The region of Cantabria (Spain) launches a series of interfaith concerts that combine music and religious heritage

The link between music and places of worship is rooted in centuries of history and tradition. Between April and June 2024, the region of Cantabria in Spain will host a series of twelve concerts that will revive these ancestral links, encouraging the public to discover the diverse religious musical heritage of Europe and the world, through different historical periods, regions, cultures and faiths.

“Paths that unite us” will kick off on 13 April in the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana, an emblematic place which is the final destination of the pilgrimage route of the Camino Lebaniego, which is currently immersed in the celebration of its Jubilee Year. It will feature 12 groups and guest artists of different musical styles and linked to different religions: Gregorian chant, Orthodox hymns, songs of the Sephardic liturgy, spiritual music from Mali, Scandinavian medieval chants, Sufi music and dance, or South African ceremonial songs.

This music festival, the first of its kind to be held in Spain, has been organised by the Regional Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport of the Government of Cantabria with the collaboration of the “La Caixa” Foundation.

The full programme is available at: https://caminosquenosunen.com/

Historic monasteries and churches become concert venues

The stages for these concerts will be set up both in active places of worship and in reused religious buildings, all of them belonging to the two main pilgrimage routes that cross Cantabria: the Camino Lebaniego (Lebaniego Way) and the Camino de Santiago (St James Way).

The religious heritage sites that will  host the concerts include:

• Monastery of Santo Toribio in Liébana
• hermitage of Santa Eulalia (Avellanedo)
• Comillas Major Seminary (Comillas)
• Lebaniegos Studies Center (Potes)
• Church of Santa María (Piasca)
• Collegiate Church of Santillana del Mar
• Church of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (San Vicente de la Barquera)
• Church of Santa Maria de la Asunción (Laredo)
• Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana (Santillana del Mar)
• Church of Santa María (Lebeña)

The Tower of the Infantado and the Cantabria Festival Palace are also included in the list of stages.