The Religious Affairs Office

Jordi Alomar, director of the Museu de la Música de Barcelona and the driving force behind the programme, reflects on the key theme in “Trànsits”, evaluating its reception and impact.

• How and why did the Trànsits programme come about?

Well, the Museu de la Música had for some time been wanting to work on interculturality through music in a public programme, seeing the institution not just as an extensive collection of instruments, but as a space where music is defined as a living thing, inextricably linked to the communities and the people who produce it. From this perspective, working on the diversity of sound and music to be found within communities was viewed as a possible response to the challenge presented by the cultural hybridisation that defines the city we live in.

In 2021, when I took on the role of director at the museum, the team from Barcelona’s Religious Affairs Office (OAR) suggested a collaboration that would allow us to address this challenge, as they offered us the opportunity to access culturally diverse community spaces that we’d previously been unable to reach. So together we were able to build a framework where we could highlight what music means to different communities from a diversity of backgrounds in the city.

• Do you have any other projects that are also aimed at making cultural diversity more visible?

There’s no specific programme really. Of course, our collection of instruments means that myriad cultures are represented, and we’re trying to use them to work on resignification, contextualisation and decolonisation. A clear example here is the gamelan, a large instrument that’s made up of various percussion units that are characteristic of the island of Bali in Indonesia. It’s been the focus of various public programmes for many years, from workshops to a resident ensemble that often performs concerts – as part of “Trànsits”, in fact.

• So the starting point is interculturality conveyed through music, but “Trànsits” traces a triangle where spirituality comes in. Can you tell us more?  

Taking the religious and spiritual dimension as a starting point is a highly effective way to work on interculturality, because spirituality is an essential aspect of human life, of communities.

Religion and spirituality are an intrinsic part of communities. Perhaps to varying degrees and in different ways – they’re spaces that articulate a socialisation structured by cohesion and shared convictions. And in these contexts, music is a bond, it becomes a form of sharing. Actually, the word ‘music’ doesn’t mean exactly the same thing in all cultures, but nonetheless there’s always this element of collective expression.

In this way, within the programme, with music as a common element, the spiritualities and religions of different communities in the city make dialogue and understanding possible, not at the individual level, but at the level of groups that have established dynamics, shared practices, calendars and social guidelines.

So the programme focuses on working with communities or groups with established dynamics and practices that are shared, based on social patterns where a musical element facilitates and articulates something that I believe is common to all religions, whatever their praxis: the sharing of a desire for transcendence and a passages towards something better.

• Hence the name, “Trànsits”.

The name “Trànsits” was an idea put forward by Marc Oliveras of the OAR. I think it’s an excellent choice, as it’s a very precise reference to the multifaceted issue that’s the focus of the programme. ‘Trànsit’ [‘Transition’] is a polysemic word that refers to both a state and a progression, a change. It can also refer to physical movement, to coming and going, as in migration, for example. At the same time, it’s also an invitation to move between (and to step outside) repertoires, practices and contexts.

• Why is it important to highlight the theme of the programme in a city like Barcelona?

Because of its idiosyncrasies. More than three hundred different languages are spoken in Barcelona. Do we know how many nationalities are to be found in the city? Diasporas of all kinds coexist here. For example, around 20,000 people make up the Filipino community in the Barcelona metropolitan area.

The city is made up of an assortment of very diverse cultures, with their own habits, beliefs, spaces and social structures. This is an undeniable reality, and one that as a public entity we need to respond to and to accommodate.

• How is the programme organised? What does it involve, and how are themes prioritised?

Building the “Trànsits” programme has been a process of trial and error. We always start off by making contact with the community, where applicable getting to know the music that is part of their liturgical practices, and exploring ways of collaborating or providing support in terms of space or resources. The OAR plays a fundamental role here, facilitating mediation. The starting point is always conversation and seeking common ground, as well as the desire to open these spaces to the public.

This is why in the sessions we often suggest a preliminary discussion open to the public, one in which members of the community itself take part, together with people who are experts on the musical, religious and cultural framework in each case. We open up a space where a dialogue with the audience can be established.

This is then followed by the celebration, liturgy or concert, as the case may be. In the public programme we combine significant events on the community calendar with certain concerts. We clearly understand that the premise is to be faithful and respectful to the functions, contexts and purposes of the praxes in question. We can’t simply make anything we feel like into a concert at any price. Ultimately, the point of programming these sessions is to value and highlight the role of music as another element in different religious practices. In effect there are cultures where music isn’t necessarily part of the ritual, but is in itself a manifestation of the spiritual. This is what makes it possible for us to hold concerts, as we did in the case of the gamelan, or the tabla music that we programmed both for this season and for the last one.

• Now that the first edition (2022-2023) is over, how do you think it went?

It was 100% positive. We kicked off with one of the highlights, the Pakistani community Minhaj al Qur’ân del Raval, in a session focused on qawwali music, a devotional but not a liturgical practice. It was an extraordinary experience, a brilliant start.

I’d especially like to mention a Catholic mass we held just before Christmas, which included the Mallorcan Song of the Sibyl, a liturgical drama and Gregorian chant that’s very much characteristic of Catalan culture, and has been a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage event for more than ten years. The singing of Caramelles de Pasqua, traditional Easter songs from the Pitiusa Islands, performed at a mass in the crypt at the Sagrada Família also reflects the diversity of practices in Catalan-speaking regions. And then there’s the extraordinary St. John of the Cross and Rumi concert, performed by Taghi Akhbari at Sant Pau del Camp.

• As you said, the first edition of the programme was part of the Auditori’s “Mort o retorn” [Death or Return] season. How is the central “Trànsits” theme conveyed?

The idea is to organise the activities within the content guidelines proposed by the Auditori. In the case of the first edition, the connection was very clear, death is an essential element in all beliefs and spiritualities. For example, this can be seen in the sessions I mentioned: the Caramelles de Pascua in the Easter cycle refer to the death of Jesus Christ, and the Song of the Sibyl is a premonition of the afterlife that’s linked to the last judgement. Another could be the Beleganjur, a gamelan concert linked to funeral processions.

• And for the second edition (2023-2024), how do the activities fit in with the “Poder i Revolta” [Power and Revolt] season?

The connection here may not be as clear as in the last season. In this edition, we’ve moved into the commemorative sphere. For example, at the German-speaking Evangelical Church event, we scheduled a liturgical service with Bach cantatas commemorating the Lutheran Reformation. Similarly, in mid-January, we celebrated the Sinulog of the Filipino community, a festival that commemorates the evangelisation of the Philippines. There’s also the case of Magal, which celebrates a place of pilgrimage that’s important for the foundation of the Muridite Sufi brotherhood.

• How do you think the sessions that have taken place so far in this second edition have gone?

Also very well. Tickets sold out as soon as booking opened. As spaces are usually limited, some people were unable to get tickets. I think we have succeeded in ensuring that the events fit the bill.

• And in capturing the interest of the public too.

Yes, of course. In fact, we understand the programme as a form of cultural democracy, culture is viewed as a right, something that stems from the grassroots, and is at the service of the people. Verticality, the unilateral imposition of content, and the prescriptive are avoided, and there’s a commitment to dialogue.

• Given this very positive reception, do you plan to launch more editions in the future?

Yes. “Trànsits” is here to stay.