El Parnaso Hyspano
From South to North, The Hispanic and Indigenous influence on early American Music
A musical journey from South to North across the continent, presenting vocal and instrumental music composed and performed in the key centers of musical excellence including cathedrals and the missions established by the Spanish, ending in the Californian Missions.
The program is predominantly Catholic sacred music sung in Spanish, with strong influences of dances prevalent at the time, and — while European influences are clearly visible — indigenous and local inflections show that the people of the Americas made this music their own. By placing Californian mission music in its wider cultural context we enable it to be heard as an integral part of the sociocultural movement that brought musicians from the heart of Europe to the American continent over a two-centuries sweep from the early 17th to the late 18th century.
El Parnaso Hyspano
Rafael Montero ~ tenor & founder
Biraj Barkakaty ~ countertenor
John Sloboda ~ bass & co-ordinator
with guest
Erinn Sensenig ~ soprano
Ars Poetica
Caroline Nicolas ~ cello & viola da gamba
Kevin Payne ~ theorbo & lute
Friday, May 15 at 7:30 pm
Followed by a reception
Saint Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church
264 West 87th Street between Broadway & West End Avenue, Manhattan
Tickets:
$50 ~ Premium (front section)
$30 ~ General
$15 ~ Students (ID required)
All tickets include entry to reception
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El Parnaso Hyspano is an international chamber group of singers and instrumentalists dedicated to the performance of early Hispanic music ranging from the Medieval to the Baroque and early Classical. The repertoire encompasses Spain and Latin America, with a specialization in the music of the “Golden Age” [El Siglo de Oro 1500–1700] when the Spanish empire was at its height. In this time there was a wealth of musical creativity in the major cultural and religious centers, particularly in what afterwards became Bolivia and Peru — the richest viceroyalties of South America. Much of this music is only now being recently rediscovered and published for contemporary performance, and the group showcases the richness of the Hispanic musical legacy of the Americas. The ensemble helps to make known music written in native American languages including Quechua, Guarani, Nahuatl, and Mochica, an extinct language.
For this performance, the core members Rafael Montero, Biraj Barkakaty, and John Sloboda are joined by soprano Erinn Sensenig and instrumentalists from Ars Poetica, Caroline Nicolas & Kevin Payne.
