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Mass of Sant Narcís
Devotion to Saint Narcissus reached its peak in the city of Girona in
1792 with the consecration of his chapel within the basilica of St.
Felix. Behind this devotion lies a long story beginning in the year
1000. Before this time most Girona people venerated Saint Felix, a
Roman soldier who was martyred in the IV century where his basilica now
stands. The city’s growth in the X and XI centuries transformed it into
the capital of Catalunya Vella (Old Catalonia). The primitive cathedral
dedicated to Saint Felix, situated outside the city walls, was moved to
the new romanesque construction inside the walls in the same place
where a Roman temple had been situated. This building expansion was one
of the consequences derived from the supply of gold in 1010 brought by
the Girona mercenaries, who, lead by their bishop, went to Cordoba to
fight alongside the Berbers against the Arabs. From the new cathedral
and also the new convent of Saint Daniel both the new liturgy and the
new Roman mentality were spread, gradually replacing the traditional
mozarabic liturgy and mentality, which had predominated owing to the
Arabic conquest of the Peninsula. The increasing importance of the city
culminated with the celebration of two regional councils in the new
cathedral in 1066 and 1078 with Rome choosing Girona to celebrate them
rather than Narbonne or Barcelona. At the same time, the gradual
implantation of feudalism accompanied these important social changes.
The second period to see an increase in the worship of Saint Narcissus
came in 1285 with the French conquest of the city. The king of France,
Philip the Bold, aided by the Pope, tried to supplant Peter the Great
as king of Catalonia. After invading the Roussillon he conquered Girona
with some barbarian soldiers who raided the basilica of Saint Felix and
destroyed its interior. It was actually Saint Narcissus’s tomb that
suffered the most from the assault, we do not know why, since it was
less important than Saint Felix’s. Several days before the city’s
surrender, Roger de Llúria annihilated the French float that provided
supplies for their soldiers. The consequent famine plus lack of
hygiene, made obvious by the flies attacking them and their horses,
caused them to retreat. Upon which, they were defeated by Peter the
Great’s soldiers. The people of Girona attributed these victories to
Saint Narcissus’s intervention as punishment for the profaning of his
tomb.
Very soon a fraternity dedicated to the saint was created. Its
members decided to build a new tomb that would substitute the one that
had been profaned by the French. The new tomb was commissioned to the
stained glass artist, Joan de Tournai, who carried out a magnificent
work situated very close to the presbytery of Saint Felix’s basilica,
where it remains to this day. The tradition of considering Saint
Narcissus a bishop (as was the original saint in Jerusalem) and Saint
Felix (a Roman soldier) a deacon, may have originated in this context.
The third period of increased devotion to Saint Felix was brought on by
the intense christian renovation resulting from the Council of Trent at
the end of the XVI century: a strongly polarized hierarchy was created
within the Church, popular devotion became more controlled and
religious practices were purified. The Trent liturgy was very rigid,
being the same everywhere, and with Latin exclusively used as the
language of public prayers. In addition, pews became commonplace in
churches so that the faithful could follow the mass and services
although they probably understood very little. These restrictions were
off set by certain counterparts such as a notable impulse regarding
music in churches and the creation of music chapels. New string
instruments were introduced, essentially violins. New religious orders
appeared too, the main ones in Girona being Carmelites, Jesuits and
Capuchins. In addition, devotion to saints received a boost. It was
this intellectual framework that saw the flourishing of popular
couplets in praise of saints. New books narrating their lives appeared
too. In Girona scholarly books were published narrating Saint
Narcissus’s life with varying doses of imagination. At the same time
the sieges imposed on the city by Louis XIV, who was determined to
increase his territory towards the south, offered new occasions for the
saint being credited with protection in the face of the French attacks.
Thus, as the French armies repeatedly attacked Girona, devotion to
Saint Narcissus increased whereas Saint Felix’s gradually diminished.
It is in this context that the couplets dedicated to the saint
appeared, first in Catalan, to be later replaced by polyphonic
villancicos in Spanish and finally to return to the original Catalan
towards 1780.
This third devotional period culminated with the building of a chapel
within the basilica of saint Felix where the saint’s sepulchre could be
installed with the utmost dignity. It was the canons of saint Felix’s
who promoted this and who made a first effort to carry it out in 1638
when they asked the bishop Gregori Parcero for permission to build it.
The Guerra dels Segadors (the war of the reapers 1640-1659), which
began shortly afterwards, prevented it however. Some 150 years later it
was again proposed to the bishop of that time, Tomàs de Lorenzana.
Although he initially opposed the project, sometime later he changed
his mind and not only promoted its building but also invited the
congregation to contribute to it in a famous sermon. In this way 80.000
pounds were raised from a variety of different sources ranging from
royal donations to private citizens of Girona. It was an incredible
amount for a city of around 8000 inhabitants.
The chapel took ten years to build and in order to obtain enough space
the medieval cloister of the basilica and a neighbouring house had to
be demolished. The work was commissioned to a famous architect,
Buenaventura Rodríguez, who built it in the architectural style of the
time: two consecutive oval spaces covered by a barrel vault followed by
an altar. The altar has a canopy that is held up by two columns of
Italian marble. At the back is a circular space the cupola of which is
decorated with paintings of the Saint. These were done by Manel
Tramulles. The chapel eventually became a church within another church.
The consecration of this new space culminated with the transfer of
Saint Narcissus’s body to the new sepulchre situated underneath the
altar dedicated to the saint. This most solemn act took place on the
evening of September 2nd 1792 and the following day an important mass
was celebrated to conclude this consecration. The score of this mass,
composed for this occasion by the chapel master Josep Pons, still
remains. The mass is based on the hymn Deus tuorum militum and is one
of lengthy proportions, in keeping with the solemnity of this
consecration. This solemnity, however, caused a rekindling of the
latent tensions between the canons of Saint Felix and those of the
cathedral on the one hand and those of the Saint Felix chapter and the
city council on the other. In both cases it was about questions of
protocol. These problems caused the consecration to be postponed for
months and this delay was most probably reflected in the score that has
been preserved. In fact it seems clear that the score is a work that
was elaborated in two different moments, if the year of the date on
several particellas is to be credited. The whole is a mass of great
dimensions, unsuitable for amateurs. It shows the musical possibilities
of Girona at that time. Pons combines martial rhythms with pastoral
rhythms, displays sound contrasts with the alternation of solos and
tutti, plays with tonality changes and achieves a remarkable
compenetration between voices and instruments, all at the service of an
intense religious expression.
The present edition does not include the Creed for technical reasons.
Also omitted are the short viola and flute compasses in the debut which
would be played by a violinist and an oboe player respectively.
Kyrie
1 Allegro con Brio
[Instrumental] A lengthy instrumental introduction in D major as is
characteristic of the Viennese school, and in it the different
instruments dialogue with each other: the horns, with their sonorous
power, start the movement, followed by the violins with a more lyrical
and less strong melody answered by the horns and the oboes. This scheme
is repeated with different variants, with short fragments where all the
instruments act or in others where oboes and violins act alone.
2 Kyrie eleison.
this is a slow movement of supplication where the different voices
create as dissonances that hint at a liturgical prayer. The rhythm
becomes faster halfway through the movement, later adopting a tone that
is more similar to a prayer with all the voices together. The end part
is suspended in the air and introduces the following movement.
3 Christe eleison.
this is a more joyful and dynamic movement starting with the violins
that accompany the displaced beginning of the soloists to end with a
fugue passage of highly intense sonority aided by the orchestra. After
this there is a short instrumental dialogue of a lyrical nature between
the violins and the soloists, which leads to the repetition of the
fugue passage.
4 Kyrie eleison.
it continues with the same melody as the two previous numbers. There is
a final chord, accompanied by an instrumental solo, that returns to the
deprecation of the first Kyrie.
Gloria
5 Gloria in excelsis Deo. lacking the usual Gregorian beginning, the movement starts with a brilliant and short soprano duo.
6 Et in terra pax hominibus.
this is one of the principal movements of the work and is most probably
related to the presence in the city of 150 French clerics who had fled
the violence of the revolution. Beginning with a bass solo that is
answered by the two sopranos and completed by the tutti to be later
joined by the different instruments while alternating short solos that
emphasise the words “bonae voluntatis” and also “et in terra pax
hominibus”, insistently repeated in different ways. This passage quite
clearly relates to the French revolution.
7 Laudamus te.
the instruments introduce an outstanding soprano solo followed by
various solos. The dialogue of these voices is continued by the other
solo voices in a most virtuoso way. Each one of them repeats the
liturgical text several times, at certain moments as a solo and at
others mingling and overlapping it to form a kind of vocal plait. The
“gratias agimus tibi” has a first passage where the choir dialogues
with the soloists while following the previous rhythm, a passage that
is repeated twice. In a second part the rhythm accelerates and a short
vocal duo introduces the tutti highlighting the text “propter magnam
gloriam tuam”.
8 Domine Deus, rex coelestis.
(Quintet) - it begins with an introduction where the violins expound
the theme and engage in a dialogue with the oboes and horns. The vocal
soloists take up the same melody adding colour and nuances of their own
thus enriching the liturgical text. At the end of their performance all
the voices perform the text once more but now with a successful mixture
reminiscent of central baroque music. The elaboration of this part is
an example of Pons’s skill.
9 Qui tollis.
here the instruments begin a slow melody of a penitential nature that
the soprano takes up with the “miserere nobis” text, an imploring
melody and prayer which is first answered by the instruments and then
by the other voices in a deprecatory way, alternating vocal solos with
tutti. They all beg for mercy accompanied by the rhythmic support of
the instruments. The soprano’s prayer in the “suscipe” follows the same
pattern, insinuating a notable dread by means of the insistent rhythm
of the instruments.
10 Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris.
the melody of this vigorous bass solo contains a contrast between the
musical representation of divine majesty with the plea for mercy that
follows. This contrast is repeated several times with a varied
instrumental accompaniment.
11 Quoniam tu solus.
whereas the previous paragraph was a solo, this one is a duo, a
dialogue between the wind and the string instruments that begins the
movement. A soprano solo follows repeating the melody of the violins,
to which the tenor answers with the same text but in a slightly
different tone. Thus starts a vocal duet that continues throughout the
movement. The paragraph “Tu solus dominus” has certain precious
vocalizations that depict the attributes of holy and almighty Lord God
proclaimed by the Latin text.
12 Cum Sancto Spiritu. this movement is the most remarkable of all. The choir of soloists begins slowly and is answered by the tutti.
This smooth melody is repeated by different soloists. Once the theme
has been exposed, a strong rhythmic contrast with a fugue movement
follows in which everyone participates: soloists, tutti and
instruments. The paragraph ends with several vocal dissonances that
lead to a new fugue paragraph with the final amen. Here the soloists
sing “cum sancto spiritu” and the tutti repeat the amen until they
reach a brief instrumental interval, after which the fugue movement
returns. The final amen is taken up in its totality in the fugatto
ending. The splendour of this movement would indicate a concluding
composition without a continuation.
Sanctus
13 Sanctus.
here we enter in a musical world that is rather different from the
previous one. The extension of the movement is rather shorter and its
rhythm contrasts with the hosanna that follows. The movement begins
with a brief treble duo followed by the tutti that brings out the power
of the Deus Sabaot or God of the heavenly armies. The same vocal
pattern is repeated in the hosanna with a fugue.
14 Benedictus. this
paragraph is similar to a pastoral being based on a vocal soloists’
trio. It begins with the violins that present the melody which is taken
up by the countertenor, the tenor and finally the bass. The end of this
movement contrasts with the end of the Gloria in its abrupt ending
without further development.
Agnus Dei
15 Agnus Dei.
in this final movement the first verse overlaps with the beginning of
the second one. It begins with a short duo of sopranos, followed by the
tutti chorus with a pleasing melody. Following this comes the
introduction of the second verse, slower, more expressive and with
notable vocal dissonances. With the third verse, the rhythm changes
radically and becomes joyful: the soloists, tutti and instruments
engage in a dialogue with the words “dona nobis pacem”, which are
repeated several times.
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