Pre-Concert Lecture 7 pm – Dr. Samuel Brannon

Duarte Lôbo – Missa pro Defunctis á8, motets by Cardoso, Lôbo, Lusitano, and Mendes

Portugal’s vast treasury of polyphony was lost in the Lisbon Earthquake and resulting tsunami of 1755, obliterating eighty-five percent of Lisbon’s buildings, including the major royal library and cathedral collections. Music from Portugal survives in publications scattered around Europe and the New World. Surviving works like Duarte Lôbo’s stunning eight-voice Requiem and the motets heard on tonight’s program offer a glimpse into the splendor that was late Renaissance Portugal. Highlights will include the eight-voice Inviolata, Integra et casta by Vicente Lusitano, the first published Renaissance composer of African descent, Asperges me by Manuel Mendes, and Music for Holy Week by Frei Manuel Cardozo.

We want everyone to be able to enjoy our concerts and we understand that not everyone may be able to afford the published ticket prices. If you would like a ticket to one of our concerts, please contact info@polyhymnia-nyc.org and we will arrange for a pay-as-you-will or free ticket. Rest assured that our arrangements are strictly confidential.