One image of the Divine Feminine well known for the past 2000 years is the Virgin Mary. She is generally depicted as White, as in mainstream images today, but records and artifacts of the past and present across Europe, Africa, and the Americas show many depictions of a dark-skinned Other Mary.
Our program will reveal that this non-White Divine Feminine is richly represented in musical history and continues to be honored in traditional song today.
This performance highlights the links between local female divinities and dark-skinned Marian devotions across continents and from antiquity to the present.
This exciting musical program includes two world premieres: 18th century Spanish La Sibila de Oriente and 17th century Mexican Morena la mas hermosa along with the North American premiere of Spanish 18th century, Ah negliya de Santo Tomé.
Buy your tickets today and join us for this unique, original and moving experience of The Other Mary.
Music from the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat, Spain, and the Latin-American Valdensis and Trujillo Codex, along with traditional music from Venezuela, Mexico, and Peru.
ENSEMBLE
Cassandra Extavour, Adriana Ruiz, Lina Sarmiento, soprano
Daniela Tosic, mezzosoprano
Fausto Miro, tenor
Na’ama Lion, flute
Danilo Bonina, violin
Eduardo Betancourt, Venezuelan harp & percussion
Kirsten Lamb, bass
Katherine Shao, keyboards
Miguel Morales, percussion
Laury Gutiérrez, viola da gamba & cuatro
About the Ensembles:
La Donna Musicale is a non-profit organization dedicated to the research and performance of music by women composers. Rumbarroco is an ensemble known for its focus on Ibero-American early music and “Latin-Baroque Fusion,” blending European traditions with African and Amerindian influences. Both groups are directed by Laury Gutiérrez, whose research into marginalized musical histories is central to their shared repertoire.
Both groups are founded and directed by Laury Gutiérrez, a Venezuelan-American scholar and “first-rate” instrumentalist (Boston Globe). A prominent figure in the field of historical performance, Ms. Gutiérrez has served as a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University and as a resident scholar at the Brandeis University Women’s Studies Research Center. Her extensive research into marginalized musical histories is central to the shared repertoire of both ensembles.
