Texts that Remember: Cuadernillos, Vatican Decrees, and Sacred Music Congresses for the Construction of Cultural Memory in Rural Spain

Book: Cultural Memory in Translation: Revisiting Cultural Memory Through Interpretative Lens from India by CSMFL Publications

Julia Escribano Blanco
University of Valladolid & UNIR, Spain.

10.46679/9789349926639ch19
This chapter is a part of: Cultural Memory in Translation: Revisiting Cultural Memory Through Interpretative Lens from India
ISBN (Ebook):978-93-49926-63-9
ISBN (Hardcover Print):978-93-49926-41-7
ISBN (Softcover Print):978-93-49926-75-2

© CSMFL Publications & its authors.
Published: November 10, 2025

Blanco, J. E. (2025). Texts that Remember: Cuadernillos, Vatican Decrees, and Sacred Music Congresses for the Construction of Cultural Memory in Rural Spain. In A. G. Uppal & D. Barot, Cultural Memory in Translation: Revisiting Cultural Memory Through Interpretative Lens (pp 265-279). CSMFL Publications. https://dx.doi.org/10.46679/9789349926639ch19

Abstract

This study examines the role of textual materials as vehicles of cultural memory in the preservation and transmission of popular religious music in the province of Soria, Spain. Through ethnographic fieldwork and analysis of handwritten notebooks (cuadernillos) containing religious song lyrics, the research reveals how these texts function as foundational instruments that validate oral traditions and construct religious memory among rural women. The study traces the evolution of Catholic Church policies regarding vernacular religious music from 1903 to 1967, analyzing papal documents from Pius X’s restrictive Motu Proprio Tra le sollecitudini to the Second Vatican Council’s more inclusive approach. By examining the proceedings of Spain’s five National Congresses of Sacred Music (1907-1954), the research demonstrates how institutional regulations shaped local religious practices while simultaneously adapting to grassroots traditions. The findings highlight the dialogic relationship between official religious doctrine and popular religiosity, showing how written texts mediate between lived experience and ecclesiastical authority in the construction and legitimization of religious memory in rural communities.

Keywords: Cultural Memory, Popular Religious Music, Textual Transmission, Rural Religiosity, Vatican Liturgical Reform, Spanish Folk Traditions.

References

  1. Assmann, A. Cultural Memory and Western Civilization. Function, Media, Archives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
  2. Assmann, J. Religion and Cultural Memory: Ten Studies. Rodney Livingstone (Trad.). Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2005.
    (2008). Communicative and cultural memory. In A. Erll & A. Nünning (Eds.), Cultural memory studies: An international and interdisciplinary handbook (pp. 109-118). Berlin and New York: De Gruyter.
  3. García Matos, M. (2012). Brief note on popular religious song. In P. Barrios Manzano (Ed.), Manuel García Matos: Articles and short contributions (pp. 232–243, p. 143). University of Extremadura.
  4. Joan Tomás Archives, Mission 17, Soria. Traditional Music Collection of the Mila i Fontanals Institution, CSIC Barcelona https://musicatradicional.eu/es/source/135
  5. Ledesma, D. (1907). Cancionero Salmantino. Imprenta Alemana.
  6. Manzarraga, T. (1968). Sacred music in the light of pontifical documents. Editorial Coculsa.
  7. Minder, R. “Spanish Election May Pivot on an Aging and Depleted Heartland”. The New York Times. April 26, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/world/europe/spain-election-rural population.html
  8. National Institute of Statistics (INE). https://www.ine.es/
  9. Olmeda, F. Folklore of Burgos. Burgos: María Auxiliadora Publishing House.
  10. Soria, Y. Citizens’ Platform. Retrieved from http://soriaya.org/
  11. Virgili Blanquet, M. A. (2010). Religious popular singing and the liturgical reform in Spain (1850–1915). Aisthesis, 47, 175–186.
  12. (2013). Liturgy, paraliturgies, and popular piety in the music of Holy Week. Proceedings of the First Congress on the Study and Dissemination of Heritage (pp. 121–139). Passio, Fundación Las Edades del Hombre.
  13. Motu Proprio Tra le sollecitudini, 1903. https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-x/es/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-x_motu-proprio_19031122_sollecitudini.html
  14. Encyclical Mediator Dei, 1947. https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/es/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_20111947_mediator-dei.html
  15. Encyclical Musicae Sacrae Disciplina, 1955. https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/pt/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_25121955_musicae-sacrae.html
  16. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 1963. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_sp.html
  17. Musicam Sacram, 1967. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_instr_19670305_musicam-sacram_en.html
  18. Proceedings of the 1st National Congress of Sacred Music, held in Valladolid in April 1907 (1908). Valladolid: Andrés Martín Religious Bookstore.
  19. Villalba, L. (1909). The second Congress of Sacred Music in Seville. City of God, 78, 127–128.
  20. Chronicle and official proceedings of the 3rd National Congress of Sacred Music, Barcelona, November 21–24, 1912. (1913). Barcelona: La Hormiga de Oro. http://bdh-rd.bne.es/viewer.vm?id=0000124555&page=1
  21. Chronicle of the 4th National Congress of Sacred Music held in Vitoria from November 19 to 22, 1928. (n.d.). The digitized version is available for consultation at the Biblioteca Digital Hispánica.
  22. Vacchiano, H. (Ed.). (1956). Chronicle of the 5th National Congress of Sacred Music held in Madrid from November 18 to 22, 1954. Madrid: Gráficas Dos de Mayo.

This book is available worldwide via EBSCOhost Academic Collection, EBSCO E- books, Google Play Books, Amazon, World Cat Discovery Service/OCLC, CSMFL Bookstore, and 200+ book resellers and academic content vendors.

Statement on Publication Ethics

We, at CSMFL Publications, are committed to ensure the unbiased and transparent publishing, and upholding the high standards of editorial integrity in our publications. To know more, please read our Statement on Publication Ethics, Editorial Integrity & Misconduct

[email protected]

Follow us @