The Provincial Council of Palencia and the National Dissemination Center Musical (CNDM, unit dependent on INAEM) report on the activities scheduled in the second edition of the cycle Palencia Antiqva, International Festival of Spanish Medieval and Renaissance Music integrated into the programming of the CNDM and co-produced with the Provincial Council of Palencia. With Palencia capital and its province as venues - concerts will be held in Paredes de Nava, Villamuriel de Cerrato, Baltanás, Ampudia, Villalcázar de Sirga and Calabazanos- This new edition will allow the public to move to a splendid musical past through some of the most prominent formations and performers of Spanish historical music.
Collegiate churches, Churches and monasteries will be the privileged venues in which to listen - in some cases recover - a musical legacy of great value that will be developed over two consecutive weeks and with free access to all concerts until the allowed capacity is completed.
Palencia Antiqva It has become a relevant appointment in the cultural agenda of Palencia and also an option of cultural tourism for all music lovers, both from other Castilian provinces and from the rest of Spain.
Music for history
As its name indicates, Palencia Antiqva focuses its attention on Spanish medieval and renaissance music, following the line of recovery and development of this repertoire by the National Center for Musical Diffusion. The cycle will open on Thursday 15 of July in the church of Santa Eulalia, in Nava walls, where you can enjoy an Iberian organ concert on one of the best instruments in the province and performed by one of its most notable supporters: Roberto Fresco. This musician will address 16th century compositions from Spain (Antonio de Cabezon, Francisco Fernandez Palero), Italy (Joan Ambrosio Dalza, Antonio Valente) and England (William Byrd).
He Friday 16 of July, in the church of Santa Maria la Mayor in Villamuriel de Cerrato, countertenor Carlos Mena -one of our most essential soloists, requested in festivals and halls all over the world-, next to the vihuelista Manuel Minguillón, great expert in plucked string instruments of the Renaissance and Baroque, will offer 'Per voi ardo', an exquisite selection of Italian madrigals in the way they were disseminated and preserved in our country; that is to say, in the arrangements contained in the vihuela books of some of the most emblematic masters of the Spanish 16th century, as Enríquez de Valderrábano (1547), Diego Pisador (1552) and Miguel de Fuenllana (1554). A compendium of subtlety, virtuosity and emotion to open this second edition of Palencia Antiqva.
He Saturday 17 of July grouping music, directed by Raúl Mallavibarrena, renowned specialist in music from the 15th to the 18th centuries will present "Music in the time of Emperor Charles V", a fascinating look at the compositions that were heard in the Spanish court of the first Austria. Among other pieces from this period signed by Heinrich Isaac or Cristóbal de Morales, the ‘Pange lingua’ Mass, last of those composed by Josquin Desprez and one of the most admired creations of the entire Renaissance. The appointment will be in the famous church of San Miguel de Palencia, scene of the engagement of the Cid and Doña Jimena.
Palencia Antiqva continue the Sunday 18 of July in the church of San Millán in Baltanás with a concert by the organist Vaqué Sea in which almost four hundred years of music will be covered for this instrument: from the earliest tablatures - the famous "Robertsbridge Codex", from which a medieval dance will be performed - to works by one of the most prolific Spanish baroque authors, the Franciscan Martín y Coll, from whom some of his famous dances will be heard. To this repertoire will be added pieces by Pierre Attaignant, as well as the Italians Andrea Gabrieli and Claudio Merulo.
Ya el Thursday 22 of July, in the Collegiate Church of San Miguel de Ampudia, the organist Joan Boronat, a musician very committed to constant musical research, will present a varied journey in which they will be heard from the ancient examples of tablature for the instrument - the famous "Buxheimer Orgelbuch" - to a piece by Joan Baptista Cabanilles already in the 17th-18th centuries., going through spanish music, Italian, english, German and Dutch. At his recital, will combine liturgical repertoire with dances, songs, little games and fantasies that will show a rich kaleidoscope of literature for the instrument according to different countries and times.
He Friday 23 of July in the church of Santa María la Blanca in Villalcázar de Sirga, the formation Eloqventia, Directed by Alejandro Villar, it will carry out a program focused on twelve cantigas by Alfonso X el Sabio dedicated to the Virgin that gives this temple its name., which shows the importance of this Palencia enclave in the thirteenth century, thanks to its location on the Camino de Santiago. Eloqventia will address a selection of these songs, that narrate miracles that happened in Vila-Sirga, and to which are added two cantigas by Alfonso X in instrumental version, a stamped French and two Italians, as a reflection of the cultural melting pot of the time and the vital role that pilgrimage routes played.
He Saturday 24 of July, back in the church of San Miguel de Palencia, the vocal group Gradualia will take a fascinating tour of the innumerable polyphonic musical jewels of the Spanish Golden Age that are kept in the music archives of the cathedrals of Castilla y León. The proposal of this training, directed by Simón Andueza, begins in the Seo de Valladolid with the only religious work that Juan Vásquez wrote, dead done- and continue through those of Palencia, Soria, Ávila, Salamanca, Zamora, Segovia, Leon and Burgos.
The closing concert of the Festival will be held on Sunday 25 of July and will have as a stage the Monastery of Our Lady of Consolation in Calabazanos. There, the musician Jose Miguel Moreno, one of the greatest specialists in historical interpretation, will offer The Emperor's Song. Music for vihuela in times of Carlos I of Spain. The vihuela is, along with the organ, the most characteristic instrument in the history of Spanish music of the 16th century. In this concert the tastes of the people of the moment will be covered and how they were up to date with the best works produced not only in Spain, but in europe, in particular, Franco-Flemish music.
Photograph (c) J.A. Escudero