The music fonds of the cathedral of Tarragona conserves six musical repertoire collection, both handwritten and printed, of significant heft and importance in the study of the history of Catalan music: 1,114 “authored manuscripts”, 299 “anonymous manuscripts”, 74 “choir books”, 5 “polyphony books”, 118 “authored printed items” and 1 “anonymous printed item”.

The “authored manuscripts” collection brings together works created by prominent chapel masters and organists in Spain working between the 17th and 20th centuries. A significant part of this authored repertoire belongs to the compositional oeuvre of the chapel masters and organists who succeeded one another as the masters of the cathedral of Tarragona throughout the 17th, 18th, 19th and first third of the 20th centuries. During these centuries, the cathedral of Tarragona not only had strong musical ties with the cathedrals of Barcelona, Valencia, Sogorb, Tortosa, Lleida and La Seu d’Urgell, but it also served as the main gateway of musical exchanges between Catalonia, Valencia and Aragón for over 400 years.

The masters of the cathedral of Tarragona from the 18th and 19th centuries are well represented in the “authored manuscripts” collection, including Joan Crisòstom Ripollès, Joan Rossell, Felip Vicente, Francesc Freixes, Jaume Pellicer, Antoni Milà, Melcior Juncà, Francesc Bonamich, Bonaventura Bruguera and Rafel Maneja. Along with them, the collection also contains works from reputed Catalan composers from the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Josep Martí, Jaume Caselles, Josep Picanyol, Bernat Tria, Pau Montserrat, Francesc Valls, Ansel Viola, Pere Joan Llonell, Carles Baguer, Jaume Balius and Francesc Andreví.

The “choir books” collection stands out for its scope and neatness; 38 of the 74 volumes it contains were written in the late 16th century accompanied by a notable ornamental beauty. The “polyphony books” collection conserves four volumes of polyphony miscellanea from the 17th and 18th centuries, including notably an incomplete copy of the printed edition of the Magnificat by Sebastián Aguilera de Heredia (Zaragoza, 1618). The repertoire of the "printed music" collection contains 119 entries and valuable 19th-century editions. The fonds was catalogued in different stages, although professor Francesc Bonastre spearheaded its description between 1975 and 1977. In June 2015, the printed edition of the catalogue was issued under the sponsorship of the Archdiocesan Historical Archive of Tarragona, the Cathedral of Tarragona and the UAB.¹

¹BONASTRE I BERTRAN, Francesc – GREGORI I CIFRÉ, Josep Maria – CANELA I GRAU, Montserrat. Inventaris dels fons musicals de Catalunya. Volum 8: Fons de la Catedral de Tarragona. Barcelona: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2015.

Fonds Factsheet

Acronym: TarC

IFMuC Link: https://ifmuc.uab.cat/collection/TarC?ln=en

Title: Fonds of the Cathedral of Tarragona

Archive and location:
Arxiu Històric Arxidiocesà de Tarragona (AHAT)
Carrer de Sant Pau, 2
43003 Tarragona

Contact:
Mn. Enric Mateu Usach, AHAT Director
Joan Maria Quijada i Bosch, Archiving Technician

Tel. 977 233 412 (ext. 214)
Email: arxiu.historic@arquebisbattarragona.cat

Date(s): 17th to 20th centuries

Extent and medium: 107 box files

Creators:
Chapel masters and organists from the Cathedral of Tarragona

Download the complete fonds factsheet HERE

Location of TarC Fonds at the AHAT's storeroom