The Orquesta de Euskadi has unveiled the second program of its 2026/27 Symphonic Season, centered around the stage revival of Aita Donostia's 'La vie profonde de Saint François d’Assise'. This musical project, exclusively sponsored by the BBVA Foundation, is a milestone in recognizing Basque musical heritage and involves numerous collaborators.
The concerts will take place from November 6th to 11th in the four usual cities: Donostia (Kursaal Auditorium), Bilbao (Euskalduna), Gasteiz (Jesús Guridi Conservatory), and Pamplona (Baluarte Auditorium), all starting at 7:30 PM. Tickets are available from 10 euros.
Aita Donostia composed 'Illustrations Musicales pour La vie profonde de Saint François d’Assise' between 1925 and 1926 for the play by Henri Gheon. The work was first staged on November 1st, 1926, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, during the year of the seventh centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi.
This time, to mark the centenary of the work's 1926 premiere, it will be presented in a new critical edition by Josu Okiñena. This version uses the text abridged by Gheon himself. In this significant heritage recovery, supported by Eresbil, the performance will be led by Ernest Martinez Izquierdo, alongside actress Annie Dutoit-Argerich, tenor Luken Munguira, and the choirs Easo and Easo Gazte. Fernando Bernues will be responsible for the stage direction, David Ferrer for the dramaturgy, and David Bernues for the lighting.
The musical work, which in addition to an orchestra uses three choirs, features a bold symphonic language close to French avant-gardes, approaching techniques such as polytonality or bitonality. Aita Donostia aimed to enhance the spiritual dimension of Saint Francis of Assisi's transformation process.
The text, both of the play and Aita Donostia's original score, is in French, with some parts in Latin. To better contextualize the work within the cultural atmosphere of its creation, the musical texts will be performed and narrated in the original French.
Stage director Fernando Bernues stated, "Reviewing the exceptional music that Aita Donostia composed for the spectacle 'La vie profonde de Saint François d’Assise', without it being a complete staging, required a scenic suggestion that referenced the origin of this expressive score." The texts by Henri Gheon, performed by Annie Dutoit-Argerich, along with audiovisual resources, will provide the "theatrical aroma" to the concert.
Jose Gonzalo Zulaica, known as Aita Donostia, was educated at the Capuchin college in Lekaroz and in Paris, where he connected with Maurice Ravel and the playwright Henri Gheon. It was there that he proposed to the playwright to approach the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi to commemorate the seventh centenary of his death, thus giving rise to this work.
The revival of this musical project is a significant milestone in the recognition of Basque musical heritage and is exclusively sponsored by the BBVA Foundation.
