Texts that Remember: Cuadernillos, Vatican Decrees, and Sacred Music Congresses for the Construction of Cultural Memory in Rural Spain

Abstract

This study examines the role of textual materials as vehicles of cultural memory in the preservation and transmission of popular religious music in the province of Soria, Spain. Through ethnographic fieldwork and analysis of handwritten notebooks (cuadernillos) containing religious song lyrics, the research reveals how these texts function as foundational instruments that validate oral traditions and construct religious memory among rural women. The study traces the evolution of Catholic Church policies regarding vernacular religious music from 1903 to 1967, analyzing papal documents from Pius X's restrictive Motu Proprio Tra le sollecitudini to the Second Vatican Council's more inclusive approach. By examining the proceedings of Spain's five National Congresses of Sacred Music (1907-1954), the research demonstrates how institutional regulations shaped local religious practices while simultaneously adapting to grassroots traditions. The findings highlight the dialogic relationship between official religious doctrine and popular religiosity, showing how written texts mediate between lived experience and ecclesiastical authority in the construction and legitimization of religious memory in rural communities.