Three children’s choirs from across Europe filled Barcelona’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família with sacred music in a special Nov. 21 concert to commemorate the centennial of the death of the basilica’s most famous architect, Ven. Antoni Gaudí.
Titled “The Dream of a Genius,” the concert’s program represented “pieces of European choral heritage,” according to Sagrada Família.
The concert began with three Marian-themed songs performed by Escolanía de Montserrat, the choir from the Benedictine abbey at Montserrat. The abbey is a popular pilgrimage destination famous for its history and the ancient statue of Our Lady of Montserrat that it houses. In addition to honoring Gaudí, the concert paid tribute to the abbey, as it celebrated its 1,000th anniversary this year.
A German choir, Tölzer Knabenchor, performed four classic sacred music pieces, including the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. Founded in 1963, the choir has performed for Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, according to its website.
This is breathtaking
The Tölzer Knabenchor performs “Hallelujah” from Handel’s Messiah, filling the Sagrada Familia with truly heavenly music. pic.twitter.com/td4vnapcba
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) November 21, 2025
The program also featured the Copenhagen Boys Choir from Denmark, which sang Palestrina’s Sicut cervus and three other songs, two of which were specially composed for the choir.
Amazing.
The Copenhagen Boys Choir and Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir bring Palestrina’s Sicut cervus to life in the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia. pic.twitter.com/nTmN3XbJQU
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) November 21, 2025
The concert concluded with all three choirs singing together, performing Locus Iste by Anton Bruckner and Ave Maria by Anselm Ferrer.
The concert was part of a series of events Sagrada Família is hosting to commemorate Gaudí’s death and celebrate the nearing completion of the Tower of Jesus Christ, the main tower on the unfinished basilica. Upcoming events include a tribute to the Tower of Barnabas — which was finished 100 years ago and was the only tower Gaudí saw completed in his lifetime — and special Masses, a commemoration of the laying of the cornerstone, and the blessing and inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ in June 2026.
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