| composer | Xamena Sastre, Joan |
| original copyright | CC |
| publisher | La Federació Balear de Bandes de Música i Associacions Musicals |
| genre | March |
| instrumentation | Modern instrumentation; New edition |
| notes | Col·lecció Passacarrers, No. 4. Edited by Miquel Barceló Oliver and Joan Antoni Ballester Coll. |
| parts | Download parts |
| score | Download score |
| performance | Dorico-generated MP3 |
| also available | |
| change date | 2025-05-16 New |
The Passacarrers collection
Bands from all over the island of Mallorca have accompanied, and continue to accompany, the most significant moments in the lives of their people. In many cases, they parade with original music that has become an integral part of the celebration itself.
The Passacarrers collection was created to contribute to the preservation of this music which was made to be played while walking. At the same time, it aims to expand its reach beyond its traditional niche and make it accessible to a wider audience.
This music, which can range from funeral or processional marches to pasodobles and fast marches, is highly local. Many of these compositions are the work of musicians or directors from the bands themselves. Naturally, these are handwritten works that have been copied numerous times, with modifications made by different directors to adapt to the specific circumstances of each moment in the band’s history.
An exclusively digital edition has been prepared, including a complete score for the director and parts in march card format for the instruments.
With the publication of this new collection, the Balearic Federation of Music Bands and Music Associations seeks to disseminate the music of our bands beyond the boundaries of the individual towns where they are performed. By sharing these works, we aim to make them more widely known and to contribute to the preservation of the musical legacy of Mallorca.
Joan Xamena Sastre and Rosa de mayo
In Llucmajor in the 1930s there was great musical and concert activity. One of the most renowned musicians was Joan Xamena (Porreres 1904 – Llucmajor 1964), who played the trumpet and according to some documents directed the Lira Lluchmayorense, along with Damià Font Monserrat, nicknamed ‘Peixet’. Xamena owned a party room and was the composer of a handful of works.
Among the compositions of Joan Xamena that are preserved in Llucmajor we find three to parade, one for each occasion. They are Desfile Azul, a march (of pas-double) published as the first issue of this collection; ¡Presente!, a funeral march, published in the second issue; and Rosa de Mayo, a regular procession march that is published on this occasion.
Unfortunately, the story behind this composition has not survived. But what has come to us is that this composition was always played on Easter day. Therefore, it is a work that was reserved for a very special moment within the tradition of Llucmajor.
In Llucmajor, on Easter Sunday, the liturgical celebration is held in the Convent of Sant Bonaventura. “l’Ofici”, which includes the “Sermó de l’Enganalla”, where the preacher and the organist pretend to make fun of each other, was declared a Festival of Cultural Interest by the Consell de Mallorca.
After The Office, two rows of men are placed, leaving the side portal of the convent. They parade, followed by the Band and, behind, the figure of Jesus carried by four members of the Brotherhood of the Serafics. The procession is closed by the religious and civil authorities of the village. This procession reaches Plaza de España, where it meets the women’s parade from the Parish of San Miguel that carries the figure of the Virgin accompanied by the group of ‘xeremiers’.
Over the years, the Music Band has paraded with different procession marches, while throughout the route, traditionally, there were shotguns located in the rooms of the houses of the route that fired salvoes, crackles, with black powder cartridges. Currently it is usually done with Solemnidad by J. Pérez Ballester and Reina del Cel by G. Castellano, but in the past they could be Santos Lugares by R. Dorado, Santa Maria de Ripoll by J. Lamote de Grignon, or the one that concerns us on this occasion, Rosa de Mayo by Joan Xamena.
This use of this procession march can also have to do with its inspiration, since within the Christian tradition, “Rosa de maig” or “Rosa de Mayo” are names in both languages of the Virgin Mary, as we can read in this first stanza of the joy “A la Verge” by Joseph Maria Puig Torralva:
Mare de Deu, Senyora subirana,
Rosa de Maig, estela del mati,
D’orfens y desgraciats mare y germana,
Princesa celestial, llach cristali. (…)
The May rose represents within this Christian tradition the “Love of God”, made of devotion by some Marian congregations. In fact, in the northern hemisphere the month of May is the month of Mary for Christians, since they rewrote the history of the Roman calendar, where this month, Maius, was dedicated to the goddess Maya, which represented fertility and prosperity, typical of spring. This goddess, mother of the god Mercury, was also known as Bona Dea, the good goddess among other names, but it was always related to spring, fertility, chastity and health.
About this edition
This edition is based exclusively on handwritten material found in the archives of the Societat Cultural Musical i Recreativa Sa Música (Llucmajor). The bulk of the material was handwritten scores with various handwriting, and parts from different periods.
The transpositions of some instruments have been updated, replacing the tuba or euphonium (bombardí) parts in B flat or E flat with others in C or F respectively. A general review of notes and the homogenization of rhythms and differences between the different parts have also been carried out. Unlike other pieces of the time, in this march we have not found parts for soprano saxophone or for bass clarinet. However, a low clarinet part has been prepared, which is a copy of the tuba part.
