SACRED CHORAL WORKS (opera omnia)

Albert Carbonell i Saurí develops a form of post-liturgical sacred polyphony conceived as sonic architecture: a contemporary, genealogical reconfiguration of Renaissance counterpoint, where sound is treated as structural matter, duration as ethical practice, and dissonance as sacred space.

Artistic Context

Sacred Choral Works is a large-scale cycle of contemporary sacred music conceived as sonic stonework—an architectural approach to polyphony in which sound is treated as material, harmony as load-bearing structure, and time as mortar. Rather than reviving historical styles, the project engages genealogically with the sacred tradition—particularly the legacy of Tomás Luis de Victoria—reusing its structural principles (spolia) within a modern harmonic language marked by verticality, sustained dissonance, and temporal expansion.

Positioned beyond both liturgical function and concert spectacle, the work articulates a post-liturgical spirituality grounded in presence, endurance, and collective listening.

Aesthetic Framework

Albert Carbonell i Saurí’s Sacred Choral Works constitutes a monumental cycle of contemporary sacred polyphony founded on an architectural conception of music. Rejecting both neo-Renaissance imitation and atmospheric spirituality, the project treats polyphony as sonic architecture: chords function as structural blocks, dissonance as pressure rather than effect, silence as architectural void, and duration as an ethical practice of endurance.

The work establishes a genealogical relationship with the sacred tradition—most notably with Tomás Luis de Victoria—understood not as stylistic influence but as inherited material (spolia). Renaissance counterpoint is internalized as a way of thinking sound, space, and aspiration, and reconfigured under contemporary harmonic gravity.

Situated in a post-liturgical horizon, Sacred Choral Works does not aim to restore ritual function nor to dramatize the sacred for the concert hall. Instead, it constructs a shared acoustic space in which listening becomes an ethical act and the choir operates as a collective structural body. Through its scale, rigor, and open accessibility, the project affirms sacred music as an enduring architectural practice rather than an expressive genre.