Song of the Sibyl

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The song of the Sibyl ( Catalan El Cant de la Sibil·la ) is a Iberian peninsula since the early Middle Ages known custom. Every year the song of the Sibyl is performed as part of the liturgy of the Christmas mass. Sung a cappella in the Catalan language by a solo part , it used to be widespread throughout the Iberian region; today, however, the traditional song of the Sibyl can only be heard on Christmas night in Mallorca and Sardinia . The Song of the Sibyl in Mallorca was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010 .

History of the texts

The singing, which is still performed in some places in Catalan dialects, goes back to Latin manuscripts from monastery libraries of the 10th century. These texts, in turn, arose from predictions which in the Middle Ages were believed to have come from ancient pre-Christian seers. The first stanza of the Song of the Sibyl of Judgment is based on an Erytrhean Sibyl of the day of judgment and its omens, which was handed down by Augustine in the 4th century and interpreted in a Christian sense . other parts of the song and the figure of the sibyl itself are mainly influenced by Virgil's predictions of a Tibetan sibyl from the golden age after the birth of the child. According to late medieval beliefs, this Sibyl herself made such predictions to the Emperor Augustus.

Predictions of the Sibyl

In her song the Sibyl predicts the return of a Christian savior and the end of the world. She emphasizes that in this day of the apocalyptic judgment of God only the faithful servants of God would be rewarded regardless of social status, but others would be punished, lamented and perished by God's wrath. It describes the signs that will precede the day of judgment and thus admonishes believers to prepare for the second coming of a Messiah . This explains the performance of the song at Christmas time, when Christians commemorate the first coming. Today often seen as a gloomy prophecy, in the Middle Ages many believers were far more familiar with an end-time expectation and the Sibyl was a well-known and popular figure among the people and the clergy.

Sibylle songs in medieval beliefs

The Sibyl was seen in the Middle Ages as the pagan counterpart to the prophets of the Old Testament . Selected predictions from this ancient seer were considered equal to the biblical prophecies. Sibyls sayings were incorporated into the eschatological notions of the end of the world and the justice of a savior, which were important throughout the Middle Ages . Similar to the song of the Sibyl in the Iberian region, there were liturgical texts and songs throughout southern Europe in the later Middle Ages in which Sibyls and prophets shared Christian beliefs from the Middle Ages. Compared to the common appearances in these "order of the prophets" called and mostly performed outside the church, the singing of the Sibyl in the Iberian area is far less integrated into the totality of church beliefs. Therefore, in addition to its historical and linguistic significance, the song of the Sibyl can also be ascribed a further special meaning, since in a modern interpretation her song can be recognized as the “voice of the prophetic woman” and a certain influence of paganism and seerism, otherwise mostly patriarchal - Old Testament belief of the Middle Ages and its Church.

Translation into Catalan

The first Latin texts of the song of the Sibyl, based on ancient models, were translated into Catalan by the beginning of the 15th century at the latest. Initially mostly only passed down orally, several local variants of the proverbs and also post-poems arose, some of which are ascribed to well-known medieval poets of the 15th century such as Alonso de Cordoba . As a result of the transmission, the song of the Sibyl acquired not only its liturgical but also a popular, i.e. folkloric, meaning. Furthermore, the different texts of the song are of importance in the linguistic research of Catalan today.

Melody and performance practice

No melodies have survived from the first Latin and early Catalan versions of the Song of the Sibyl that have survived today. They were probably performed unanimously and unaccompanied by instruments in the style of Gregorian chant . It was not until the middle of the 15th century that notes were added to the texts. At first the song was performed by several clerics in turn. In the course of time a scenic performance developed with dramatic support of the sung word. Singers and company were often costumed with liturgical robes and equipped with attributes such as gloves and a judge's sword. This can still be understood today with the help of stage directions for some texts or medieval descriptions of performance practice. Elements of such dramaturgy can still be found in the performances today.

Preserving a tradition

From 1545 onwards, due to the reforms of liturgy and sacred music by the Council of Trent , performances declined. The custom of the song of the Sibyl, which was previously widespread and popular in the Mediterranean region, has only survived in very few places in the Balearic Islands and Sicily . Today it is usually only performed in the Cathedral of Palma , in the monastery church of Lluc on Mallorca and in a church in Alghero on Sardinia. In these places, however, it is still an integral part of the Christmas season with short interruptions and is performed in Mallorcan and Sardinia in a Catalan dialect, as Alghero was settled by colonists from Barcelona in 1372 and Catalan was the official language there until the 17th century. Since 2009, the tradition of chanting the Sibyl has been revived in the Cathedral of Barcelona and in some places in Valencia . For this purpose, the local versions of text and melody were reconstructed from existing documents.

Local and world heritage

The Song of the Sibyl was declared a historical cultural asset of the island of Mallorca in December 2004 by the government of the autonomous region of the Balearic Islands . In 2010 it was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity . It was recognized that the preservation of song gives the island a special cultural identity, even if the song was widespread throughout the Iberian region in earlier times.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. z. B. Maríacarmen Gómez: From the Iudicii Signum to the Song of the Sibyls. Early testimony . In: Susana Zapke (Ed.): Hispania Vetus: musical-liturgical manuscripts from Visigothic origins to the Franco-Roman Transition (9-12th Centuries). Bilbao 2007. p. 167
  2. ↑ Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Fifth session, Nairobi, Kenya, November 2010, Nomination File No. 00360 (decision 6.38) (English)
  3. ^ Augustine: Civitas Dei . 18th book, chap. 13
  4. ^ Virgil: Shepherd poems, 4th Eclogue
  5. ↑ cf. z. B. Montserat Figueras: Femina Antiqua accompanying text for Lux Feminae 900 - 1500. Audio CD Alia Vox AV SA 9847 2006
  6. ^ Cancionero Musical de Palacio. Madrid, Biblioteca Real, MS II - 1335
  7. ↑ El Consell de Mallorca (ed.): BOIB Num. 25 15-02-2005 Num. 2206 Declaració com a Bé Immaterial d'Interès Cultural del cant de la Sibil-la , Mallorca 2005

literature

  • Francesco A. Barbieri: El Canto de la Sibila . In: Ilustración Músical en Hispano-Américana 1/7 (1888), pp. 50-51.
  • Higini Angles: La musica a Catalunya fins al segle XIII . Barcelona 1935 (reissued 1988).
  • Solange Corbin: Le cantus sibyllae: origine et premiers textes . In: Revue Musicologie 31 (1952), pp. 10-11.
  • Nicole Sevestre: La tradition mélodique du Cantus Sibyllae . In: Danielle Buschinger, André Crépin (eds.): La représentation de l'antiquité au Moyen Âge. Vienna 1982, pp. 269-283.
  • Song of the Siby . In: Oxford Grove Music Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Oxford 1994.
  • Maricarmen Gómez: El Canto de la Sibila . Madrid 1996–1997, Volume I, II.
  • Francesc Vicens: El cant de la Sibilla a Mallorca: un fenomen emergent . Documenta Balear 2004.
  • Francesc Vicens: La música de la profecías: El canto de la Sibila . In: Arqueología, Historia y viajes sobre el mundo medieval IV (2004), pp. 14-15.
  • Marícarmen Gómez: From the Iudicii Signum to the Song of the Sibyls. Early testimony . In: Susana Zapke (ed.): Hispania Vetus: musical-liturgical manuscripts from Visigothic origins to the Franco-Roman Transition (9-12th Centuries). Bilbao 2007. pp. 167-74.
  • Maricarmen Gómez, Eduardo Carrero: La Sibila. Sonido. Imagen. Liturgy. Escena . Madrid, 2015.

Sound recordings

  • El Cant de la Sibil-la. In: Saba de terrer.
  • El Canto de la Sibila I - Catalunya
  • El Cant de la Sibil-la Catalana . In: Barcelona Mass - Song of the Sibyl
    • Performers: Obsidienne, Gisela Bellsolà, Emannuel Bonnardot (Opus 111, 1995)
  • El Canto de la Sibila II - Galicia Castilla
    • Performers: Capella Reial de Catalunya, Montserat Figueras, Jordi Savall (Astrée (Naïve) Música Ibérica ES 9942, 1996)
  • El Cant de la Sibilla - Mallorca - Valencia 1400–1560
    • Performers: Montserrat Figueras, Capella Reial de Catalunya, Jordi Savall (Alia Vox AV 9806, 1999)
  • Cant de la Sibil-la: Al jorn del judici . In: Iudicii Signum (Navidad renacentista en Castilla y Valencia)
    • Performers: Capella de Ministrers, Carles Magraner (Licanus CDM 0203, 2002)
  • Sibila Latina - Judicii Signum . In: Lux Feminae 900-1500.
    • Performers: Capella Reial de Catalunya, Montserrat Figueras, Jodi Savall (Alia Vox AV SA 9847, 2006)

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