MISTERI D’ELX

The Festa or Misteri d’Elx is a performance of Assumptionist themes completely sung –in Valencian language– which is dated on the last quarter of the 15th century and that has been staged uninterruptedly until today in the Saint Mary’s church of this Valencian city. No other European drama of medieval origin has been able to survive over the centuries, a fact that was taken into account by UNESCO at the time of declaring it Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2001. This concert is sung by the Chapel and the Choir of the Misteri d’Elx, who are in charge of bringing this show to life every 14th and 15th of August year after year, and is part of the Year of the Assumptionist Mysteries of Elx, València and Castelló organised by the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. The musical interest of the performance lies in the fact that we find a piece that combines melodies from different eras, mainly monodic songs of liturgical origin with a melismatic development typical of the Mediterranean and polyphonic songs of Renaissance descent.