The Song of the Sibyl in Barcelona 2025
The Song of the Sibyl is performed on the night of 24 December, before Midnight Mass. Here we explain what it is and where you can see it being performed in Barcelona.
The Song of the Sibyl was one of the medieval Christmas dramatizations that took deepest root on the Peninsula, especially in Catalonia, from where it spread to Mallorca and to other territories after the conquest by Jaume I. It is one of the most established and vibrant practices of orally transmitted music in the Catalan-speaking world: a cappella chant about the Last Judgment and the coming of Christ, voiced by the Erythraean Sibyl, (the priestess responsible for revealing the oracles of Apollo. She is the fourth Sibyl, probably the best known of all the Hellenic Sibyls, who prophesied in the city of Erythrae in Ionia).
The Sibyl is a fortune teller from the pagan world who, through her song, foretold the coming of the Messiahs and the end of the world. It is a chant, recorded as a poem, the lyrics of which comprise a prophecy describing the Final Judgement, the iudicii signum, reflecting the prophesies of the Erythraean Sibyl. The song is based on a melody of Mozarabic origin and was translated into Catalan in the 13th century. Initially, the Sibyl was a long oracle headed by the words iudicii signum, in which the coming of Christ the Redeemer was prophesied and which described the terrible events leading to the end of the world. The description could be long, with the procession, or short, with only The Song of the Sibyl, which was sung in Latin or Catalan. The text has clear apocalyptic characteristics, starting with “El jorn del judici, parrà qui haurà fet servici” (On the day of judgement, he will be spared who has done service), and followed by “Gran foc del cel davallarà; mar, fonts i rius, tot cremarà” (Great fire from the heaven will come down; seas, fountains and rivers, all will burn.), and “Ans del Judici l’Anticrist vindrà i tot lo món turment darà” (Before the Judgement the Antichrist will come and will give suffering to everyone).
The chant was a custom that was widespread throughout Medieval Europe, and that gradually started disappearing in the 16th century, on the orders of the Council of Trent which considered it to be a Pagan ritual, and revised its use as part of its liturgical reform. This ban was not followed either in Alghero or in Majorca, where the chant has been used uninterruptedly to the present day, and where this ritual has become one of the indisputable highlights of the Majorcan festive calendar. This Medieval religious theatre piece lasts for five minutes and is performed before Midnight Mass on 24 December. On the island of Majorca, it is performed in all churches on that night. It is also known as Matines (Christmas Mass). In 2010 it was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
In the more traditional versions, it is performed by a boy or a woman dressed as a prophetess with a silk cloak and a sword in their hand, which is held up in front of their face during the song, and when it ends, they form a cross in the air with the sword. In some celebrations, at the end of the song they use the sword to cut a coca (a baked flat bread or pastry), which is hanging from the abat-son. In the olden days, they would cut the neules (thin rolled wafers) that were used to decorate the church at Christmas time.
Interest in The Song of the Sibyl in Catalonia was rekindled in the 19th century, and in Barcelona, it has also been gradually recovered. It has been sung in Santa Maria del Mar since 1948, and since the 1980s it has been heard in parish churches such as the church of Sant Gervasi i Protasi de la Bonanova, with an interpretation closely linked to that of Maria del Mar Bonet. In 2008, the song made a comeback in Santa Maria de Gràcia, and at Barcelona Cathedral in 2009.
This is the list of places where the Song of the Sibyl can be heard this year in Barcelona:
- Santa Maria del Mar Basilica: 24 December at 7.30 pm. Plaça de Santa Maria, 1. Before Midnight Mass, which takes place at 8 pm.
- Barcelona Cathedral: 24 December, at 10.45 pm. Pla de la Seu, 3 (Jordi Domènech will be the guest composer of the Cor Francesc Valls). The Midnight Mass will take place after the song has finished.
- Church of Sant Gaietà: 24 December, at 6 pm. Carrer Consell de Cent, 293.
- Sagrada Família Crypt: 24 December, at 11 pm (Sibyl). Admission is free until the Crypt is full (access via Carrer Sardenya). The Misa del Pollet will be held at the Sagrada Família at 7 pm (it is held at this time so that the youngest children can attend), with entry from Carrer de Marina. Midnight Mass at 12 am.
- Santa Maria del Pi: 24 December, at 11.30 pm. Plaça del Pi, 7 (12 am Midnight Mass).
- Parish church of Santa Maria de Gràcia: 24 December at 6 pm, the Misa del Pollet (for families with children), at 11.30 pm, The Song of the Sibyl (Orfeó Gracienc), and at 12 am, Midnight Mass. Carrer de Sant Pere Màrtir, 5.
- Parish of Sant Joan Baptista in Gràcia: 24 December at 7 pm: Misa del Pollet. At 8.30 pm: Song of the Sibyl, and at 9 pm, Midnight Mass.
- Oratori Sant Felip Neri (plaça de Sant Felip Neri): 24 December at 7 pm, Song of the Sibyl and Midnight Mass.
- Parish of Sant Pacià: 21 December, at 8.30 pm. Carrer de les Monges, 27-33.
- Parish church of Santa Maria del Taulat: 24 December, at 8 pm, Missa del Pollet. At 11.15 pm, The Song of the Sibyl with the Cor Poblenou del Centre, and at 12 am, Midnight Mass. Carrer de Pujades, 189.
- Parish church of Sant Medir: 24 December, at 8 pm. Constitució, 17. Sung by the Sant Medir Choir. Pending confirmation.