Barcelona, Day 2

Sunday, May 31^st :

This morning we had breakfast at 7:45 am and departed the hotel at 8:30 for our morning visit to the still unfinished Basilica Sagrada Familia.  The estimated completion date is 2026, which is the 100^th anniversary of Antoni Gaudi’s (1852-1926) death.  Modern technology, including 3-D printing, is greatly aiding the remaining design and construction work.

Gaudi took over the architectural challenge of the basilica in 1883 and worked for 43 years on the design of the huge church with the first bell tower being completed in 1925.  From 1912 onward, this was his life’s work.  Gaudi based the design of the church on the stories of the New Testament.  The structure represents the intersection of the imaginative style of Modernisme with the medieval faith that drove the creation of the great Gothic cathedrals.  The church when completed (projected for 2026, 100^th anniversary of Gaudi’s death) will consist of 18 spires with the central tower (Jesus tower) rising 560 feet and topped with a cross that will shine and be visible out at sea.  Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the church as a basilica in 2010.  All construction has been financed by donations and the admission charges. 

Three of the facades – Nativity, Passion, and Glory – are essentially completed and recount Christ’s life from birth to death to resurrection.  The facades are full of symbolism and, except for the Nativity façade (completed in Gaudi’s lifetime), the others have been designed and carried out by later artists who perceive Gaudi’s wishes. 

The Nativity façade is extremely ornate and encrusted with carvings that tell the stories of the birth of Jesus.  It mixes Gothic-style symbolism, Modernisme asymmetry, and images of nature to produce the best example of Gaudi’s original vision.  It faces the rising sun and is all about birth and new life and features a dove-covered Tree of Life.   The basilica model outside the Nativity façade gives a good idea of the scope of the planned finished product.

The Passion façade which although following Gaudi’s vision has been freely tinkered with by Joseph Subirachs who did not produce a painted façade as proposed by Gaudi, but a very grim one.  He followed the drawings and instructions left by Gaudi for future architects and sculptors.  It is austere, plain and simple, with lots of bare stone, and carved with strict straight lines to resemble the bones of a skeleton. Gaudí intended for this façade to strike fear into the onlooker. He wanted to "break" arcs and "cut" columns, and to use the effect of dark angular shadows contrasted by harsh rigid light to show the severity and brutality of Christ's suffering and death.   The façade faces the setting sun to be indicative and symbolic of the death of Christ. There are three levels of scenes in the façade and they are portrayed in an ‘S’ form and reproduce the Via Crucis.  The lowest level depicts the last night before the crucifixion:  The Last Supper, Kiss of Judas, “Behold the Man”, and the Sanhedrin Trial.  The middle level portrays Calvary with the three Marys, Saint Veronica, Saint Longimus, and a “hollow-faced” illusion of Christ.  The top level shows the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Christ.  The Ascension of Jesus is depicted in a bronze figure on a bridge that links the towers of Saint Bartholomew and Saint Thomas.  Symbolism is everywhere!

Fruits of the seasons surround one set of spires.  On the outside there are dragons, gargoyles, rhinos, elephants, etc. on doors and carved in stone.   The inside is spectacular: The central vault reaches 200 ft and the apse is capped by a hyperboloid vault reaching 250 ft.  Gaudi conceived the interior as a vast forest with the columns, off tilt to enhance stability, representing trees holding the roof aloft.   Gaudi used parabolic arches instead of the pointy Neo-Gothic ones.  The massive four apostle columns will support the Jesus tower.  Light streams in through huge stained glass windows to “tint” the air with colored light.  The east windows produce “morning light” and the west windows, “afternoon, early evening light.”  The effect is spectacular and very ethereal! 

The crypt contains a large chapel that is use for the daily mass and several side chapels.  One of these, the Carmel Chapel, contains Gaudi’s tomb.  The entire crypt area is very solemn and so much in contrast to the nave of the basilica, which is so much “alive and organic.”

At 10:30 am, the IPC Choir performed a beautiful concert on the inside of the Glory entrance.  The backdrop was a photographic replica of the Glory doors, which are bronze with the Lords Prayer in Catalan in relief and surrounded by the prayer in 50 other languages in smaller relief.  The nave has a 6 second sound delay!

In the afternoon, we visited the Palau de la Musica Catalana, which was commissioned by the Orfeo Catala choral music society in 1905.  This is a gorgeous concert hall of stained glass, ceramics, statuary, ornate wrought iron, and stone.  The concert hall has an enormous stained glass skylight that features a circle of female angles, representing the choral society, surrounding the sun.  The façade features exposed brick combined with colorful ceramic mosaics.  An outer balcony consists of ceramic covered columns with capitals of roses.  The facility was designed as a concert fall for all forms of music, except opera.  Because of the size of the stage, opera cannot be produced in the hall.  While there the choir had a chance to perform in the hall, which has outstanding acoustics. 

We return to the hotel for about 1-1/2 hours before being taken to Santa Maria del Mar for the choir’s participation in the public mass at 7:30 pm.  Arriving early, we found that the prior mass, which was focused on a special mother’s day celebration with a Latin American group, was running late.  The public mass didn’t start until 7:50 pm and the choir did several parts of the mass and also performed a 30 minute concert afterwards.  Attendance at the performance was very good, with many people staying after the mass was over.  Because of the late start, we didn’t return to the hotel until 10:05 pm.  Fortunately, we were able to get dinner before the hotel restaurant closed at 10:30 pm.  Dinner consisted of tomato/tuna salad, veal scaloppini, roasted potatoes, and a yogurt mousse with strawberry sauce.  We had a most enjoyable dinner with Bobbie Epting. 

Tomorrow we have a full day of visiting Gaudi sites and a tour of “Old Town.”