Since the dawn of Christianity the cult of the Virgin Mary has not only been constantly present in the Christian world but has also been imbued with its own specific characteristics by each region. The advent of christianity in our lands at the end of the Roman empire brought the conversion of pagan sanctuaries into Christian temples and these buildings were gradually filled with images from the Bible and also of Mary and the saints, as we can see in the catacombs. From the XI century in the west Mary is depicted as a queen sitting on a throne with her child in her lap, an image that symbolized the superiority of ecclesiastical power over civil power during the conflict between these two forces. From the XIII century, as middle class culture grew, so the cult of Mary spread with the many churches and cathedrals dedicated to her, among which was Girona cathedral. The figure of Mary as queen was substituted by that of Mary as intercessor, depicted as standing with the child on her arm. Later on, in the XVI and XVII centuries with the coming of the Counter-reform and the baroque style, the image was spread of Mary as triumphant over Turks, protestants and heretics as well as victorious over sin. In this case she is represented as standing on top of the globe, with a halo and surrounded by angels and sometimes treading on a snake. This is the image that the Girona chapel masters contemplated on looking at the altar of the Immaculate Conception, inaugurated around 1710. In Girona, besides the changes we have mentioned, the arguments between the Franciscans and the Dominicans regarding the mystery of the Immaculate Conception became so intense that in 1395 king John I ordered the authorities to expel from the city all those preachers who expressed doubts about it. These antecedents help us to understand the large number of score sheets dedicated to Mary that the chapel masters have left us. Some of the scores in the present CD might have been interpreted during the so called “siestas” or public concerts offered by the cathedral for a charge on certain feast days. These usually took place in the early afternoon. Albeit none of the score sheets indicates that they were intended for this purpose. 

*1. Hola zagalejos. (Hey Young Men) Gaz composed this singular bilingual work during the first years of his stay in Girona, around 1690, when the cultivated people of Girona were switching from Catalan to Castilian Spanish as we find in the villancicos that had just arrived from the court in Madrid. The chorus is in Spanish whereas the couplets are in Catalan and the text is simple and easy to understand. Both the musical setting and the text are bucolic: the shepherds are simple people who go to Bethlehem to pay their respects to the infant in Catalan style. The chorus consists of a brief entry theme by the choir which is followed by a long solo by the soprano after which comes the choir's answer. Since the text is bilingual, the response to each couplet is a nonsensical word acceptable in both languages: luleta, lulà. The whole piece is a diaphanous composition with a popular melody devoid of the artificial complications of baroque music.

*2. Que si al alba celebras. (If you Celebrate at Dawn). This work by Gaz is a four voiced intonement, slow and solemn in the old fashioned style. Initially destined for the Eucharist its use was later changed for that of the Immaculate Conception feast day, possibly with few changes made to the lyrics. In this baroque poem we find rhetorical imagery and complicated symbolic allusions such as the dawning of the first day of the celebration of the Immaculate Conception, which marks the beginning of the process of human salvation. The soprano introduces a theme that the other singers take up mixing their voices in a highly technical way and including subtle rhythm changes. It is a short musical gem.

3- Parad, suspended. (Stop, suspend) This work is not a villancico or a motet but an intonement, a clear sign that it was created after the time of the Spanish villancicos in Girona when Castilian courtly music predominated. The use of long melismas i.e. several notes for a single syllable plus the presence of an aria are early indications of the arrival of neapolitan musical influences. This leads us to attribute the work to Tomás Milans. It is strange that a work written for such a popular feast day as was the Immaculate Conception in Girona should be a mere solo. This fact leads us to think that resources were scarce perhaps owing to a war or some other unknown calamity. The text is a narration of several Marian scenes with long couplets where the baby Jesus is compared to a nightingale born in a nest which covertly refers to Mary's body. Not only Gaz, but other composers too had played on the polyvalence of the Spanish word “rui-Señor” ( Señor = lord). Certain phrases from the text show clear influences of the barefooted Carmelites who were so important in Girona during the 17th and 18th centuries.

4- Letania a Nuestra Señora. (Litanies to Our Lady) Litanies are an ancient repetitive form of prayer that stem from Greek and Roman religion and were incorporated into christianity at a very early date. In western Europe one of the monasteries that spread this prayer form was the sanctuary of Loretto, dedicated to Mary and situated in central Italy. For this reason these litanies are called “lorettan”. The present version comes from the basilica of St. Feliu in Girona where they were sung on certain Wednesdays of the year. Its anonymous music is relatively simple consisting of the repetition of a melody sung by a soloist and answered by the choir with slight melodic and rhythmic variations. These forms of musical artifice attenuate the monotony and add some rhythm to the work in the same way as the suppression of the response “ora pro nobis” in several places. It may date from the first third of the 18th century.

5- Veni sponsa Christi. (Come Christ's Wife) Milans adapted this brief Latin antiphony to the liturgical celebration of vespers dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was sung in the canons’ choir of Girona cathedral towards the end of vespers before one of the liturgical feast days dedicated to Mary although there is no indication as to which feast day it was meant for. This text has been set to music by other composers both before and after Milans, thus being considered suitable as an expression of the mystical relationship between Mary and her son. The soloist begins the chant by asking for his wife's presence in a very graphic way with a gallant melody that is repeated throughout the work. A large number of melismas - a musical resource that was forbidden in other places - are also included.

6- Specie tua (With your Beauty). This brief solo antiphony is a local version of a Latin text often set to music all over Europe and used for a variety of liturgical services ranging from those typically dedicated to certain female saints to feast days dedicated to Mary, such as the Assumption, the Purification etc. Its use in Girona remains unknown. The text derives from a verse from psalm 45 but is taken out of its original context.  Although the musical style is similar to Junca's, it has a lively rhythm with a brilliant vocal ending.

 7- ¡Cielos! ¿Qué suspiras? (Heavens! Why do you sigh?) The anonymous author of this singular work has passed down to us a very cultivated text but with popular characteristics: it is unusual to find such compliments as the author dedicates to Mary and it is more unusual still to find geographical jokes like that of comparing Judea with La Mancha. The text describes Maria’s physical beauty with comments on her figure. However, at the end he insists that the song is not a joke. It begins with a brief musical introduction by the soloists based on descending arpeggios which are followed by the theme that the soprano sings as a solo. This part emphasises Mary's physical beauty – que me lleva esta Niña los ojos- (my eyes are fixed on this Girl) and continues with a response from the choir. The dialogue between the different voices then continues but with shorter musical phrases. The work, with its characteristic chasing of voices, is a most accomplished example of the kind of baroque music we find in Girona. It could be attributed to Francesc Soler, who was active from 1682 to 1688.

8- Dignare me. This brief anonymous solo was sung towards the end of the canonical hours of the liturgical feast days dedicated to Mary. The text, attributed to Duns Scotus, a 13th century Franciscan, is a worshipper’s prayer in which he asks to be allowed to praise and defend Mary. As regards the music, the continuo - the organ and the violoncello - introduce the melody which the soloist repeats thus beginning an ingenious dialogue that lasts until the end. This counterpoint between the vocal soloist and the basso continuo instruments is one of the charms of this short composition that could be dated around 1770 in the pre-classical period and of operatic style. 

9- Quae est ista? (Who is this?) A brief antiphony from the liturgical service on the day of Mary's Assumption, August 15th. It was originally sung by two of the choir boys accompanied by the continuo - in the present recording these are an organ, a cello and a lute. The lyrics are found in many medieval songs throughout Europe.  It is a text that compares Mary's beauty with that of the sun and the city of Jerusalem. The continuo begin the song with the melody which is then repeated several times by the soprano and the countertenor whose voices play with the melody using a variety of musical resources. It is a little gem that we can situate in Junca's time, at the start of the arrival of pre-classicism in Girona around 1775. The worn out music scores would indicate that it was used very frequently.

 *10- Jácara. The “jácara”was a gypsies’ dance that the young Gaz used as a model to compose this work dedicated to the Immaculate Conception when he was chapel master in Mataró, before 1690. The musical form consists of 4 voices with a chorus and many couplets. The text is complicated yet simultaneously unconventional as it explains Mary's conception with both ingenious images and elaborate dialogues of familiar style in accordance with the religious models predominant in those times. The rhythm is lively as corresponds to a popular gypsy dance devoid of baroque polyphonic complications but showing the rhythmic hemiolas characteristic of Spanish baroque.