Jordi Savall and his ensemble Hespèrion XXI delivered an unexpected concert titled ‘La memoria céltica en Europa’ at the Museo Diocesano Regina Coeli in Santillana del Mar, performing a five-century exploration of Celtic musical traditions across Europe.
Fantasy & Market Impact
Tracing Five Centuries of Transmitted Melodies
The program staged by Jordi Savall on Wednesday evening focused on melodies transmitted and transformed across five centuries. The overarching goal was to demonstrate how these musical pieces preserve and recreate generational ways of celebrating, lamenting, laughing, and crying. But the tape—or in this case, the historical score—tells a story of profound interconnectedness across European regions.
The journey began in Occitania and Catalonia. It featured pieces by Marcabru, Ponç d’Ortafà, and Bartomeu Càrceres alongside the traditional theme ‘La Mariagneta’. From the opening notes, the ensemble exhibited its core virtues: the rich variety of instrumental timbres from a collection approaching ten instruments, absolute technical execution, and a smooth transition between the gravity of a planctus and the movement of a dance.
| Musical Region / Segment | Key Composers / Traditional Themes | Instrumentation Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Occitania & Catalonia | Marcabru, Ponç d’Ortafà, Bartomeu Cárceres, ‘La Mariagneta’ | Multi-instrumental ensemble (approx. 10 instruments) |
| Scotland | Niel Gow (‘Lament for the Death of his Second Wife’), ‘Goodnight, and Joy be with you all’ | Queen Mary harp, theorbo, Irish bodhran |
| Brittany, Basque Country, Galicia | ‘Jezuz e liorz an Olived’, ‘Differences on the Gayta’, ‘Aurtxo txikia negarrez’ | Harp, plucked strings, varied percussion |
| Irish Landscapes | ‘The Rocky Road to Dublin’, ‘Morrison’s Jig’ | Jigs and reels instrumentation |
From Scottish Laments to Irish Jigs
Following the Catalan and Occitan opening, the performance transitioned to Scottish selections. Here, a simple dialogue unfolded between the Queen Mary harp, the theorbo, and the Irish bodhran on the piece ‘Goodnight, and Joy be with you all’. However, the emotional tone shifted sharply with Niel Gow’s ‘Lament for the Death of his Second Wife’. The resulting sorrow and controlled desolation proved particularly eloquent.
Traditions from Brittany, the Basque Country, and Galicia followed. The set ranged from variations on the melancholic ‘Jezuz e liorz an Olived’ to ‘Diferencias sobre la Gayta’ and the Basque lullaby ‘Aurtxo txikia negarrez’. This sequence highlighted shared rhythmic and expressive affinities without erasing the distinct character of each regional tradition.
Rhythmic Expansion and the Living Tradition
The final segment, titled ‘Irish Landscapes’, shifted the concert into a festive expansion. The energy in the Museo Diocesano Regina Coeli rose visibly as the audience responded with rhythmic foot-tapping to ‘The Rocky Road to Dublin’ and ‘Morrison’s Jig’. These jigs and reels represent for many the quintessential spirit of Celtic music.
While the program’s title emphasized concepts like “spirit” and “resistance,” the true unifying factor was the music’s immediate call to the listener’s senses and emotions rather than purely to the intellect. Savall handled this variety with subtle rhythmic flexibility and careful attention to sonic color. Concluding the evening, the four members introduced the peculiarities of their respective instruments, reinforcing the assertion stated days prior in a television appearance: there is no such thing as ancient music.
