Seville Cathedral revives medieval chants of Alfonso X

The Seville Cathedral has reintroduced a medieval melody into the novena services for the Virgin of the Kings. The chant is linked to Alfonso X el Sabio and features lyrics in Galician-Portuguese that describe the Virgin as the ‘mirror of the Holy Church’.

This musical tradition restores a historical connection between the monarch and the image. Alfonso X, who referred to himself as the ‘troubadour of the Virgin’, had previously requested that a book of his Cantigas remain at the feet of the image in his burial chapel. That codex remained with the Virgin until Felipe II ordered its transfer to El Escorial.

The current performance is a musical adaptation combining the text of Cantiga 280 with the melody of Cantiga 100. Based on research by canon José Márquez and historian Juan Infante-Galán Zambrano, the piece is performed responsorially to engage the faithful and maintain the cathedral's heritage as a living tradition.