Primus Ex Apostolis - Ensemble Weltgesang

1. Dum paterfamilias - voci, bombarda contralto, ud, zarb 7.36

2. Vos qui secuti - baritono G. Paccagnella 0.54

3. Gratulantes Celebremus - voci itineranti 3.36

4. Como poden - flauto da tamburo itinerante 3.38

5. Stella nova - voci, saz, darabukka 6.50

6. Beneditti e laudati - voci, bombarda contralto, viella, ud 10.49

7. Kyrie IV - voci itineranti 3.08

8. Cunctipotens genitor Deus - voci femminili 1.52

9. Cunctipotens genitor Deus - voci maschili, tenore L. Scuda 5.06

10. Poys que dos Reys - voce recitante G. Paccagnella, bombarda contralto, saz, zarb 6.19

11. Quem a omagen / Madre de Deus - bombarda soprano, zarb 2.00

12. Regi perennis - voci itineranti 3.41

13. Ecce adest - voci 3.14

14. Iucundetur et lætetur - voci, flauto dolce, saz, darabukka, bendir 5.34

15. Dum paterfamilias - voci, bombarda contralto, ud, zarb 7.37

Conceived, recorded and produced by Giulio Cesare Ricci
Recorded at Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta di Castelluccio, Porretta Terme (BO)
Recording data  March 1997 vocal and instrumental tracks, May 1997 cappella pieces 
Equipment  valves microphones Neumann U 47 e U 49
Advanced mike pre-amplifier Nagra
Analog tape recorders Nagra 4S 
line, digital, microphone, and supply cables Signoricci
The original analogue master tapes were transferred from Nagra 4S directly to DSD

“...non s’intende peregrino se non chi va verso la casa di San Jacopo o riede...” (he be no pilgrim if not he who visits or returns from the house of St. Jacob...) It is Dante himself, in his “Vita Nova”, who demonstrates in the above words that the pilgrim par excellence is in fact he who travels to Santiago de Compostela, the place in which during the IXth century the tomb of the Apostle St. James was revealed thanks to the miraculous apparition of a star, (hence the name Sant’Iago di Campus Stellæ - Iago, James and Jacob being interchangeable versions of the same name). Thus in the IXth century Santiago became the home of a splendid Cathedral, and a destination point throughout the Middle Ages for the many pilgrims all over Europe whose “Camino” that is to say, path, took them across that network of routes which was the known as the Via Francigena, so called in that it passed through France (often originating in Canterbury) to Rome in Italy. A great deal has been written about the motives of l’homo viator in the Middle Ages, from those whose reasons were purely spiritual, to those who were rootless, travellers, or fugitives, who could hide disguised as pilgrims. The idea of a devoted soul’s journey toward a spiritual destination remains, however, the most well documented of all given the many testimonials written during that period, and it immediately begs the question: why is such veneration reserved for St. James? First martyr among the Apostles, cousin of Jesus’ (as was his brother John), his tomb, as Dante states in his “Vita Nova”, “fue più lontana de la sua patria che d’alcuno altro apostolo” (“lay further from his country of origin than that of any other Apostle”). There are miracles attributed to him in the “Codex Calixtinus” (this is a type of guide written for pilgrims, dating back to the XIIth century which is kept in the Cathedral Archives at Santiago). These miracles refer to the help which came to the rescue of various pilgrims during their perilous journeys by sea or on foot, and also when attacked by enemies. In addition, there is also the help given by the Saint to Spain as it won back (in the Reconquista) its own land which at the time had been under Arab domain; a Christian victory of which St. James was to become the symbol. These were probably the main reasons for such popularity in a Saint who was felt to be so close to his followers, that we can find him represented in various iconography with the same features as his pilgrims: the staff (walking stick), the cappa santa (a razor shaped sea shell) and the pellegrina (literally the pilgrim lady), which was as sort of water flask made from a dried out gourd. The diffusion of his cult and the importance which the Camino de Santiago came to have as “peregrinatio maior” (pilgrimage of major import), are borne out in the themes and Jacobean references which are to be found in the sacred music of the XIIth and XIIIth centuries. Following this path we have tried to imagine the journey of a pilgrim who sets off from central Italy and heads towards Santiago, travelling across northern Italy, through France and into Spain. Our musical journey begins with a vision of the destination to be reached: Dum Paterfamilias, hymn to Santiago, takes us forcefully back to the sounds of the pilgrims who, on St. James’ Day (July 25th), leave after a brief liturgy to the Apostles. The journey continues through Italy, where the Laudario Cortonese offers examples of laude from the XIIIth century, such as Beneditti e Laudati which talks about St. James himself. France in this musical pilgrimage comes to take on a special role: from a historical point of view the French schools of music represent the cradle of polyphony, even the most recent research into the Codex Calixtinus (or Jacobus) seem to suggest that it may have been compiled by the French, and that French authors wrote the polyphonic pieces which can be found there. In this way, by placing a pieces such as Cunctipotens genitor Deus in France we hope to demonstrate its genesis by placing it before the Kyrie IV (whose trope is of course Cunctipotens genitor Deus) which is based on a motion of parallel fifths, and from an organum of the same trope, which originates in the XIth century. Moving on into Spain, the Cantigas de Santa Maria, (a collection of over 400 compositions gathered together by Alfonso Xth, El Savio in the XIIIth century) greet us, including Poys que dos Reys which tells of the first pilgrimage in the history of Christianity: the three Kings and the star which guided them along their path; this is followed by some monodic hymns of clear Iberian origin which are taken from the Codex Calixtinus. The pilgrims voyage ends with the opening piece: with Dum Paterfamilias, which festively celebrates the Saint, various languages mix together and the shout of “Ultreya, Suseya” will remain for centuries the symbol of the pilgrim of Compostela. 
Roberta Cristoni