Abstract
In 1990 a publication by Pedro Calahorra reported a unique musical notation of a Salve on the walls of the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora del Pueyo in Villamayor de Gállego, Zaragoza. The contributions offered in this article have enhanced research in this area through a revised study of this musical epigraphy. The analysis of the palaeography of notation reveals the dating of the work and, therefore, a possible collation with the Spanish polyphonic sources belonging to the white mensural notation, determining that it is the Salve Regina in four by Cristóbal de Morales. This study aims to recognize musical epigraphies as historiographic-musical sources of information capable of intervening in the reconstruction of a musical past, so they must be restored, preserved, catalogued and displayed like any historical document, regardless of their physical support. The Salve Regina written on the walls of the Villamayor de Gállego sanctuary is the witness of a Christian tradition of devotion to the Virgin Mary. Within the Rite of Salve this chant was the most popular in the Iberian Peninsula during the Renaissance.
Highlights
IntroductionMusical epigraphies as historical sources are of utmost importance for religious studies as they were part of a mode of cultural, social and artistic expression created by Christian communities in their acts of worship and rituality
Musical Epigraphies as a Manifestation of Religious Art and a Symbol of FaithMusical epigraphies as historical sources are of utmost importance for religious studies as they were part of a mode of cultural, social and artistic expression created by Christian communities in their acts of worship and rituality
The Salve Regina of the epigraphy located on one of the walls of the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora del Pueyo in Villamayor de Gállego, Zaragoza, was a vehicle for transmitting the great Marian devotion that existed in Renaissance Spain, which is why it must be understood within the liturgical space where it was written, in front of the main altar where the Maiestas Mariae presided over the whole scene, and where the antiphon was performed
Summary
Musical epigraphies as historical sources are of utmost importance for religious studies as they were part of a mode of cultural, social and artistic expression created by Christian communities in their acts of worship and rituality. The study presented here aims to make musical epigraphs known as a type of historical musical sources This specific case reflects a tradition of Marian devotion rooted in Renaissance and Catholic Spain which, manifested in a small religious centre in Zaragoza, made common use of the Salve Regina composed by one of the greatest Spanish polyphonists, Cristóbal de Morales. Eia ergo and the third beginning with Et Jesum His music will be copied and disseminated by different centres in the Iberian Peninsula, “but Seville 1 with the Salve and five motets is striking evidence of how Josquin’s works were used alongside those by Spanish composers during the period when a more international school of composition was emerging there”. Various religious institutions with less purchasing power—convents, hermitages, parishes, oratories, etc.—than the great ecclesiastical seats—cathedrals and collegiate churches—were able to access the musical cast that was taking place in the Iberian Peninsula by acquiring books of printed polyphony, allowing them to develop their musical activity, their rites and devotions
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