Every year they leave in procession from the church of Sant Agustí to this other one, which deserves the appellation of the cathedral of Sant Andreu, since as a church it is one of the largest in Catalonia. It is the entourage that must interpret Misteri de la Selva, the first Assumptionist drama written in the Romance language that is preserved in its entirety, in the splendid and mature Catalan of the second half of the 14th century.
The piece, an authentic Gregorian opera, was found at the end of the 19th century. Monsignor Joan Pié (La Selva del Camp, 1836, 1919) published it in the Annals of the Village. And in the fifties, Camil Ferrater and company dusted it off to bring it to the stage. Amadeu Soberanas made a transcription in 1983, so that the transition was already overcome and the tradition of representing it every August 15, since 1980, with its corresponding music taken from the Red Book of Montserrat could be established , as stated in the custom, that kind of black box of the clergy.
Yesterday was this day.
In the early years, scholars such as Jaume Vidal and Aurèlia Capmany made the pilgrimage to La Selva to see this jewel of New Catalonia. Jealous of their treasure, the drama was not performed in its entirety outside the town until 1990, and only because Elche was celebrating the Medieval Theater Festival. Where better than among the greatest minds in the genre? Especially when the Selva one surpasses the very mainstream Misteri d’Elx in antiquity.
Since then he has been traveling… to Rome, to Tarragona… Monsignor Armand Puig – who did not disguise himself yesterday and followed him from the pews in the front row – took him during the years of the pandemic to the Sagrada family The text, anonymous, is an enjoyment of the troubadour lexicon, and also of a cappella songs, with the same key that the original manuscript indicates. Pure Gregorian of the 13th and 14th centuries.
There are very few sacramental acts of these that are represented. And in Sant Andreu, in front of the altarpiece of the altar that has Moreneta as its guest, there is still room for more people. “It is the culmination of dramatic and musical elements, halfway between the liturgical celebration, the catechesis and the theatrical event”, says the artistic director, Lídia Roig, after a previous explanation from the altar.
Along Carrer Major, the hundred participants advanced singing the beautiful Stella splendens. Now the 24 scenic moments will follow each other with remarkable vocal and scenic quality. The Jews want to make sure to burn Mary’s body, when the moment of her death has come, lest she disappear from them like Jesus’. Meanwhile, the young Virgin Mary, with heavenly song, asks the apostles not to allow it. Suddenly, Lucifer bursts in with his devils, and the temperature of the ship rises several degrees. The actors, from the town’s theater center, got into the character very well.
“This is the first year that we make all the participants stand at the altar”, explains Roig. And that of completely turning off the lights when they sing transporting the already lifeless body of the Madonna through the ship? “It’s also our thing”, he says. Theatrical effects that make clear the mystery that refuses to be revealed.
By the way, until the nineties they incorporated the Holy Trinity. Until a scholar from the United States made them notice that he was not present at the Assumption. Only Jesus, in charge of taking his mother to heaven, both in body and soul, to crown her, in full choral joy. The organ is ignited, the entourage parades among a joyful audience that, suddenly, amid shouts of joy, seems to be part of this never-ending sacred story.
