ArAKAeNdAr Choir & orCheSTrA

Ashley Solomon, conductor

Baroque Music from Jesuit Reductions in Bolivia

Presenting Underwriter HRH Foundation

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About the PerformanceIn the 16th century, Iberian (southwest European) influence took a strong hold in South America when the area was colonized by Spain and Portugal. These Spanish and Portuguese settlers forced their language and many religious and cultural traditions on the people of the “New World.” They also demanded that the South Americans learn and perform music in a European style. By the 17th and early 18th centuries, just as music was reaching new and exciting heights during the Western Baroque Era, South America experienced its own musical revolution—a New World Baroque with an Iberian flavor.

In the region that became Bolivia, European music was an integral part of the culture, thanks to missionary villages whose chapels preserved music manuscripts for religious services. While many of these Christian musical pieces were imported from the Iberian Peninsula, the majority were written by local composers, who also penned secular songs inspired by daily life. Local singers and musicians were then taught to perform these works.

At this performance, vocalists from the Arakaendar (ah-rah-kay-EHN-dahr) Bolivia Choir will perform songs from documents found in mission library archives and handed down through centuries.

The SoUNd oF BAroqUeWestern Baroque Music

The word “baroque” (pronounced bah-ROHK), is used to describe Western music written around 1600 to 1750. The term actually originated from the Iberian phrase “barocco” (bah-ROH-koh)—a Portuguese name given to pearls that were slightly misshapen or off-color. Eventually, the French form “baroque” was used to describe anything that was showy or overdone. In the 20th century, however, “baroque” became a positive adjective, and its name was applied to a period of musical history that was full of exciting ornamentation and innovation.

Western composers of the Baroque Era were simultaneously more light-hearted and more serious than their predecessors. As newer instruments such as the harpsichord and the violin developed and became more versatile, music makers began having more fun and trying out new techniques like imitation (a device where one instrumental or singing voice copies another) and improvisation (where players or singers would give a melody their own special embellishments).

Yet, at the same time, a new set of musical standards started taking over, and more composers created music that, while lively and entertaining, followed some very strict rules. Pieces began to be divided into special sections or movements, each with a prescribed style and rhythm. This combination of flighty and frivolous ornaments contained within a rigid musical outline is the hallmark of Western Baroque music.

Baroque on the

Iberian Peninsula

Just like their colleagues in Germany, England, Italy, and France, composers on the Iberian Peninsula from 1600 to 1750 experimented with imitation and improvisation while adhering to specific forms. Vocal music was immensely popular and four-part harmony songs were heard throughout royal courts, religious cathedrals, and local churches. While some of these songs were inspired by the Latin Catholic Mass, others were based on poems (some containing secular themes) and sung in a variety of Iberian dialects. The singers, who usually divide their vocals into four separate parts, are supported by instruments that reflect the authentic sound of the Baroque period.

The choir and orchestra are conducted by Ashley Solomon, an

accomplished English flautist and director of the popular

music ensemble, Florilegium (pronounced

flohr-ee-LEH-jyum).

Sheet music was found in Jesuit Catholic missions

(called “reductions”) that were built in

the Bolivian jungles.

The ChoirComposed entirely of Bolivian singers, the Arakaendar Choir was officially founded in 2006 after years of rigorous research and planning by Polish musicologist Father Piotr Nawrot, English conductor Ashley Solomon, and countless other contributors. The choir is dedicated to breathing new life into music from the archives of Bolivian mission settlements and its concerts are purposefully presented in the spirit of performances heard in the Central South American colonies of the 17th and 18th centuries. Arakaendar’s vocalists sing in both Classical Latin and local dialect languages.

WhAT To LiSTeN For…n How singers often sing many different notes on a single

syllable. These types of vocal decorations or ornaments are typical of Baroque style.

n The way the keyboard instrument helps the choir keep a steady rhythm despite their complicated melodies.

n How voice parts echo and imitate one another rather than simply singing in harmony.

ThiNGS To ThiNK ABoUT…n Baroque singing is a specialized skill. How do today’s

voices compare to the ones you’re used to hearing on stage and on TV? What differences can you identify?

n Similarly, a Baroque ensemble is very different from a modern orchestra. What instruments and sounds do you recognize in today’s performance? Which are new to you?

n Certain rhythms you hear today may sound a little offbeat—a phenomenon musicians call “syncopation” or stressing a note in an unexpected place, between beats, or on a weak beat. Though this was common in the Baroque Era, it can still be heard today, especially in popular Latin dance music. Can you think of any modern examples?

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education

Alicia Adams Vice President, International Programming and Festival Curator

IBERIAN SUITE: global arts remix is presented in cooperation with the governments of Portugal and Spain.

Festival Leadership CommitteeHonorary Chairman, His Majesty King Juan CarlosJosé Andrés, Natalia and Carlos Bulgheroni, Helen Lee Henderson, Amalia Perea Mahoney, Former President Felipe González Márquez, The Honorable Luis Alberto Moreno, and David M. Rubenstein

Festival Benefactors include the Portuguese Secretary of State for Culture, Ambassador Elizabeth F. Bagley, Natalia and Carlos Bulgheroni, Amalia Perea Mahoney and William Mahoney, and David and Alice Rubenstein.

Major Sponsors include Arte Institute, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Camões – Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, EDP, Fundação Luso-Americana, Marca España, SPAIN arts & culture, and ThinkFoodGroup.

Additional support for The Arakaendar Bolivia Choir is made possible by Kaplan, Inc.; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, the National Committee for the Performing Arts, and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge

Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center. Learn more about education at the Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education

The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education but do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

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