Sijena visit

 

Since the Cantrix CD was released in 2013, the prospect of performing in Sijena and singing the pieces for St John the Baptist, as they have been sung and prayed across the ages by the Sisters, seemed and important but distant vision. The circumstances surrounding Ensemble Peregrina's lecture and concert in Sijena on 8 November 2025, the historical anniversary and vigil of Queen Sancha's death, coincided with the European Heritage Days. These European event were hosted as a conference on Sijena's architecture and the opening of the Paseo Rica de Polonia, a circumstance that proved providential for the Ensemble. It seemed as if all powers in heaven and earth were calling us to Sijena on that day. When the distant vision became reality, in collaboration with the organising team of the European Heritage Days, it was already November 2025. In such a short time, the Ensemble Peregrina was able to coordinate travel to this 'remote' place. All the effort was worthwhile in order to be there and to experience the living sounds within the walls of the monastery church.

 

Those involved included Anna Dulska from the University of Navarra and the Spiritus Movens of Sijena, the Order of Malta, Sister Virginia from the Sijena Sisters, Juan Naya, who was born in Sijena and is a great propagator of the monastery and its famous collection of wall paintings, and the Ensemble Peregrina, who first recorded and performed the music for St John the Baptist in this format. The event was organized and supported by the Institut Adam Mickiewicz, the Institut Polski w Hiszpanii, the Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego, the Malteserorden Schweiz and Espana and the Institut Miguel Servet in Villanueva de Sijena.