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Seventeen centuries ago today, on November 9th, 324, the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, hailed as omnium ecclesiarum Urbis et Orbis mater et caput (mother and head of all the churches of Rome and the world), and serving as the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, was celebrated.
This basilica was the first to be built after Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan in 313, which guaranteed Christians the freedom of worship and restored properties confiscated during persecutions. Pope Miltiades († 314) received the estate of the Laterani family as a gift from Constantine († 337), where the Basilica, the Baptistery, and the Patriarchate were erected, serving as the papal residence until the Apostolic See was transferred to Avignon. Initially dedicated to the Most Holy Savior by Pope Sylvester I († 335), the basilica later acquired the additional titles of Sts. John the Baptist (9th century) and John the Evangelist (12th century), from which the name Papal Basilica of St. John Lateran came. Originally celebrated exclusively in Rome, the feast of its dedication (November 9th) was extended to all Roman rite churches in 1565. Honoring this basilica reflects love and veneration for the Roman Church, which, according to St. Ignatius of Antioch, presides in universal charity (cf. Epistula ad Romanos, 1, 1).
In 1650, Pope Innocent X († 1655) sought to restore the ancient splendor of the Cathedral of Rome on the occasion of the fourteenth jubilee in the Church’s history. To achieve this, he initiated the restoration and renovation of the basilica’s hall, preserving its original structure with five naves. This monumental task was entrusted to architect Francesco Borromini († 1667).
Let’s imaginatively step into the Cathedral of Rome, accompanied by the music of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies († 2016), a British composer, conductor, and educator whose highly innovative music has made him one of the most influential British composers of the 20th century. In a 2014 interview, he expressed his admiration for the Ticinese architect, saying, “I adore Borromini. I have loved his architecture ever since I was a student here in Rome in 1957—the optical illusions of the spaces, the play of perspectives that he manages to create with his works” (our translation).
Maxwell Davies dedicated his Symphony No. 10 to Borromini, subtitled Alla ricerca di Borromini (“In Search of Borromini”). In 2005, he also dedicated the Naxos Quartet No. 7 – Metafore sul Borromini (Metaphors on Borromini). The third movement of the latter, Lento Molto: S. Giovanni in Laterano, virtually takes us to Borromini’s new basilica.
The composer describes this music as follows:
As a student, I regretted this metamorphosis with enough of the medieval contents remaining to give an indication of its former glory. However, I later came to understand and appreciate Borromini’s work in its own right, done at a time when he could have shown much less sensitivity to what was there, and torn everything down. I have made a simple structure, which is articulated three times, the first time with fragments of ‘medieval’ music pendent, each crashing to destruction, the second time with no decoration at all, and the third time with a brilliant ‘baroque’ superstructure to suggest the interior we still see today.[1]
A complete artistic profile of the Lateran Basilica must include its rich musical tradition. The liturgical chant was organized in the basilica during the time of Pope Damasus († 384).
According to tradition, the first schola cantorum of the Lateran was established by Pope St. Gregory the Great († 604). This prestigious ecclesiastical school was located in a monastery attached to the oratory of St. Stephen de Schola Cantorum, near the Lateran Baptistery. The Lateran schola cantorum attracted young people from all over Western Europe, offering them the opportunity to study music and classical culture, as well as to receive minor orders (ostiariate, lectorate, exorcistate, and acolytate) and to participate in solemn religious ceremonies and significant events in city life. Some historians suggest that Pope St. Leo II († 683) was part of or even directed this school. The influence of the Lateran schola cantorum on the development of medieval music and poetry is demonstrated by the fact that many collections of hymns and songs originated from it.
The Lateran Music Chapel was officially established in 1543 by the Archpriest of the Basilica, Cardinal Giovanni Domenico De Cupis († 1553), after the schola cantorum was suppressed by Pope Urban V († 1370) during the Avignon crisis. In 1784, Pope Pius VI († 1799) enriched the chapel with new assets and named it the “Lateran Pious Chapel.” In 1807, Pius VII († 1823) elevated it to the rank of papal chapel, equating it with the Sistine Chapel Choir. Unlike the latter, the use of the organ at the Lateran is documented as early as 1598, with the presence of Rome’s oldest working organ, built by Luca Biagi († 1608). This instrument was played by illustrious musicians such as Girolamo Frescobaldi († 1643), one of the pioneers of organ composition, and George Frideric Handel († 1759), who on January 14, 1707, “showcased his skill in playing the organ at the church of St. John, astonishing everyone.”[2]
From Robin Mallapert († 1553), who served from around 1535 to June 1538, and then from October 1, 1548, to November 30, 1549, to Monsignor Marco Frisina, in office since 1985, the list of the 47 chapel-masters of St. John Lateran would be too long. Let two significant names suffice. Between the spring of 1553 and 1554, the figure of the young Orlando di Lasso († 1594) emerged, a Flemish composer of the last generation, considered one of the pillars of sixteenth-century polyphony. His successor, from October 1, 1555, to July 1560, was the great Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina († 1594), “whose polyphonic work is one of the most precious ornaments of Our pontifical chapel and the Roman basilicas.”[3]
Even in the splendid Cathedral of Rome, “the faith of countless believers has been nourished by melodies flowing from the hearts of other believers, either introduced into the liturgy or used as an aid to dignified worship.”[4]
[1] P. Maxwell Davies, Selected Writings, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2018, p. 243.
[2] F. Valesio, Diario di Roma, Milan 1977, p. 755; our translation.
[3] Benedict XV, Non senza vivo, September 19, 1921; our translation.
[4] John Paul II, Letter to Artists, April 4, 1999, n. 12.
