Chicago’s Bella Voce opens its season with choral music exploring the cultural links between the Americas and the colonial powers of Spain and Portugal. Some of the composers on this enriching program were born in the New World, some were European-born travelers, and a few never crossed the Atlantic but their music did.
Musical Riches from Iberia and the Americas Read More »
Earlier this year, Peruvian violinist Jimena Burga Lopera, a student in Juilliard’s Historical Performance program, went on tour with the J415 ensemble to Bolivia’s International Festival of Renaissance and American Baroque Music known as “Misiones de Chiquitos.” In this essay, she writes about the festival and her eye- and ear-opening experiences.
Juilliard415 en Bolivia: música barroca de la vida diaria (en español) Read More »
On tour with Juilliard 415 at a festival in Bolivia, keyboardist Nathan Mondry got himself into trouble late one night, leading to yet another fresh insight into music. Surrounded by wild dogs, ‘the danger became real,’ he writes. ‘Years of conservatory training and knowledge of obscure treatises and 4-5 finger trills would not help me in this moment…’
Juilliard415 in Bolivia: A Dog Date with Destiny Read More »
Mahan Esfahani’s J.S. Bach recordings, on harpsichord and clavichord, are rich in virtuosity and imagination. Although the music on this newest album, including preludes, inventions, and sinfonias, was composed for teaching purposes, Esfahani sees beyond the printed page and manages to coax a vocal character from his instrument.
Exuberant Bach from Mahan Esfahani Read More »
Using the in-vogue terms of ‘media’ and ‘materiality,’ this collection finds insights in the objects of everyday music-making. Its chapters cover a range of topics, from conventional notation to the layout and decorations of illuminated manuscripts. In case after case, the visual, textual, and tactile effects of a manuscript impacted how the musicians engaged with its content.
On Materiality of Musical Sources Read More »
