Baroque music rises from oblivion
A musical jewel from the 16th century has recently been rediscovered in the archives of the CRAI Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Barcelona. It is the Pianto della Madonna, a five-voice work by the Italian composer and poet Giacomo Garibbi, a treasure that has remained hidden for centuries in a factitious volume.
A musical jewel from the 16th century has recently been rediscovered in the archives of the CRAI Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Barcelona. It is the Pianto della Madonna, a five-voice work by the Italian composer and poet Giacomo Garibbi, a treasure that has remained hidden for centuries in a factitious volume.
Factitious books, bindings that group several works in a single volume, were common at the time for conservation and space-saving purposes. Despite its functionality, this often hides surprises such as the one we are dealing with: the conservation of a unique piece of great heritage value.
This discovery is exceptional for several reasons. Firstly, this edition of Pianto della Madonna, printed in Venice in 1586, is the only known complete version in the world that preserves both the text and the score. The Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, owns a copy, but it contains only the text. Secondly, it is the only known musical work by Giacomo Garibbi, a 16th-century Franciscan friar who until now was known only as a poet.
Musically, the work stands out for the richness of sound conferred by the five-voice polyphony, which intensifies the expressiveness and beauty of the piece. The composition aims to reflect Mary’s sorrow at Christ’s death on the cross, and succeeds in transporting the listener to a state of deep, restrained emotion.
The Group for the Study of Musical Heritage (GEPAM), a joint unit of the UB and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), has been responsible for the transcription and recording of the work. Thanks to the support of the UB’s Office of the Vice-Rector for Culture, Memory and Heritage, the UB Learning and Research Resources Centre (CRAI UB), the CSIC, the Archbishopric of Barcelona and Barcelona Cathedral, the modernized score will soon be available in digital format, free of charge, for choirs all over the world. This initiative represents a tangible example of the University’s commitment to giving back knowledge and the valuation of musical heritage.
The performance of Pianto della Madonna by the Francesc Valls Choir of Barcelona Cathedral can be seen on the UB’s musical heritage YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdM3urjEp2o. This channel offers other musical pieces recovered by GEPAM: https://www.youtube.com/@GEPAM-UB. The Schola Cantorum Universitaria Barcinonensis premiered the work on November 25, 2024 at the CRAI's twentieth anniversary concert held in the Auditorium of the UB's Historic Building.