Misteri Play d’Elx. World Heritage

Misteri Play d’Elx. World Heritage

First Act or Vespra

Each year on August 14th, once the clergy of the Basilica de Santa María have sung the solemn Vespers for the Assumption of Mary upon the very stage where the Festa or Elche Mystery Play will be performed, the first act of Elche’s holy play known as the Vespra (the second being called the Festa) takes place.

At six o’clock the cortège of actors who will accompany the Virgin Mary from the nearby shrine of San Sebastián departs with the Archpriest of Santa María, the Gentleman Standard Bearer and the Gentlemen Elect at its head. The Gentlemen wear a morning suit, and the two Gentlemen Elect each bear a gilded baton as a symbol of their authority. Behind them follow the players and then come the members for the National Trust for the Mystery Play, the body responsible for organising and safeguarding the play. The short journey back to the Basilica is headed by the Municipal Band playing “El Abanico”, a paso doble composed by the Elche-born maestro Javaloyes.

The play proper begins when the Virgin and her entourage arrive at the Basilica’s main door. The Adult Mary is played by a young boy, dressed in a white tunic and blue mantle wearing a gilded diadem. The Virgin’s small court, all of whom are also played by young children, is formed by Mary Salome and Mary Iacobe, dressed in a similar manner to the Virgin and whose names appear on their respective diadems. There are also two angels of the cushion, known as such due to the fact that both carry red velvet cushions, and four angels of the mantle. At this point, it is worth noting that women were not allowed to take part in medieval religious dramas.

At the moment when these young actors arrive at the church door, organ music fills the church. Both the Virgin Mary, or la Mary as she is popularly known in Elche, and her entourage stop in the space between the main door and the foot of the ramp.

The thickly-carpeted ramp, with lateral balustrades, leads from the main door to the temporary stage erected between the transept and the presbytery. The Archpriest and the Gentlemen walk up the ramp to a specially widened section and take their seats at either side and close to the stage.

The boy who plays the Virgin sings to his entourage asking for their help on such an important day: “Dear sisters, I say to you this day, that you who love me so dearly, I beg you not to leave me”.

 

Germanes mies, jo voldria
fer certa petició aquest dia:
prec-vos no em vullau deixar
puix tant me mostrau amar.

The members of Mary’s entourage sing back their promise of total loyalty:

Verge i Mare de Déu,
on Vós voldreu anar
vos irem a acompanyar.

Mary advances a few steps and kneeling on the two cushions carried by the angels accompanying her, expresses her wish to be reunited with her Son:

Ai, trista vida corporal!
Oh, món cruel, tan desigual!
Trista de mi! Jo què faré?
Lo meu car Fill, quan lo veuré?

Mary, accompanied by her entourage begins to walk up the ramp, stopping three times before reaching the stage. Each time that she stops she kneels on the cushions and turning to various small sculptural groups located on the pillars of the Basilica, performs a kind of Stations of the Cross, recalling her Son’s Passion.

The first of these groups depicts the Garden of Gethsemane and before it Mary sings:

Oh, Sant Verger Getsemaní
on fonc pres lo Senyor aquí!
En tu finà tracte cruel
contra el Senyor d’lsrael.

After taking a few more steps she stops before the depiction of Calvary:

Oh, Arbre Sant digne d’honor,
car sobre tots ets lo millor!
En tu volgué sang escampar
Aquell qui lo món volgué salvar.

Finally she kneels before the image of the Holy Sepulchre and sings the following quatrain:

Oh, Sant Sepulcre virtuós,
en dignitat molt valerós,
puix en tu estigué i reposà
Aquell qui cel e món creà.

Once Mary has sung these three pieces, the players continue their journey towards the square, thickly-carpeted stage, the colour and design of the carpet being the same as that on the ramp. The stage is surrounded by a small balustrade with wreathed columns. The balustrade has twelve candles that both illuminate and define the scenic space. On the left we can see a couch covered with white silk sheets while to the right are eight seats for the members of Mary’s entourage.

Now on the stage, Mary kneels on the couch and the other two Marys together with the angels of the cushion stand around her. Mary once again expresses her wish to be reunited with her Son:

Gran desig m’ha vengut al cor
del meu car Fill ple d’amor,
tan gran que no ho podria dir
on, per remei, desig morir.

Once Mary has finished singing, the gates of heaven, represented by canvas flats covering the whole of the drum of the cupola and painted in various tones of blue and with clouds, open. These sliding doors reveal a square opening directly above the centre of the stage and a contraption known as the Núvol or Mangrana descends through the doors suspended from a stout hemp rope. The spherical, red Mangrana’s exterior is decorated with geometrical designs, wreaths, ears of corn, golden appliqués and with a gilt tassel at the base.

Once the Núvol has cleared them, the Gates of Heaven start to close and, by an arrangement of cords, the Mangrana begins to open into eight segments. The interior is completely covered in tinsel and inside we see a child wearing a blue tunic and feathered wings – an Angel. The angel bears a white palm leaf also decorated with tinsel. The opening of the Gates of Heaven and the descent of the Mangrana are celebrated by notes from the organ, a pealing of the Basilicas bells and the release of rockets.

When the Mangrana has descended a few metres the burst of joy is over. After scattering a handful of small strips of tinsel from a white handkerchief as if it were a shower of gold, the Angel begins to sing. He greets Mary and announces to her that Jesus Christ has heard her prayers and has decided to fulfil her wishes:

Déu vos salve Verge imperial,
Mare del Rei celestial,
jo us port saluts e salvament
del vostre Fill omnipotent.

Lo vostre Fill qui tant amau
e ab gran goig lo desitjau,
Ell vos espera ab gran amor
per ensalçar-vos en honor.

E diu que al tercer jorn, sens dubtar,
Ell ab si us vol apel·lar
alt en lo regne celestial
per Regina angelical.

E mana’m que us la portàs
aquesta palma i us la donàs,
que us la façau davant portar
quan vos porten a soterrar.

When the Mangrana arrives at the stage, the angels from Mary’s entourage hurry to the contraption to undo the straps that have held the actor safe during his descent. Once he has been released, the Angel approaches Mary’s couch and keeling before her, presents her with the palm leaf after having held it to his lips and forehead. The Virgin Mary follows the same ceremony and accepts the heavenly gift, telling her Son’s emissary of another wish: that the Apostles are present at the moment of her passing:

Ángel plaent e lluminós,
si gràcia trob jo davant vós,
un do vos vull demanar,
prec-vos no me’l vullau negar.

Ab mon ser, si possible és,
ans de la mia fi jo veés,
los Apòstols ací justar
per lo meu cos assoterrar.

Having heard her wish, the Angel re-enters the Mangrana and once strapped in, begins his ascent to heaven while telling Mary that her wish will be granted:

Los Apóstols ací seran
i tots ab brevetat vindran,
car Déu qui és omnipotent
los portarà sobtosament.

I, puix, Verge ho demanau,
lo etern Déu diu que li plau
que sien ací sens dilació
per vostra consolació.

When the Mangrana arrives at the gates of heaven, they open to the same expressions of joy as before. The stagehands operating the machinery ease off the cords holding the Mangrana’s segments open, it closes and passes into heaven. The heavenly gates close behind it with only the gilt tassel remaining in sight through a small aperture.

When the Mangrana is a few feet from heaven, the angels of the cushion and of the mantle and the Marys show their reverence for the Virgin by kneeling before her. Once they have done this they sit down on the seats placed on the other side of the bed.

This is also the moment for the two Gentlemen Elect to rise from their seats and descend the ramp to the square in front of the Main Door. This act that today is of mere symbolic value, recalls the days when the two Gentlemen were, by the express delegation of the Town Council, in charge of organising the Play. Furthermore, under the direction of the Archpriest who acted as the master of ceremonies, it was their duty to go and give the actors waiting in the nearby shrine of San Sebastián their cue to go onstage. Therefore, and as we have seen, the Gentlemen Elect were in fact stage managers.

Once the Gates of Heaven have closed, the Gentlemen return to their seats, having symbolically performed their journey to the shrine in order to inform the actor playing the part of Saint John the Apostle that he is required onstage. The Apostle, dressed in a white tunic and green cloak appears at the foot of the ramp holding an ancient parchment book symbolising his Gospel. As he advances up the ramp he expresses his surprise and puzzlement before the mysterious force drawing him on such an unusual mission. Halfway along the ramp he sees Mary kneeling on her deathbed and speeds up his pace. When he arrives at her side, he greets her by kissing her hands while his canticle expresses his joy at such an unexpected meeting:

Saluts, honor e salvament
sia a vós, Mate excel·lent
e lo Senyor, qui és del tro,
vos done consolació.

Mary recounts to Jesus’ beloved disciple everything that she told the angel, in other words that her death is nigh. Moreover, when she finishes her canticle, she gives him the gilded palm leaf that she received from the Angel:

Ai, fill, Joan e amic meu,
conforte-us lo ver Fill de Déu
car lo meu cor és molt plaent
del vostre bon adveniment.

Ai, fill Joan, si a vós plau,
aquesta palma vós prengau
e la’m façau davant portar
quan me porten a soterrar.

Saint John accepts Mary’s gift and, as happened in the presence of the Angel, John first kisses the palm leaf and raises it to his forehead before it is passed from one hand to another in a ritual with an oriental feel to it. With his head lowered, Jesus’ favourite disciple then sings a sad and mournful canticle:

Ai, trista vida corporal!
Oh, món cruel, tan desigual!
Oh, trist de mi! Jo on iré?
Oh, llas, mesquí! jo què faré?

He then turns to Mary and exclaims:

Oh, Verge, Reina imperial!
Mare del Rei celestial!
Corn nos deixau ab gran dolor,
sens ningun cap ne regidor?

He then walks towards the entrance to the stage and looking towards the main door calls to his brother Apostles:

Oh, Apòstols e germans meus!
Veniu, plorem ab tristes veus,
car hui perdem tot nostre bé,
lo clar govern de nostra fe.

Saint John turns again to the Virgin and repeats his sadness and grief at the loss of the Holy Mother:

Sens Vós, Senyora, què farem?
E ab qui ens aconsolarem?
D’ulls e de cor devem plorar
mentres viurem, e sospirar.

While Saint John is addressing this quatrain to Mary, Saint Peter the Apostle, holding a set of large gilded keys recalling the other heavenly gates with which Jesus entrusted him, walks up the ramp. He is wearing a grey tunic and a maroon mantle. It should be noted that the parts of Saint Peter and two other characters in the play, which will be mentioned later, must be played by a priest due to their sacred nature.

Saint Peter advances towards the stage displaying the same expressions of surprise and puzzlement as Saint John. Once he arrives before Mary, he kisses her hands and after embracing Saint John he addresses Mary in a deep voice:

Verge humil, flor de honor,
Mare del nostre Redemptor,
saluts, honor e salvament
vos done Déu omnipotent.

As the notes of his canticle ring out, six more Apostles walk up the ramp to the stage, also expressing the same surprised puzzlement mentioned earlier. All are similarly dressed: a tight-fitting tunic with a cord, a cloak upon their shoulders and sandals. They approach Mary’s deathbed, kiss her hands and kneel before her. Once they have done this, they greet Saint Peter and Saint John with friendly embraces.

It must be noted that one of these six characters is the Master of the Chapel or musical director of the Play who, acting as one of the Apostles, is able to direct the canticles both discreetly and in situ.

At this point the action shifts from the stage to the ramp, a few feet from where it starts. The following scene is known as the Ternari due to the fact that three Apostles have gathered there, each having arrived from one of the three remaining doors of the church, in other words, the main door, the door of San Agatángelo and the door of the Resurrection, erroneously known as the door of Saint John. One of the Apostles is Saint James who is wearing a pilgrim’s robes: a tunic, a cape decorated with sea shells, a hat on his back and a long staff from which hangs a gourd for carrying water. The simultaneous entrance of the three Apostles symbolises the meeting of the Disciples at a point where three roads cross. The Apostles greet each other joyously and with surprise and, puzzled at finding themselves in this place sing:

Oh, poder de l’alt imperi,
Senyor de tots los creats!
Cert és aquesc gran misteri
ser ací tots ajustats.

De les parts d’ací estranyes
som venguts molt prestament,
passant viles i muntayes
en menys temps de un moment.

They take a few more steps forward and sing again:

Ab gran goig, sens improperi,
som ací en breu portats.
Cert és aquest gran misteri
ser ací tots ajustats.

De les parts d’ací estranyes
som venguts molt prestament,
passant viles i muntanyes
en menys temps de un moment.

Once they have finished, the three Apostles advance towards the stage. They enter and as those who went before, they greet Mary, Saint Peter and Saint John. Thus the Apostles gather around Mary, fulfilling the Angel from the Mangrana’s words. Only Saint Thomas, who will appear at the end of the second act, is absent. There are therefore eleven adults present on the stage. Together they all chant a unique canticle, a Hail Mary, written in Valencian and Latin. When they start the Apostles are kneeling but after the first verse they stand up and from then onwards in groups of tenors, baritones and bass singers, begin to make deep bows as the canticle continues:

Salve Regina, princesa,
Mater Regis angelorum,
advocata pecatorum,
consolatrix aflictorum.
L’omnipotent Déu, Fill vostre,
per nostra consolació,
fa la tal congregació,
en lo sant conspecte vostre.
Vós, molt pura e defesa,
reatus patrum nostroum,
advocata pecatorum,
consolatrix aflictorum.

At the last verse of the Hail Mary, all of the Apostles, except Saint John, fall to their knees. John, using the gilded palm leaf as a staff, is the only character to remain standing throughout the whole performance. A few seconds later, Saint Peter stands up and addressing himself to Mary, sings:

Oh, Déu, valeu! e què és açò
d’aquesta congregació?
Algun misteri amagat
vol Déu nos sia revelat.

Once he has finished his quatrain, Saint Peter kneels anew and the two Marys and the angels of her entourage leave their seats to stand at the head of her deathbed. The Virgin then takes a lit candle between her hands in what is the prelude to her death. In a mournful, sobbing voice, she asks her children to bury her in the Valley of Jehosaphat:

Los meus cars fills, puix sou venguts
i lo Senyor vos haja duts,
mon cos vos sia acomanat
lo soterreu en Josafat.

As the last notes of the canticle fade away, Mary lies dead upon her deathbed. The Apostles and the two Marys approach to succour her. All of the characters are now surrounding the couch in attitudes of succour. However, at that moment what they are really doing is concealing from the public an interesting part of the stage mechanics: after Mary’s death the boy playing her part is lowered underneath the stage though a trapdoor below the couch itself. Meanwhile, a small platform with a recumbent image of the Virgin of the Assumption is raised and occupies the same space. Thus the figure of the Virgin, venerated in the Basilica de Santa María is incorporated into the drama. The image’s face is covered by a mask with its eyes closed, simulating the attitude of death.

The apostles, with lit candles in their hands then intone a moving funeral chant over the recumbent body of Mary on her deathbed, a chant expressing their hope at the coming resurrection:

Oh, cos sant glorificat
de la Verge santa i pura
hui seràs tu sepultat
i reinaràs en l’altura.

Once the Apostles’ emotional chant has concluded, the Gates of Heaven open anew and a new device, the Araceli or Recèlica begins its descent. This device is in the form of a retable made of iron and covered in gold leaf. It consists of four platforms symmetrically arranged around a central space. Two actors representing angels kneel on the upper platforms, one playing a guitar and the other a harp. The lower platforms are occupied by two children also representing angels and playing small guitars. The central space is occupied by an Angel known as the Angel Mayor. This Angel is standing and is dressed in a priest’s alb and stole due to the fact that this character must also be played by a member of the cloth.

Once the Araceli has crossed the gates of heaven, a new shower of tinsel falls upon the stage and at that precise instant the choir of angels begins its canticle to tell Mary of her future Assumption.

Esposa e Mare de Déu
a nós, àngels, seguireu.
Seureu en cadira real
en lo regne celestial.

Car, puix en Vós reposà
Aquell qui cel e món creà,
deveu haver exalçament
e corona molt excel·lent.

Apòstols e amics de Déu,
aquest cos sagrat pendreu
e portau-lo a Josafat
on vol sia sepultat.

While the canticle continues, the Araceli reaches the stage and descends through it via a large central trapdoor that has been quietly opened by the stagehands hidden under the stage. It is not there for long however, just for as long as it takes the Ángel Mayor to collect a small carving of the Virgin draped in white and symbolising Mary’s soul. These acts are a visual representation of the separation of the soul from the body – in other words, the death of the Virgin. The ascent of the Araceli is accompanied by the same verses as when it descended and when it reaches the Gates of Heaven the play’s first act, or Vespra has finished.

 

When this part of the play has finished, the only thing left to do is for the Archpriest and the Gentleman Standard Bearer and Gentlemen Elect to enter the stage and as a sign of devotion and respect, to kiss the feet of the Virgin. The Marys, angels of the entourage and Apostles do likewise, the last of all to do so being Saint John, who lays the gilded palm leaf across the breast of the Virgin. Then the actors leave in procession for the shrine of San Sebastián where they will remove their costumes.