Schola Cantorum Paradisi Portae

Artistic Director

• Alberto Cebolla Royo

Vocalists

• Marcos Castrillo Sampedro

• Pedro Luis García Tirapu

• Gonzalo Corbal Herrero

• Rubén Larrea Perálvarez

• Alberto Palacios Guardia

• Igor Tantos Sevillano

Alberto Cebolla Royo | Director

Alberto Cebolla Royo

Born in Zaragoza, Alberto Cebolla Royo began his musical training at the Escolanía de Infantes del Pilar. He holds a Superior Degree in Musicology from the Conservatorio Superior de Aragón and has furthered his studies in Gregorian chant through courses offered by the Italian section of AISCGre, learning from esteemed professors such as N. Albarosa, G. Conti, and J.B. Göschl. 

His training also includes instruction from J.C. Asensio, G. Baroffio, and M. Gozzi in other related fields.

Alberto has performed as a cantor with the Schola Gregoriana Domus Aurea under the direction of L. Prensa and collaborated with P. Calahorra on various medieval Aragonese repertoire research projects at the Institución «Fernando el Católico». 

Since 2007, he has been a member of the editorial board of the journal Nassarre. His research focuses on the study of liturgical-musical books and the practice of Gregorian and plainchant, with a deep knowledge of medieval Aragonese repertoire and sources. He has lectured and taught courses on these subjects both nationally and internationally.

After working in the Department of Musicology at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castilla y León (Salamanca) since 2010, he became a professor of Musicology at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid in September 2023, where he teaches Gregorian chant and musical paleography. 

In 2016, he founded the Schola Cantorum Paradisi Portae in Zaragoza, a group dedicated primarily to monodic liturgical repertoire and early polyphonies.

Until very recently, the now less common Gregorian chant was heard in our cities and towns (cathedrals, parish churches, monasteries, and convents), becoming a repertoire that accompanied the annual cycle (Christmas, Holy Week, Easter, Corpus Christi, etc.) and the celebrations of the saints’ feast days. 

The Schola Cantorum Paradisi Portae, through a studied interpretation of some of the most significant pieces of this repertoire, offers the opportunity to recall these melodies for those who once knew them and invites those unfamiliar with them to delight in music that has been carefully created and performed for centuries for the liturgy.

The program presented today delves into the versatility of liturgical monody and the origin of the earliest polyphonies. It includes:

• Syllabic chants, such as sequences and hymns.

• The delicate adornments of antiphons and responsories.

• The more developed and significant pieces of the Proper (introits, graduals, and offertories), which were occasionally embellished both textually and musically with tropes and polyphony, much like the Ordinary pieces (Kyrie).

In summary, this program features recited monodies and more melismatic chants with alternations of soloists, and the initial vertical musical construction, demonstrating the diversity of Gregorian chant: plurality for variety.

-O-

TEMPUS ADVENTUS ET NATIVITATIS

OFFERTORIUM. Ave Maria (Modus VIII)
INTROITUS. Dominus dixit (Modus II)
INTROITUS. Puer natus cum tropo (Modus VII)

HEBDOMADA SANCTA ET TEMPUS PASCHALE
HYMNUS. Crux fidelis (Modus I)
RESPONSORIUM. Tenebrae factae sunt (Modus VII)
INTROITUS. Resurrexi (Modus IV)
SEQUENTIA. Victimae paschalis laudes (Modus I)
COMMUNIO. Pascha nostrum (Modus VI)

IN FESTO CORPORIS CHRISTI
HYMNUS. Pange lingua (Modus V)
HYMNUS. Sacris solemnis (Modus V)
OMNIUM SANCTORUM
INTROITUS. Gaudeamus omnes (Modus I)
ANTIPHONA AD MAGNIFICAT. Angeli, Archangeli (Modus I)

OMNIUM FIDELIUM DEFUNCTORUM
RESPONSORIUM. Subvenite Sancti Dei (Modus IV)
INTROITUS. Requiem aeternam (Modus VI)
ANTIPHONA. In paradisum (Modus VII)
ANTIPHONA. Chorus angelorum (Modus VIII)

DE BEATA MARIA VIRGINE
SEQUENTIA. Stabat Mater (Modus II)
Kyrie «Rex virginum» (Modus I)
ANTIPHONA. Salve, Regina (Modus I)

An unexpected visit from a unique character will give us the opportunity to delve into the significant liturgy of Christmas Day, beautifully adorned with music from ancient times. 

We will witness the progression of the day’s offices, starting from the nocturnal Matins and concluding with the Second Vespers at the end of the day. From the first piece we will hear, Ave Maria, the angelic salutation par excellence, we will experience a selection of the most significant Gregorian chant pieces for the day:

• The perfect measure of simple recitation.

• The precise dramatization of texts through their melodies.

• The exuberant joy highlighted with extensive melismatic vocalizations.

• The embellishment of embellishments with the musical comments of tropes.

The culmination of the day, a grand liturgical-musical expression of the day’s celebration, will be the antiphon for the Magnificat, Hodie Christus natus est (Today Christ is born).

-o-

TEMPUS ADVENTUS

OFFERTORIUM. Ave Maria cum tropo (Modus VIII)

ANTIFONAE AD MAGNIFICAT. O Sapientia – O Adonai – O Radix – O Clavis – O Oriens – O Rex – O

Emmanuel (Modus II)
IN NATIVITATE DOMINI

Ad Matutinum

INVITATORIUM. Christus natus est (Modus IV)

In secundo nocturno

RESPONSORIUM. O magnum mysterium (Modus VIII)
LECTIO ET Judicii signum (Canto de la Sibila; Modus I)
RESPONSORIUM. Sancta et immaculata (Modus II)

In tertio nocturno

RESPONSORIUM. Verbum caro factum est (Modus VIII)
LECTIO. Liber Generationis Jesu Christi
Ad Missam in Nocte
INTROITUS. Dominus dixit (Modus II)

Ad Laudes

ANTIPHONA. Quem vidistis? Pastores, dicite (Modus II)
ANTIPHONA. Angelus ad pastores (Modus VII)
ANTIPHONA. Facta est cum Angelo (Modus VII)

Ad Missam in Aurora
INTROITUS. Lux fulgebit (Modus VIII)
Ad Missam in Die

INTROITUS. Puer natus cum tropo (Modus VII)
GRADUALE. Viderunt omnes (Modus V)
In secundis Vesperis

ANTIFONA AD MAGNIFICAT. Hodie Christus natus est (Modus I)

It was the Franciscans who, in the 14th century, began to systematize in Jerusalem a practice that likely dates back to the time of Emperor Constantine (4th century): the custom of commemorating the Stations of Christ carrying the Cross on the way to his crucifixion, walking the Via Dolorosa from the Gate of St. Stephen to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 

Due to the difficulty of making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and in order to gain the corresponding indulgence for performing this path, by the 17th century, the construction of Calvaries on the outskirts of towns became popular. These often included chapels as stations and were generally marked by small numbered images in the aisles of churches.

Traditionally, the transition from one station to another during the Via Crucis prayer has been accompanied by music. Since there is no stipulated repertoire for this purpose, tradition has dictated the most appropriate chants, such as the popular sequence Stabat Mater, or in more exceptional cases, compositions created to fill this musical void, like organ and choral pieces by renowned musicians such as Franz Liszt’s Via Crucis in 1876. 

Driven by the customary practice of choosing musical pieces whose text corresponds to or recalls the proclamation of the stations, the Schola Cantorum Paradisi Portae has selected a series of Gregorian repertoire works that cite the event of the corresponding station, mention the characters of the Passion, or serve as meditations or reflections to bring us closer to the significance of each stop.

Each musical piece is preceded by the reading of a recently composed sonnet to immerse us in its atmosphere and invite intimate reflection. The sonnets were written by the Valladolid cantor Marcos Castrillo.

Alberto Cebolla Royo

SONNETS FOR A VIA CRUCIS

The Via Crucis presented here was the result of several processes. The first, upon accepting the commission, was to decide the format: an act so deeply rooted in customs demanded formal parity. Given that the most common form of praying the Via Crucis consists of fourteen stations, what better than the strophic structure of fourteen verses par excellence? This is why the sonnet was chosen as the formal support: fourteen poems of fourteen verses for fourteen stations. The second process was seeking inspiration, and two sources were chosen: one literary and one visual. The literary source was the magnificent Via Crucis that Gerardo Diego wrote in décimas, with some hidden quotes; the visual sources were the processional steps of the Valladolid Holy Week by Gregorio Fernández and Juan de Juni, whose scenes are referenced in the stations.

Marcos Castrillo Sampedro

STATIO I. Jesus in the Garden of Olives (Luke 22:39-43)

RESPONSORIUM. In monte Oliveti (Mode VIII)

STATIO II. Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested (Mark 14:43-46)

RESPONSORIUM. Iudas mercator (Mode II)

STATIO III. Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:55, 61-62, 64)

RESPONSORIUM. Collegerunt pontífices (Mode II)

STATIO IV. Jesus is denied by Peter (Luke 22:55-62)

ANTIPHONA. Domine, tu mihi lavas pedes? (Mode V)

STATIO V. Jesus is judged by Pilate (Matthew 27:17-18, 21-23)

RESPONSORIUM. Sepulto Domino (Mode II)

STATIO VI. Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns (Matthew 27:26-30)

RESPONSORIUM. Seniores populi (Mode I)

STATIO VII. Jesus carries the cross (Mark 15:20; John 19:17)

ANTIPHONA. Ecce lignum (Mode VI)

STATIO VIII. Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene (Mark 15:21)

INTROITUS. Domine, ne longe facias (Mode VIII)

STATIO IX. Jesus meets his Mother (Luke 23:27-31)

RESPONSORIUM. Plange quasi virgo (Mode V)

STATIO X. Jesus is crucified (Mark 15:24-28)

HYMNUS. Crux fidelis (Mode I)

STATIO XI. Jesus promises his kingdom to the Good Thief (Luke 23:39-43)

RESPONSORIUM. Velum templi (Mode II)

STATIO XII. Jesus, his Mother, and the beloved disciple (John 19:25-27)

SEQUENTIA. Stabat Mater (Mode II)

STATIO XIII. Jesus dies on the cross (Luke 23:44-48)

RESPONSORIUM. Tenebrae factae sunt (Mode VII)

STATIO XIV. Jesus is laid in the tomb (Matthew 27:57-61)

ANTIPHONA AD BENEDICTUS. Mulieres sedentes ad monumentum (Mode I)