The Escolania stopped its activity at the beginning of the 19th century when
Napoleon’s troops burnt the Monastery and the Escolania in 1811. Both the
Escolania and the Monastery were restored in 1851 after many attempts at
reconstruction. The reforms in the Escolania began in 1889 when Maestro F.
Manuel Guzmán (1846-1909) started conducting it. Among his disciples, the
most significant are those who later on succeeded him as choirmaster of the
Escolania. Àngel Rodamilans (1874-1936) was a good pedagogist and an
original and progressive composer, who collaborated with F. Anselm Ferrer
(1882-1969) in the conduction of the choir. F. Ferrer updated the repertory and
the Escolania’s musical studies. David Pujol (1894-1979) was a good performer
of polyphonies and had a new and individual style. He wrote a simple method
on Gregorian chant and promoted the musical studies of the monks. His
successor, F. Ireneu Segarra (1917-2005), conducted the Escolania from 1953
to 1997, and he gave the choir its international reputation and well-known
musical quality. These last four Masters prepared the Escolania to become
what it is now.
B. Jordi-Agustí Piqué (1963) continued the task of conductor beginning in
August 1997, and Mr. Joaquim Piqué took over in the year 2000. The Escolania
has collaborated with many prestigious orchestras such as the Orquestra del
Teatre Lliure de Barcelona, the Orquestra Nacional de Cambra d’Andorra, “Les
Sacqueboutiers” from Toulouse, the “Orquesta Ciudad de Granada”, the
Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès, “Musica Ducis Brabantiae” from the
Netherlands, and the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de
Catalunya. With this Orchestra and together with Cor Madrigal and Orfeó
Català, the Escolania took part in the opening concert in the Fòrum de les
Cultures with Britten’s “War Requiem”, conducted by Mstislav Rostropovitch.
As the most remarkable recent events, we should mention the tour with five
concerts around Japan –Hyogo province (May 2000) and, the same year, the
participation at the “Festival d’Art Sacré de la Ville de Paris”.
In 2001, there were important events such as the concerts at the St. Jean de
Tarbes church (France) and, on the occasion of the “Germinabit” exhibition, the
Escolania gave a concert at the Vatican Chancellery (Rome). In 2002 the
Escolania gave a concert at the Frankfurt Cathedral and another one at San
Silvestro de Nonantola Abbey (Italy), among many others. The Escolania has
recently participated in El Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona in the opera
“Pikovaia Dama” by Piotr Tchaikovsky, conducted by Kiril Petrenko, and it has
gone on a tour around the Netherlands and Belgium, Puerto Rico, Hungary,
Switzerland, as well as many other locations.
Together with other orchestras, or with the accompaniment of an organ or a
piano, the Escolania has lately recorded several CDs, most notably O Vos
Omnes, El Nostre Nadal, and P. Miquel López.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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ALBAREDA, ANSELM M., Història de Montserrat, Publicacions de l’Abadia
de Montserrat, Barcelona, 1997.
Col·lecció “Els Mestres de l’Escolania de Montserrat”, 15 volums,
Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat (en coedició amb el Departament
de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya), Barcelona, 1970-1992.
GÓMEZ MUNTANÉ, M. CARMEN, El llibre vermell de Montserrat, Los libros
de la frontera, Barcelona, 1990.
Monserrat al llindar del tercer mil·leni, Publicaicions de l’Abadia de
Montserrat, Barcelona, 1998.
Què és Montserrat, Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, Barcelona
1999.
SANS, RICARD M., Montserrat 1936-1939, episodis viscuts, Publicacions
de l’Abadia de Montserrat, Barcelona, 1992.
SEGARRA, IRENEU, Quaranta-cinc anys de director de l’Escolania de
Montserrat , Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, Barcelona, 2000.
SEGARRA, IRENEU, Els concerts a l’estranger de l’Escolania de Montserrat
(1982-1995), Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, Barcelona, 2001.