Miserere for choir and orchestra

About the composition

This composition confronts the ideal of the pilgrimage—a difficult, purifying journey—with the practice of the purchased indulgence. It is the echo of a struggle that remains just as relevant today, in our era of consumerism and social media.

The Inner Journey: The Ideal of Penance

In the Middle Ages, the pilgrimage was the ultimate spiritual act. Its ideal was an arduous, uncomfortable journey, intended to purify the soul as penance for sins committed. For this, the pilgrim consciously chose hardship as a path to redemption. Sometimes, there was no choice, as stated in the medieval play Elckerlijc (Everyman): “I am commanded that I must travel.” The journey thus became an inescapable duty.

The Purchased Redemption: From Indulgence to Instagram

Even then, however, this ideal was under pressure. The practice of the indulgence offered an alternative: those with enough money could simply buy their way out of penance, turning redemption into a transaction.

This same tension between sincere effort and a purchased facade takes on a new form in our time. Now, the modern ‘pilgrim’ can use money to stage a perfect journey for social media. The experience becomes a consumer product, where the destination is more important than the journey, and the photograph is the proof. Ultimately, the inner transformation—the very essence of penance—once again becomes optional.

A Bridge to the Middle Ages

To make this contrast palpable, the music is deeply rooted in historical sources. The composition contains adapted fragments from the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat. This 14th-century manuscript holds authentic texts of about pilgrims. Through these texts—sung by the choir and orchestrated for the ensemble—the listener is directly connected to the raw, physical reality of the medieval traveler. This makes the emptiness of purchased redemption all the more sharply felt.