Montserrat Abbey hosts Nigra Sum on 21 November
Published on 11/07/2026 at 16:21 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael MĂĽller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSConcert details and historic setting
- The Festival de MĂşsica de Montserrat presents Nigra Sum in the basilica on 21 November 2026.
- More than 150 performers will bring Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schubert and Pau Casals to the sanctuary.
- Abbot Oliba founded the monastery in 1025, linking the concert venue with Montserrat Abbey history.
- Montserrat Abbey stands in Catalonia, with access from Barcelona via the R5 railway and onward mountain transport.
Montserrat Abbey (Abadia de Montserrat) in Catalonia will host the Nigra Sum concert on 21 November 2026, linking Montserrat with a new programme from the Festival de MĂşsica de Montserrat. The concert takes place in the basilica and is open to visitors.
Nigra Sum brings a November concert to the basilica
The Abbey of Montserrat has announced Nigra Sum for Saturday 21 November 2026 at 9pm. The programme includes works by Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, Franz Schubert and Pau Casals, according to the abbey concert announcement.
More than 150 performers are due to take part. The programme draws on the choral tradition associated with the Escolania, the boys choir connected with the sanctuary, while the concert itself is staged in the Basilica of Santa Maria. The official calendar lists the event at the basilica on 21 November and identifies it as part of the Festival de MĂşsica de Montserrat.
Nigra Sum takes its name from a work by Casals composed in 1943 in devotion to Our Lady of Montserrat. The concert therefore connects a twentieth-century Catalan composition with the longer musical and religious life of the site. The abbey says admission is free.
The basilica gives the concert a thousand-year setting
The concert venue belongs to a monastery founded by Oliba, Abbot of Ripoll and Bishop of Vic, in 1025. The abbey’s own history of Montserrat records the foundation and the later development of the complex.
The present church was consecrated in 1592, while the monastery and basilica were rebuilt and restored after destruction during the Napoleonic period. A new basilica facade was inaugurated in 1901, and a later facade was completed in 1968. These layers place the November concert inside a building shaped by repeated reconstruction rather than a single architectural period.
Music has long been part of the monastery’s identity. The abbey records the first evidence of the Escolania in 1223 and describes it as the oldest children’s choir in Europe. That history makes the concert’s choral programme relevant to the basilica itself, not simply to Montserrat as a mountain destination.
The site is also protected as part of a wider cultural landscape. The Government of Catalonia declared Montserrat a Natural Park in 1987, while the regional heritage authority describes the abbey as a pilgrimage centre and identifies the basilica, museum and monastery buildings as key parts of the complex.
Travel details for the 21 November performance
The concert is scheduled for 9pm on 21 November 2026 in the Basilica of Santa Maria at Montserrat Abbey. The programme includes Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schubert and Pau Casals, and the abbey’s announcement names more than 150 performers.
Visiting Montserrat Abbey: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Nigra Sum concert takes place on 21 November 2026 in the Basilica of Santa Maria at Montserrat Abbey.
- The abbey says admission is free, and the concert is presented as part of the Festival de MĂşsica de Montserrat.
- Montserrat Abbey is in Catalonia, west of Barcelona; visitors using public transport can take the FGC R5 from Plaça Espanya and continue towards the sanctuary by rack railway or cable car.
- The complex is on Montserrat mountain, where visitors encounter steep terrain, mountain paths and changes in elevation between the sanctuary buildings and surrounding routes.
- The official language of Spain includes Spanish, while Catalan is also used at the sanctuary; the national currency is the euro.
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Frequently asked questions about Montserrat Abbey
When does Nigra Sum take place at Montserrat Abbey?
Nigra Sum is scheduled for 21 November 2026 at 9pm in the Basilica of Santa Maria.
What is Montserrat Abbey?
It is a Benedictine monastery founded by Oliba in 1025 on Montserrat mountain in Catalonia.
Where is Montserrat Abbey and how do you get there?
The abbey is west of Barcelona and can be reached from the city by the FGC R5 railway, followed by a rack railway or cable car towards the sanctuary.
