Saint Cecilia
The International Music Day is celebrated on 22 November and is associated with Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians. This celebration has deep significance for those connected to music, both professionally and personally, as it commemorates musical art and its importance in culture and society.
As you know, at our Centro de Danza Mari Cruz Alcalá centres, our students study Music from Elementary Grade onwards.
For us, music is essential: it moves our bodies and hearts, makes us feel and brings us together.
From a very early age, in our classrooms we teach our students the importance of music, its rhythm and how to follow it with both soul and body.
How do we celebrate it?
Every year all our students come together at the Dance Centre on Calle Alginet to celebrate Saint Cecilia. We share the day with family members, giving musical performances organised by our Music teachers.
This year will be different. Valencia, the city of music, has suffered a DANA storm. The city and its people need to rebuild and recover. The Music community has also suffered the loss of instruments and damage to its facilities, and we are deeply sorry. We want to help and, from our Dance Centres, we support them.
We have sent an email to all our students’ families:
Dear families,
Because of recent events and their magnitude, we have considered it appropriate to cancel the Saint Cecilia Concert that we were preparing, as we do not feel that this is a time for celebrations.
However, we thought it appropriate instead to send you the following link, since many musicians and bands have lost both instruments and rehearsal spaces in recent days, in case you are interested and would like to help.
We hope to resume our much-loved Concert, which has become quite an event, next school year.
Thank you for your understanding, Mari Cruz Alcalá.
Why Saint Cecilia?
Saint Cecilia is a revered figure in Christian tradition, and her story has been associated with music since ancient times. According to legend, during her wedding, while pagan musical instruments were being played, she sang to God in her heart, and ever since she has been associated with singing and music. She was canonised and designated the patron saint of musicians and poets.
The choice of this date to celebrate music seeks to promote the love and dissemination of musical expressions from all cultures, styles and genres. It is a day that recognises music’s ability to bring people together, encourage creativity and serve as a universal language that transcends borders.
We asked our music teachers whether they could recommend any composers influential in the world of dance. They recommended many, but selected:
- Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687) was a distinguished Franco-Italian composer, violinist and choreographer of the Baroque period. He is considered one of the main creators of French Baroque music and one of the most influential composers of his time. Lully revolutionised music at the court of Louis XIV of France, the famous Sun King, and played a crucial role in the development of French opera and ballet music.
He left a lasting legacy in French and European music. His influence extended to later composers such as Rameau and Gluck, and his focus on musical drama and the integration of dance into operatic productions laid the foundations of French opera. His music also reflects the majestic style and grandeur of the court of Louis XIV, contributing to the cultural splendour of Baroque France. - Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764) was a French composer, music theorist and organist, considered one of the most important figures of the Late Baroque and of the development of music in France. His work revolutionised the world of French opera and established many of the foundations of music theory that are still studied today.
Rameau made fundamental contributions to music, both as a composer of operas and instrumental music, and in his role as a music theorist:- French opera– He revitalised tragédie lyrique, the operatic genre created by Lully. His operas were more dramatic and complex, with rich orchestration and a deeper integration of music and stage action. Works such as Castor et Pollux, Les Indes galantes and Platée are among his most important creations.
- Opéra-ballets– These combined elements of opera with dance. His work Les Indes galantes (1735) is an excellent example of this mixture.
- Instrumental music– In addition to his vocal works, Rameau composed keyboard music, especially pièces de clavecin (harpsichord pieces), which are known for their expressive style and use of descriptive effects, as seen in pieces such as La Poule (The Hen).
We like to celebrate each year Saint Cecilia because this day is an opportunity to remember the value of Music as an art, its importance for Dance, and its power to move, inspire and connect people throughout history.
We are hopeful and certain that we will be able to celebrate it next year.
Thank you for sharing this reading with us.
*Image of the musical performances we hold at our centre for Dance to celebrate Saint Cecilia.