The Religious Affairs Office

‘Trànsits: Music of the Spirit’ is a cycle organised by Museu de la Música de Barcelona and the Religious Affairs Office (OAR), which last autumn held its second edition as part of the Auditori's ‘Power or revolt’ season. The cycle continued in January and February with the sessions ‘Sinulog: commemoration of the evangelisation of the Philippines’, ‘Kebyar: music of the Balinese gamelan’ and ‘Magal Porokhane: Mouride Sufism Celebration’, with the same two-pronged format of the previous sessions, consisting of a dialogue and a spiritual and musical exhibition.

Music is historically linked to spirituality and has been used in many cultures and eras as a vehicle for transcendence and connection with the divine, both individually but above all collectively. These practices are still very much alive, adapted to the changing realities of the groups of people to which they belong. This is the case of many of the different religious communities in the city of Barcelona, the musical practices of whom are being showcased in the cycle ‘Trànsits: Music of the Spirit’, organised by the Museu de la Música de Barcelona and the Religious Affairs Office (OAR in Catalan).

In this cycle, music is used as a pretext for disseminating the cultural, spiritual and religious practices of some of the communities that live in the city and are the focus of the different sessions. Trànsits is constructed around a trinomial inherent to the human condition, amassing Barcelona’s cultural plurality through a spirituality manifested in the common theme of music, which “facilitates dialogue and understanding, a twinning of all religions that share a desire for transcendence and transcending”, in the words of Jordi Alomar, director of the Museu de la Música, in an interview on the OAR’s blog.

This is why all the sessions begin with an exchange where experts in these subjects and members of the community reflect on the music-spirituality-culture trinomial that takes place in the community that is the focus of each session. This dialogue is followed by an exhibition of a religious or spiritual practice in which music and sound play the leading role.

SINULOG. COMMEMORATION OF THE EVANGELISATION OF THE PHILIPPINES

The Sinulog, a festival held on the island of Cebu in the Philippines to commemorate the conversion of the island’s population to Catholicism, opened to the public on 21 January. The event took place in Sant Agustí de Barcelona parish church, and consisted of an exhibition of the Sinulog’s traditional dances and a special mass. On 18 January, prior to the event, a dialogue was held to place the celebration in its context. Taking part were Macrina Alcedo Reconsal, a member of various organisations that support the Philippine diaspora in Barcelona and the dissemination of their culture; Father Lino de Castro, rector of the Philippine Community of the Personal de Barcelona Parish; Immaculada Concepció and San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish, and Father Michael Go, of the Order of Sant Agustí, parochial vicar of Sant Agustí de Barcelona.

The session focused on how this tradition is an expression of the identity of the Philippino diaspora, which has been celebrating Sinulog in the city for 31 years. The practice began in the 16th century, when Magellan’s expedition arrived in the Philippines, where they gave a figure of the Christ Child to the queen, who according to legend immediately began to dance, leading to her baptism in the Christian faith as ‘Joana’. The rest of the population soon followed suit. Nowadays, the celebration is a religious and cultural event that brings together the Philippine population in the diaspora: ‘For us Philippines in Barcelona, Sinulog is not only a celebration that brings us all together, but it is also an expression of gratitude that we have this space to do so’, explains Macrina Alcedo.

The two main elements in the festivities are the figure of the Christ Child and dance. The Santo Niño [Christ Child] is a carving of a child with a smiling, dark-skinned face: ‘We received God as a child, and in a child we receive God, always with a smile that summons the devoted’, said Father Lino de Castro, adding that “the figure of the Santo Niño is in every household, in wallets, on necklaces and in pockets’. The figure is an expression of a popular religiosity that connects people to God through everyday feelings and practice.

Father Michael Go explained that “this perspective is a frequent one in Philippine Christianity, in which dance and music play a leading role, and especially in Sinulog, where dance “is an expression of the soul accompanied by a plea, a cry from the heart, for the Lord to hear us”. The Sinulog dance was performed at the exhibition prior to the mass on 21 January in the framework of the Trànsits cycle. The dance groups were made up of different female comparsas, each with a queen and her consorts, in representation of the legend of the baptism, all dressed in bright colours and accompanied by drums and trumpets and the chant ‘Long live the Santo Niño!’ The dances were followed by a special Sinulog mass to a full audience, which began with the entrance of the Santo Niño in procession and short dances.

View the photo gallery of ‘Sinulog’ HERE.

Watch the video of the dialogue HERE, together with a brief summary of the dance and the mass HERE.

KEBYAR. GAMELAN MUSIC OF BALI

The activity ‘Kebyar: music from the gamelan of Bali” was held on 3 February in the Alicia de Larrocha Hall at the L’Auditori . The focus of this session was Museu de la Música’s gamelan gong kebyar ensemble, Gamelan Barasvara. Those present heard a typical performance with this type of instrument, made up of individual pieces that sound as a single whole and that vary depending on their context and geographical location, making them true sonorous representations of a common identity. These aspects were discussed in the preliminary dialogue with Anak Agung Bagus Gede Krishna Putra Sutedja (Krishna), composer, performer and gamelan director; Violeta Tello, composer, musicologist and member of Gamelan Barasvara, and Lluís Solsona, Gamelan Barasvara’s artistic director. They were then illustrated in a musical exhibition with Gamelan Barasvara and Krishna Sutedja.

The most characteristic aspect of the gamelan is that it is not considered to be an orchestra, or an ensemble of instruments, but as a whole uniting all the musicians and the music. ‘All the performers marry the gamelan, thereby becoming one single soul, and not only with each other but also with their instrument’, explains Krishna Sutedja. The composer insisted on this unity, underlining that in the exhibition “there is no ego, we are all one and all the instruments are equally as important as each other”. This is the case right from the moment the ensemble is created, when all the pieces are forged at the same time. ‘The gamelan is an inseparable unit of parts’, says Lluís Solsona, ‘as is the community that makes music’.

The gamelan is an essential feature of Balinese communities, an is present in all types of ceremonies, both spiritual and festive. “At any event, in fact”, explained Krishna Sutedja. Violeta Tello added that “every day in Balí there is some kind of ceremony linked to the spirituality of the communities: the music of the gamelan is always present, it is alive on the island”. Krishna Sutedja also remarked on the complexity of taking gamelan out of its Balinese context and practising it in Europe, where the pretext of the celebration may be partially lost.

Nonetheless, those attending this Trànsits session were able to see these elements put into practice in the exhibition following the talk. The gamelan’s capacity for unification and communion is also present in Barcelona. This is how Lluís Solsona explained it: “In our group there are both professionals and people who have never studied music. Everybody is allowed to take part. We believe the gamelan is an instrument that democratises music”. Playing the gamelan truly is a spiritual moment of communion that can happen everywhere and anywhere. As Violeta Tello said: “It’s a celebration, that’s why we’re smiling”. Traditional dances were also performed as part of the exhibition, guided by three guest dancers.

View the photo gallery of the activity ‘Gamelan gong kebyar’ HERE.

Watch the video of the dialogue HERE and the exhibition HERE.

MAGAL POROKHANE. MOURIDE SUFISM CELEBRATION

On 24 February, the Teatre del Casinet d’Hostafrancs hosted an open celebration of the Magal Porokhane, a festival of the Muridiyya, a brotherhood or a tariqa of the Muslim mystical way of Sufism, which is celebrated in honour of Sokhna Diarra or Mame Diarra Bousso, mother of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacké, founder of the Muridiyya and one of the references of the non-violent resistance against French colonisation.

The Magal Porokhane takes place in the city of Porokhane, in the Senegalese region of Kaolak, and as is usual in the different magals or mournful celebrations, consists among other things in the collective recitation of religious texts to incite individual introspection. The celebration was open to the public in this Trànsits session, preceded by a talk with Marta Contijoch Torres, doctor in social anthropology specialised in urban and religious anthropology, and Mbaye Pouye, founding member and former vice-president of the Muridiyya Federation of Catalonia.

The dialogue revolved around defining the magal and exploring the nature of the mouride tariqa. Mbaye Pouyeis explained that this is the only specifically Senegalese branch of Sufism, a Muslim tradition based on the principle of ihsan, the “beauty or suitable excellence” of religious practice, which Mouridism adopts from the perspective of “practising a religion with no evil, striving for exterior and interior peace”, hence the name murid, which etymologically means ‘waiting to reach God’. This principle is implicit in all the practices of the Muridiyya tariqa , and especially in the magals, celebrations in which oral and sung praises play a key role, which can be individually or group based.

Particularly noteworthy are the recitations of khassaides, poems specific to Mouridism and conceptualised for singing. Another prominent feature are the dhikr or zikr, invocations to God through constant repetition of his various names, which also feature in the practices of other Muslim traditions and have a very strong component of becoming closer to God: “Zikr makes the heart expand. With each name or recitation the person takes a step closer to God, with moments of spiritual ecstasy experienced along the way”, said Mbaye Pouye. The magals are therefore communal festivities which also encourage personal meditation and reflection.

Another essential component of the magals is pilgrimage, although this is not feasible for the communities in the diaspora. “Nonetheless, Muridiyya is everywhere”, says Mbye Pouye, “enabling the Senegalese to retain their identity, which is expressed especially during the celebrations, where they dress in their traditional costumes and take part in the magals”. The dahires play a key role on the recovery of this tradition. Like in Senegal, they are smaller groups or communities that manage the collective, “building community in the diaspora” and organising celebrations such as the one that the Dahira Jazbul Khoulob and the Dahira Sokhna Diarra organised within the framework of Trànsits for Barcelona’s Magal Porokhane. The celebration started with a demonstration of the recitation of the zikr, which was followed by the recitation of khassaides. Throughout the celebration, the community also offered typical Senegalese food to all those present.

View the photo gallery of the activity ‘Magal Porokhane: Mouride Sufism Celebration’ HERE.

Watch the video of the dialogue HERE and a summary of the celebration HERE.

O SIDERA

‘O Sidera’ took place at the monastery of Sant Pau del Camp on 14 March. This eminently musical session combined the Byzantine tradition with the Franco-Flemish Renaissance, exploring the character of the sibyl as a prophetic entity that is materialised through music in both religious faiths. As in the rest of the sessions, there was first a preliminary talk on the practices, followed by an exhibition, in this case a liturgical musical performance by Ensemble Irini, which was the first time it had been seen in Spain.

Taking part in the talk were Margarida Barbal, teacher at Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya [ESMUC] and singer specialised in medieval sacred music; Juan Carlos Asensio, musician and musicologist specialising in Gregorian chants, professor at ESMUC and director of the Schola Antiqua ensemble, and Lila Hajosi, musicologist and lyric singer specialising in ancient music and founder and artistic director of Ensemble Irini. The discussion revolved around thefigure of the sibyl, her role in the Christian religion, and the dialogue between Byzantine and Catholic music, which Ensemble Irini conveys precisely through this mystical Catholic figure, “who as a personification of transcendence brings into dialogue the two traditions, that of the short tempo and dense chromaticism, and the tradition based on repetition to incite hypnotism”, explained Lila Hajosi.

For the director of Ensemble Irini, the main significance of the sibyl lies in her ability to fascinate, and to trigger contemplation and reflection. The figure was adopted by Christianity in the 2nd and 3rd centuries from the Greco-Latin tradition, and was particularly emphasised during the Renaissance. Juan Carlos Asensio and Lila Hajosi agreed on the spiritual role of the sibyl: ‘If the sibyl had not existed, Christianity would have had to invent her, because not only is the entire Bible a prophecy that leads to the fateful end, which is the apocalypse, but this figure is also representative of rejection of the staticism of the Christian message and its insistence on transcendence’.

To this effect, the pieces played in the concert by Ensemble Irini made constant reference to the mystery. “Two mysteries, in fact, the resurrection and the incarnation, which are among the great cornerstones of the Christian religion, to which both Catholic and Orthodox music constantly refer”, explained Lila Hajosi, “although our music provides access to the mystery through sound , without the need for dogma”.

These aspects were present in a repertoire which, although markedly Christian, was notable for its experimental and exploratory tone, elements characteristic of the work of Orlando di Lasso, composer of the Franco-Flemish Renaissance and author of Prophetiae Sibyllarum, which formed part of this session of the Trànsits cycle. The composition is based on the texts of Filippo Barbieri (historian of the Italian Renaissance), six-verse poems which di Lasso set to music, and which at the time ‘caused controversy’, according to Lila Hajosi.

Along with the composition by Orlando di Lasso, the repertoire was complemented by Le chant des Sibylles, by Ioannis Koukouzélis (13th century), Cheruvikon or Hymne des chérubins, Agni Parthene (circa 1900), Gnosin agnoston gnonai (circa 629) and Polyeleos.

View the photo gallery of the activity ‘O Sidera’ HERE.

Watch the video of the dialogue HERE, together with a summary of the concert HERE.