The Francesc Valls Choir, the stable formation of the Cathedral of Barcelona, has not been satisfied with rescuing from liturgical oblivion the Song of the Sibyl, so popular in the Middle Ages in southern Europe and then swept from the face by the Council of Trent, but has been obstinate in relaunching it towards the future. A year after restoring in Barcelona, in 2009, that pagan rite that announces the arrival of the Messiah just before the mass of the rooster, the director of the choir, Pere Lluís Biosca, already thought of commissioning contemporary composers for his personal Sibil , a short piece based on the original spirit and melody that would be performed just before the a cappella liturgical drama.
The first to be invited was precisely Jordi Cervelló, in 2010, and after a dozen authors, it is now the turn of Benet Casablancas (Sabadell, 1956). "I was very excited. The idea is to recover the oldest music, the living tradition throughout the centuries, based on the original material, but in accordance with the sensibility of each one", says the composer and essayist, author of El humor en la música or Landscapes of musical Romanticism.
"The crux of the creative question remains for me tradition and modernity. Or as the poet Foix said: 'I am exalted by the new and I fall in love with the old!'" he adds. “In this case, the context, symbolism, format and basic material are predetermined, which spurs my imagination even more. Even respecting it, I bring it to the terrain of my personal language and at the same time to the ears of a contemporary public too”.
Casablancas reveals that he loves choral writing - "for me it's a challenge" - and he appreciates the opportunity Biosca gives him, and congratulates him on the initiative to revive and at the same time renew this long tradition.
"The voice is the fundamental instrument and the great classical polyphony, one of the mainstays of our heritage, which should be more present in our musical life. Without the great polyphony – Ockieghem, Josquin, Lassuss, Victòria, Brudieu...– one would not understand Bach, but neither would Bruckner, Brahms, Stravinsky or Ligeti”, concludes Casablancas. It's been a month and a half since he delivered the nearly four-minute long piece to Cor Francesc Valls.
