R E A D I N G On 5th July 2011 , one of the most valuable treasures in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela myster iously disappeared: the Codex Calixtinus. The book , kept in a secur it y case in the cathedral 's archives , disappeared as if by magic. A codex is a book from before the invention of the pr inting press . It's wr it ten by hand and consists of a set of book lets that are sewn together. The codex in the cathedral of Santiago was wr it ten in the 12th centur y. Its name comes from Pope Callix tus II , because it's thought that he decided to compile it . It's a beautifully illustrated manuscr ipt that combines liturgical tex ts , stor ies about James the Apostle, as well as a useful guide for travellers , with information about the pilgr ims' route to Santiago de Compostela , accommodation , works of ar t and adv ice. A ll this makes it a literar y gem, but it's also exceptional from a musical point of v iew. It contains 22 poly phonic pieces of music and they're some of the oldest compositions for multiple voices that exist in Spain. One of these compositions is the hymn Conguadeant Catholici. It's the first known composition for three voices in the whole Western reper toire. The Codex Calixtinus is a unique source of knowledge about medieval literature and music. This is why, at the time, many people compared the tragedy of its disappearance with the collapse of the Por tico of Glor y. Thanks to the codex , we have been able to study different t y pes of musical notation and the role of music in the liturg y of the per iod , but there was still a lot more to discover in the book . Who could have taken it? The police inter rogated the users of the archives , both religious people and those working there, and looked for the book all over the cathedral . Since this was a Romanesque building, there were many passages and hidden corners . They even searched the organ! One day, in one of the ten chapels of the temple, a hidden copy of all the keys to the archives was found . This clue finally led them to the thief: an electr ician with years of exper ience working in the cathedral and who had also stolen other documents and objects . Af ter a search that lasted nearly a year, the Codex Calixtinus was returned to its home of more than 800 years , and the codex was now more popular than ever. Today it awaits the v isits of exper ts from all over the world who hope to reveal all its secrets . The stolen codex Key questions 1 What is a codex? Where is the Codex Calixtinus kept? Why does it have this name? 2 What is its content? Why is it important f rom a musical point of view? 3 What is special about the hymn Congaudeant Cat holici? 4 Today, is notation still as important as it was in the Middle Ages for keeping a record of music? 28 I The Middle Ages
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