The sound of Lent: The processional marches
In Lent, many Sevillian neighborhoods are flooded with music at night. Bugle and drum bands play music that oozes solemnity and passion. These are the marchas of Holy Week, a particular composition of our country and more specifically of the Andalusian region. Today we bring you a journey through the history, the most renowned composers and the present of these marchas cofrades.
A Sevillian would not live his Holy Week without music. That shiver that runs down the spine when you hear the first bugles is an unmistakable sensation. However, Holy Week was not always accompanied by music. Until the second half of the 19th century, the processions made their routes completely silent. A very different picture to the one we are used to.
The origin of the marches
The origin of the marches can be found in the funeral processions of the 19th century. During romanticism it became popular to accompany the deceased with a march composed for the occasion. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the bands, both civilian and military, have had a regular presence in the Easter processions in Andalusia. This marked the beginning of the creation of marches dedicated to the various brotherhoods and confraternities of the region. The processional march has become one of the most outstanding and popular musical styles, becoming one of the most deeply rooted musical genres in the local culture.
In the beginnings of this genre, marches were performed by music bands. The first scores that accompanied the processions were by classical musicians such as Beethoven or Puccini, mainly due to the lack of own compositions of the brotherhood genre. An example of an opera transformed into a march that survives to this day is Errico Petrella’s «Marcha Fúnebre en la Ópera Ione» (Funeral March in the Ione Opera). This composition was adapted by Manuel Font Fernández de la Herranz at the end of the 19th century and since then it has become a classic in the repertoire of processional marches in our country.
Classic bugles and drums
In order to hear the classic cornet and drum playing, we must wait until the beginning of the 20th century, when Seville took the lead in musical innovation and used military marches as the basis of the cofrade genre. The first march that set this style precedent was the composition «Virgen del Valle» by Vicente Gómez-Zarzuela Pérez. Already in this march we can find the main elements that will be repeated in the rest of the musical pieces: the solemn touch, the decadent rhythm and the atmosphere of accompaniment to a «prisoner».
Since this great change, the marches have been evolving and innovating in form and substance. We highlight two important milestones: the sung marches and the “palio marches”
Sung marches
Sung marches also emerged in the 20th century and have a double origin. On the one hand in the Gregorian chants typical of liturgical acts and on the other hand, the Spanish zarzuela, as many authors were also composers of opera and ended up influencing their creations. Thus we can find great sung marches like «Pasan Los Campanilleros» by Manuel López Farfán.
“Palio Marches”
On the other hand, also in the last century, the repertoire of marches was expanding towards more cheerful tints in an effort to adapt the melodies to the rocking of the paso. In this way, those virgins with a non-painful dedication opted for more joyful or «palio» marches. A clear example of this type of march is «Virgen de las Aguas» by Santiago Ramos Castro.
After this journey through the origin and evolution of the marches of the brotherhoods, we leave you a Playlist of marches of Christ and another of marches of Holy Week so that you enjoy Lent and the wait is made more enjoyable.
