Sound and music in the festivities held for the canonization of St Ignatius and St Francis Xavier in Portugal, 1622

On March 12, 1622, Pope Gregory XV solemnly canonized Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, co-founders of the Society of Jesus. The elaborate festivities held in Rome were replicated in many other locations across the Catholic world. The news of the canonization reached Portugal soon after, sparking an extensive array of celebrations in various cities of the kingdom. These feasts included religious ceremonies, processions featuring allegorical floats and a multitude of participants filling decorated streets. The events also comprised theatrical performances, literary competitions, illuminations, fireworks, and tournaments, as reported in a voluminous “Relação das festas”, published in the same year, 1622.
As is customary in this type of literary discourse, the apologetic and propagandistic purpose is overwhelming, although some traces of conflict could emerge within the narrative. Also typical, is the “Relação” clearly giving precedence to the visible, lingering on details that capture the gaze. However, the narrative acknowledges the pervasive presence of sound and music: trumpets and shawms, bells and musket salvoes, flute ensembles and choirs, liturgical litanies and Te Deum laudamus, the clamour of the crowd and cages with singing birds, making the events massively audible.
After a brief contextualization of the “Relação das festas”, this presentation aims to explore, in a two-step process, some of the aural (literary) fragments: firstly, by highlighting the main acoustic structures, and secondly, by delving into a specific moment of the soundscape—the solemn procession that occurred on July 3, 1622, in Évora.