Mystery Play of Elche

The Elche Mystery Play is a lyrical drama dating from the Middle Ages being represented and celebrated in the Basilica de Santa María in the city of Elche on the 14 and 15 of August of each year. In 2001, UNESCO declared it one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Origins

As to the date of creation of the drama ilicitano two stories exist. The most ancient and strange locates its origins in the 13th century, and was first proposed by Cristobal Sanz, author of a history of the city, at the beginning of the 17th century. After confessing that he had not been able to prove his history, he proposes ... the first inhabitants of the city in the year 1276 had celebrated it. He also adds another older story: at the conquest of the city by Valencian king Jaime I (1265), meaning the Misteri was started on the day the city was conquered from the Moors by its inhabitants.

In 1717 José Antón, General Attorney of the Marquisate of Elche, recuperated this last idea, but added a miraculous aspect: the arrival on a beach of Elche of a mysterious ark in May 1266, containing the image of the Virgin of the Assumption and the Consueta (the book that contains the letter and occasionally the music of the representation).

This line was maintained in part mercy of a possible mistake of the composer Oscar Esplá, who asserted had been shown in 1224 a letter of 1266 in which was authorized the representation and that was guarded in the Archivo Municipal of Elche (despite it has been never seen neither so even cited). The transcendency of labor carried out by Esplá and his importance as composer, rejuvenated in the environments less illustrated the theory of its origin in the S. XIII.

Nevertheless, since the end of the century XIX, when the first historians arrived to Elche and studied the representation, the date of its accomplishment starts to be located at the end of the S. XIV, and thereafter in the XV. At present, the totality of scholars of La Festa, from its multiple points of view: literary, theatrical, musical, linguistics, iconographic, etc. agreed to date it in second half of the S. XV, without emphasizing the precedents existence in the own city.

Scene

The Heaven The great linen located to the height of the ring of the dome fulfills the double function of representing the sky and to conceal the mechanisms that permit the ascent and decrease of the air appliances. Its antiquity is possibly soared one way or another to the same origin of the current representation, supposed that already in 1530, the document more ancient than in the present time is known on the representation already seems to indicate the air movements presence.

The linen, furthermore separates the celestial actions from the earthly, and possesses a peep-hole designated door to the heaven that is opened and closed in three occasions to give place to the air appliances.

The Grenade Receive this name the appliance intended to transport the Angel with the palm toMaría to indicate her the transit.

In its current structure, the device will correspond to the second half of the S.XVI, and by its form as well as by the same name recalls mechanisms of the era, used so much in Spain: boxes, worlds, balls...

Until a little while ago was thought that the grenade term was of a great modernity, product of having altered the traditional color (blue) for the current (red), being considered the cloud term as more ancient and correct. Modern investigations have centered the hypothesis of the appearance of the name in the S.XVI, possibly because of the transformation of a steamier appliance, and built possibly with cotton, paper, fabrics in its external features; in favour the current most compact and strong.

The Araceli The Araceli enters scene in two occasions, an in each session. In the first decrease the angels to carry the soul of María to the heaven, and to order to the apostles that organize a procession and bury her body. In the second, in the great final scene, in the one which the angel with the soul is substituted by the image of Maria, she is crowned to half of her ascension to the Heaven by the Santísima Trinidad.

The Araceli is not an appliance exclusively ilicitano it recalls plastic compositions of the end of the S. XV and above all beginning of the XVI.

The Corridor Receive this name the great corridor that, traveling in all its extension the building, puts on communication the cadafal with the principal door of the shrine. Its importance is large so much from the scene as symbolic point of view. Respect to the first, it is the only physical element that permits that all the church is converted into a dramatic action framework; a second the walkway is the road that permit communicate what is earthly with what is divine, it is the symbolic representation of the spiritual road that accomplish all the personages.

Maria also accomplishes its pilgrination for the Passion of Jesus, it means, that she carries out the ideal of the christianity, to experience the Passion of Jesus.

The Cadafal With this name is designated the platform on the one which takes place a great part of the representation. It is located in the central section of the cruise, though being introduced in part in the choir in order to make coincide the sepulcher with the shaft of the Door of the Heaven

It is totally covered of wood to conceal to the public the hollow that it remains below, where they change statues by actors, etc.

The term cadafal appears already in the first news on representations in the interior of the shrines with an invariable meaning: dais or platform where it takes place the dramatic action.

In Elche, the cadafal is in words of Quirante Santacruz "the area of María. Contain the places that they are hers exclusively, her house and her sepulcher. In him, the Virgin experiences all the process of sacralization and glorification that contains the work, it is the only one point where celestial personages and lands live together".

Music

The Consueta The term "consueta", mix of the words Consuetudine and Ordinatio allude to the manuscripts of the liturgical ceremonies. Those manuscripts used to contain precious annotations on scenic movement, music tones, and scene tricks.

Performances

Normal The 14 is the "La Vespra", this first session represents the death of María, surrounded by the apostles. The day 15 "La Festa", the argument of which is the burial, assumption and coronation of the Virgin.

The same day, at 10 o'clock, the "Misteri" takes the street: the procession of the "soterrar" (to bury) of María, with songs of "La Festa" and participation of the actors. Before, there has been a whole series of actions that approximate us to these days of August and to the world of "La Festa".

The 6th of August, in the Room of the Council, takes place "la prova de veus", in order to select those which will sing "El Misteri", fact by the council to prove the municipal adscription and not ecclesiastic of "La Festa" ilicitana.

The 10th of August , at six o'clock of the afternoon, in the basilica, is accomplished "la prova de l'àngel", by means of which are chosen the resistant infants to the dizziness and, therefore, able to descend from the dome, in the interior of the air appliances.

Extraordinary The days 11th, 12th and 13th take place the so called "Ensayos generales", that are extraordinary representations.

And, thus, each year, from centuries..