Ecce Sacerdos Magnus

Devotions to the Patron Saint of Bologna, the fourth century Bishop Petronius, have dominated the metropolitan city’s civic and cultural life for nearly a millennium. For all classes of Bolognese society, the Patronal feast day of 4th October became synonymous with excess and magnificence, with days of elaborate processions, fairs, and opulent religious ceremonies. Such was the tenacity of Petronian piety that in 1390, the Commune (the city’s civic governance) began construction of what was intended as the largest church in Christendom, independent of Roman authority, and dedicated as a civic mausoleum to house the saints’ precious relics. Although this ‘megalomaniac dream’ was halted , to this day, the basilica as a manifestation of one of the greatest of medieval cults, remains a formidable landmark on any Italian tourist’s agenda. 

Whilst the liturgy composed in honour of St Petronius has evolved since its late-medieval form (the first reference to an authorised liturgy dates from the purchase of a gradual for the Feast for the city’s cathedral in the 1480s), the existence of several documentary and liturgical sources allows for its full reconstruction. Moreover, the basilica of St Petronius’ extensive musical archives enjoy a wealth of 16th century manuscripts. A number of works specifically intended for performance at the feast survive, including commissions by the great Adrien Willaert, Magistro cantori, at nearby Venice. For the first time perhaps since their original performances, these works will be heard in their original context by the critically acclaimed Luceat choir.

Luceat Choir

James Fellows, Director