Product Description
A piece for solo Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra. The church was made a cathedral in 1564 when the city was granted its bishopric. The cathedral
was built on the site of the Aljama Mosque in the first third of the 14th century. The name of this
structure, El Salvador Cathedral, literally means the Cathedral of the Transfiguration.
The cathedral has three portals: the "Puerta de las Cardenas" (Portal of the Chains, 14th century) is
in Islamic style, the Puerta de Loreto (mid-15th century) is Gothic, and Puerta de la Anunciación
(Portal of the Annunciation, built in 1588 by Juan Inglés), which has a Renaissance-style
triumphal arch-shape.
Part 1: Introitis.
The saxophone mimics a chant based on the metre of the Introitis: "Rorate, caeli, desuper, et nubes
pluant iustum: aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem" (Bedew us, heavens, from above;
ye clouds, rain down the Just One. Let the earth be opened up, and produce the Saviour".
The intervals 1 (tonic), 5 (dominant), 6 (super-dominant) and 4 (subdominant), based on the
year 1564 referred to in the section above, are used as the basis for the harmony progression for
the string section.
Part 2: Puerta de las Cardenas
Acts 12:319 says that Peter was put into prison by King Herod, but the night before his trial an angel
appeared to him, and told him to leave. Peter's chains fell off, and he followed the angel out of prison,
thinking it was a vision (verse 9). The prison doors opened of their own accord, and the angel led
Peter into the city.
The visit from the angel, release from the chains and the prison, as well as the journey into the city is
expressed against the background of the Islamic design of the portal, hence the referral to Arabian
rhythms and scales in the music.
Part 3: Puerta de Loreto
The Puerta de Loreto is of gothic design. Loreto refers to the Italian city of Loreto in the province of
Ancona. It is said that the holy house where the Mother Mary lived in Nazareth was translated
miraculously to Loreto on December 19, 1294 - more than 700 years ago. The house did not go
straight to Loreto, but in the year 1291 it was miraculously transported from Nazareth to the town
of Tersatto in Dalmatia (Croatia). The local population, filled with astonishment, did not know how
to explain its sudden appearance. Their Bishop, who was gravely ill, now appeared in their midst cured.
He had prayed to the Virgin Mary that he might be strong enough to see the prodigy for himself,
and the Mother of God appeared to him, surrounded by Angels, saying: "My son, you have called
for me, and here I am. I came to give you succor and to reveal to you the mystery [of the translation
of the Holy House] you desire to know. The holy dwelling is the very house where I was born and
raised. It was there that I received the good news brought by the Archangel Gabriel and I conceived
the Divine Infant by the operation of the Holy Ghost. It was there that the Word was made flesh...
For you to bear witness to all that I am telling you now, you will suddenly be cured and return to
full health after the long illness you have borne, so that through you all will believe in this miracle.""
Part 4: Puerta de la Anunciación
The Annunciation is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the
Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God,
marking his Incarnation. Gabriel told Mary to name her son Jesus, meaning "Saviour".
Part 5: Exit
The work ends with a re-interpretation of the first section, the Introitis. This is to bind the work together, but
also to again reflect on the text, as stated: ""Rorate, caeli, desuper, et nubes pluant iustum: a periatur terra,
et germinet Salvatorem, and to comtemplate how that gives meaning to the being, essence and history of the
Catedral de Orihuela.
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