The Basque National Orchestra revives Aita Donostia’s 'La vie profonde de Saint François d’Assise' to mark the centenary of its premiere in Paris

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The Basque National Orchestra presents its second programme of the Symphonic Season 2026/27 season entitled ‘Aita Donostia. La vie profonde de Saint François d’Assise’. The concerts will take place over the coming days in the four usual host cities: on Friday 6 November at the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián; on Saturday 7 November at the Euskalduna Bilbao; on Monday 9 November, back at the Kursaal Auditorium; on Tuesday 10 November at the Jesús Guridi Conservatoire in Vitoria; and on Wednesday 11 November at the Baluarte Auditorium in Pamplona. All the concerts will take place at 7.30 pm.

Premiere, subsequent performances and current revival

Aita Donostia composed the Illustrations Musicales pour La vie profonde de Saint François d’Assise between 1925 and 1926 for the play written by Henri Ghéon. The play first staged in 1926 at the Théâtre des Champs- Élysées in Paris on 1 and 6 November, the year marking the seven hundredth anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi.

There were several attempts between 1933 and 1936 to restage La vida profunda, including one by Euzko Abesbatza–Saski Naski in Donostia, which was thwarted by the Civil War. In 1986, to mark the centenary of Aita Donostia’s birth, Musikaste de Errenteria revived the work with a narrative adaptation by José Luis Ansorena, featuring the Andra Mari Choir and the Basque National Orchestra, conducted by Luis Izquierdo. A few months later, it was conducted by Odón Alonso in a revised format as part of the Basque National Orchestra’s Symphony Season.

On this occasion, to mark the centenary of the work’s premiere in 1926, we shall hear it in a new critical edition by Josu Okiñena, published in 2023, which uses text as abridged by Ghéon himself. This major heritage restoration project, also supported by Eresbil, will be led by Ernest Martínez Izquierdo, alongside the actress and reciter Annie Dutoit-Argerich, tenor Luken Munguira and the Easo and Easo Gazte choirs, with Fernando Bernués as stage director, David Ferré as scriptwriter and David Bernués as lighting designer. This new production and its revival mark a milestone and serve as a tribute to Basque cultural heritage.

Musical work

For the premiere performances in 1926, which lasted over four hours, Aita Donostia composed an hour’s worth of music that was, above all, functional. Always in keeping with Ghéon’s text, yet at the same time highly ambitious, as shown by his having a triple choir in addition to the orchestra; and daring, with a fully developed symphonic language, close to the French avant-garde which at times ventures into techniques such as polytonality or bitonality. Above all, Aita Donostia sought to underscore the spiritual dimension of Saint Francis of Assisi’s transformative journey on the 700th anniversary of his death.

The Illustrations written by Aita Donostia were originally musical fragments and pieces intended to be interspersed throughout 21 scenes during the extensive play. The new critical edition contains 25 musical illustrations spread across 5 sections.

Texts in French

The text, both of the play itself and of the original score of Aita Donostia is in French, with some passages in Latin. So as to better understand the work within the cultural context in which it was created, the musical texts will be performed and narrated in the original French.

The stage direction, by Fernando Bernués

Fernando Bernués, responsible for designing the set, says that “revisiting the music that Aita Donostia composed for this play called for a staging concept that would reference the creative origins of this expressive score”. To this end, he turned to the text by Henri Ghéon, the play by David Ferré, performed by Annie Dutoit-Argerich, and “the incorporation of audiovisual elements as a ‘theatrical fragrance’, which are hinted at throughout the concert”.

“The reciter Annie Dutoit-Argerich plays a key role in the conception of this piece. She acts not act as a mere accessory to the musical fragments, but as the vehicle via which an experience of knowledge materialises, a figure that accompanies, explains, evokes and guides the audience along the spiritual and human path of Saint Francis of Assisi. ‘Her presence is not that of an actress playing a character, but of someone who conveys a cultural and spiritual heritage.’

Aita Donostia (1886-1956)

José Gonzalo Zulaica, Known as Aita Donostia, entered the Capuchin school in Lekaroz at the age of ten. He trained there and worked as a teacher until 1918, when he was released from his teaching role to expand his musical activities.

After spending a few months in Madrid, where he formed a choir and met musicians such as Pau Casals and Wanda Landowska, he decided in 1920 to move to Paris to consolidate his knowledge and immerse himself in the modern musical scene, which, at that time, had the French capital as its centre. In Paris, he met Maurice Ravel, as well as the playwright Henri Ghéon.

On his return to Lekaroz, it was Aita Donostia himself who suggested to the playwright to look to the patron saint of his order, Saint Francis of Assisi, to commemorate the seven-hundredth anniversary of his death in 1926. This led to the creation of Illustrations Musicales pour La vie profonde de Saint François d’Assise and its premiere.

This musical project, the revival of which is a milestone in the recognition of Basque musical heritage and has involved numerous stakeholders, enjoys the exclusive support of the BBVA Foundation.

BBVA Foundation: promoting scientific and cultural knowledge

As part of its commitment to promoting and fostering scientific knowledge and cultural creation, the BBVA Foundation devotes particular attention to classical music, taking a comprehensive approach to the entire musical ecosystem: training, creation, dissemination and the recognition of excellence.

Support for young talent and composition is furnished via training initiatives and support for creative research. On the one hand, the Leonardo Grants enable innovative projects ranging from the composition and premiere of musical, theatrical and operatic works to the restoration of musical heritage and its compilation in world premiere recordings. On the other, the Foundation also promotes the careers of new performers through partnerships such as the Viola Chair at the Reina Sofía School of Music.

This promotional work extends into the public sphere through a strong network of partnerships with some of the country’s leading theatres, such as the Teatro Real, the Gran Teatre del Liceu and ABAO Bilbao Opera, and with leading orchestras such as the Basque National Orchestra. To bring this cultural heritage closer to the public, the Foundation organises series of free concerts featuring leading soloists and ensembles, ranging from a classical repertoire to the contemporary avant-garde. The Foundation’s own Music Season provides a prominent showcase for both young performers and emerging and established composers. This offering is further enriched by informative lectures and specialist publications intended to explore key periods in composition in greater depth or to unravel the language of the great composers.

This international recognition of musical excellence is complemented by the Fronteras del Conocimiento Award for Music and Opera, an annual award with which the BBVA Foundation honours the most transformative careers on the global music scene.  

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