Good morning in this final weekend of the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht 2024. Not only in terms of the climate, it will be two wonderful days in Sevillian spheres. Of course, there are still a lot of Sevillian musical highlights ahead.
A recap
But first a look back. Day eight of the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht 2024 in pictures. Including the finals of the International Van Wassenaer Competition, the Jacobikerk packed with recorder enthusiasts for The Royal Wind Music, and a special flamenco evening with Tomás de Perrate, Alfredo Lagos & Leonor Leal.
Results International Van Wassenaer Competition
Three ensembles competed for prizes at the IVWC finals. The jury prizes were distributed as follows:
In addition, BREZZA won both the audience award and the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht Prize. The latter means that they will receive a paid concert tour with the Festival Early Music Tours in a future concert season.
Read more about the IVWC...Special today
Although the festival is (sadly...) nearing its end, it's only day two of the Early Music Market! Visit it on the fifth and sixth floors of TivoliVredenburg from 10:00 am. In addition, a group of enthusiastic amateur singers will once again set to work, this time under the inspiring direction of Adrián Rodríguez Van der Spoel. Watch the result at 16:15 in the central entrance hall of TivoliVredenburg while enjoying a cup of coffee or tea (or the special Sevilla Sour cocktail!).
Tip from the Team: Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century & Arthur Japin
Our crew members also enjoy the programming at Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht and are happy to share their tips. With today's tip from EMTV marketer Inge, who has been looking forward for months to Haydn's Seven Last Words by the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century & Arthur Japin.
'Not Seville, but the southern port city of Cadiz is the focus of this concert programme. For Santo Rosario cathedral, Joseph Haydn composed his Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze, reputedly the work the composer himself loved most. During Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht 2024, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century approaches the original setting for which the piece was once written with the help of author Arthur Japin - with a recital between each of the sonatas. Only now not about one of the seven last words of Jesus Christ, but about a Jewish girl of time of the (re)conquista.'
Composer of the day: Juan Vásquez
In the spotlight today: Juan Vásquez (c. 1500-1560). Although his exact birthplace is not known with certainty, it is generally believed to have been Badajoz, in the Extremadura region.
Vásquez was thus not born in Seville, but the connection he had with the Andalusian city is extremely important. After all, this city was one of Spain's main cultural centres during the Renaissance, a place where a talented young musician could thrive and flourish. He worked in Seville as chaplain and cantor at the cathedral, meeting Sevillian masters such as Juan de Triana, Francisco de la Torre and Francisco de Peñalosa. His time in Seville, as well as in other cities such as Plasencia and Badajoz, allowed him to absorb a wide range of musical styles and influences, making his compositions both innovative and diverse.
Vásquez is best known for his compositions of villancicos and romances, popular secular musical genres in Spain during that time. His main works are collected in Villancicos i canciones a tres y a cuatro voces (1551) and Recopilación de sonetos y villancicos a cuatro y a cinco voces (1560). These collections show his talent for combining poetic texts with expressive melodies and harmonies. Vásquez's music is characterised by a refined use of counterpoint, clear melodic lines, and careful attention to the rhythm and meaning of the text.
Seville was not only an important place to achieve success in terms of sounding music and important teaching figures. The printing presses in Seville played an important role in spreading musical works throughout Spain and Europe. This enabled composers like Vásquez to reach a wider audience with their music, and 500 years later they are still known to us.
Listen to Vásquez's finest villancicos today and tomorrow at the La Chimera / Eduardo Egüez concerts. Tomorrow with none other than the tenor and rising star Juan Sancho.
Also on the programme today...
...festive Spanish-American Baroque music, our Café host Raquel Andueza in the Lutherse Kerk, and Domenico Scarlatti (what exactly is on the latter programme, we don't know - it's only on stage that Hantaï decides what fits the atmosphere).
Today on EMTV
With EMTV, you can watch livestreams from Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht 2024 every day. Featuring today:
The day of a volunteer
Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht could not exist without the efforts of all the wonderful volunteers. Earlier this week, volunteer, Hispanist and song lyricist Monique Woltring reported on her work at the festival in the NRC's culture diary.
Read her story (in Dutch)...Did you know...
... this year's fringe programme consists of over 70 free concerts by young talented musicians? For two more days, you have the chance to discover these ensembles and soloists of the future. There are still a few spots available!
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