Another beautiful morning on this eighth day of the Early Music Festival Utrecht 2024. We still have three days ahead of us, including today: the start of the Early Music Market and the final of the IVWC.
Recap
Day seven was all about overseas voyages. Utrecht-based early music ensemble Camerata Trajectina took us to New Amsterdam through stories and songs by Jacob Steendam. In the Dom Church, Mexican musical cathedral treasures were sung by Stile Antico. Late in the evening, Imago Mundi closed the day with North African heritage from Al-Andalus.
Starting today: Early Music Market
As we speak, the fifth and sixth floors of TivoliVredenburg are being prepared for the Early Music Market. Instrument builders, sheet music publishers, music shops and bookshops will display their valuables for the festival audience. Thus, the Festival Early Music Market offers both the curious layman and the professional musician the chance to view and even try out historical musical instruments.
The market is freely accessible and will be held during the last three days of Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht (Friday 30 August to Sunday 1 September) and will take place in TivoliVredenburg on and around Park 6. Today the doors open at 12:00, tomorrow and Sunday at 10:00.
IVWC finals
Last Wednesday, the ensembles BREZZA, Apollo's Cabinet and Tra Noi earned a ticket for the finals of the International Van Wassenaer Competition. Today, they will compete for the first prize, the audience award and the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht Prize. At 11:00, the first ensemble will take to the stage in TivoliVredenburg, Hertz. The explanation of what the various awards entail, the programmes the ensembles will play and the exact schedule can be found below. Not able to come to TivoliVredenburg? Watch it live on EMTV.
Composer of the day: Francisco Correa de Arauxo
While we have mostly discussed Renaissance composers in this daily column (after all, the theme of this festival is dedicated to a city that flourished in the sixteenth century), today we move towards the Baroque. Again it is a Francisco, this time Correa de Arauxo (1584-1654). This Francisco also spent most of his life in Seville. At a young age, he started out as a choirboy and received organ lessons with which his love for the organ was born. He would later become organist of the church of San Salvador in Seville, and of the cathedrals of Jaén and Segovia.
The only work we still have by Arauxo is his Libro de tientos y discursos de música practica, y theorica de organo intitulado Facultad organica from 1626. Quite a mouthful, so usually abbreviated to Facultad organica. This is a theoretically important work, as well as compositionally. It contains 69 compositions, leading the shift from the Renaissance to the Baroque. Arauxo also discusses at length the possibilities and use of ornamentation and (slight) dissonance.
The type of composition that makes up the bulk of the Facultad is the so-called tiento. This is a typically Spanish musical form that originated in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and, with the help of Correa, would continue to develop into an important genre during the Baroque period. It is a free, often polyphonic composition that uses imitative techniques and variations. It balances between counterpoint and improvisation, making the performance particularly expressive.
Arauxo's tientos pass frequently this festival edition. Bernard Foccroulle has fully immersed himself in his compositions and will be playing the organ in the Tuindorpkerk at 11:00 this morning. Foccroulle continues his exploration of Arauxo's work with InAlto, tomorrow in the Hertz.
Also on the programme today...
… the story of forced converts, Alonso Lobo's Missa de Beata Genitrix, and a flamenco concert (including introduction).
Today on EMTV
With EMTV, you can watch livestreams from Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht 2024 every day. Featuring today:
EMTV Streaming Session
Didn't manage to get tickets for the L'Arpeggiata concert, but would still like to watch and listen in a hall with a concert setting? Then visit the Streaming Session in TivoliVredenburg, Cloud Nine. On a big screen and with good sound, you can still experience the concert.
Did you know that...
... you can give people with less financial means the chance to enjoy Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht too? Through De Toegift, our visitors can donate a concert ticket for €12.50. In cooperation with various organisations in Utrecht, including De Tussenvoorziening, Buddy to Buddy, De Armoedecoalitie and COA Haydnlaan, we pay for tickets for those who would otherwise not have that opportunity. Last year, Elske was one of the visitors.
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