Ensemble Villancico (se) i KoncertKirken 23.9.19Jessica Bäcklund, soprano Christina Larsson Malmberg, soprano Dan Johansson, countertenor and virginal Charlotta Hedberg, alto Love Tronner, tenor Emanuel Roll, tenor Yamandú Pontvik, baritone Erik Arnelöf, bass Markus Ström, recorders TBC, baroque guitar and lute TBC, viols Rolf Landberg, percussion

Daniela Pontvik Valero, baroque dance Niklas Blomqvist, baroque dance

Peter Pontvik, conductor

Early World Music from Latin America

The Baroque music of the Conquistadors

It is difficult to define Latin American renaissance or baroque music, since the many pre-colonial Indian cultures had no unifying cultural heritage. One must therefore seek a common denominator in the (sacred) music that the Europeans, as the dominant ethnic unit, imported to the new continent.

The ships bearing the conquistadors probably also had musicians on board, both military and private, who are likely to have introduced western music to the new continent. Soon after the conquerors came the missionaries, impatient to convert the population of these new territories to Christianity. They found that music could help them to quickly convince the Indians to join in Christian daily life and eventually join the faith.

Even though this social and cultural takeover was dictated wholly by the conquerors, it resulted in curious musical blends: compositions written in the formal language of the European renaissance and baroque, but which are coloured here and there by indigenous rhythms or melodies, and which at the same time incorporate the local Indian languages in the text. In fact, only a few decades after Columbus arrived in America in 1492, the newly built Roman Catholic cathedrals in Mexico and Guatemala featured church music sung in Náhuatl and other Indian languages.

The enslaved Africans also affected Latin American baroque music both with their music, rhythms and their own special ways of pronouncing Spanish and Portuguese words. There are many examples of compositions inspired in an African style or based on the dialects of the Africans.

The music, composed and performed in the Latin American Baroque era under the hegemony of Catholicism and the diversity captured in its essence ultimately suggests to us a spirit that may be termed "Early World Music« - to be understood as the ample presence of multi-ethnic values and intercontinental relations in one and the same region. © Peter Pontvik

Ensemble Villancico After 24 years of activity, Ensemble Villancico is currently regarded worldwide as one of the most important interpreters of early music from Latin America. In its vibrant performances, its interpretive vitality and first-rank musical capabilities, the ensemble unites the recognized quality of Nordic voices and the spirit of Latin American baroque music.

Ensemble Villancico has performed hundreds of concerts in some thirty countries in Europe and Latin America in programs featuring the repertoire of the Latin American baroque and early music from the Nordic countries. The ensemble has presented itself internationally on television and radio on repeated occasions and has released seven CDs. Ensemble Villancico received the Ivan Lucacic Prize in Varazdin, Croatia, and its CD “Hyhyhy – the New Jungle Book of the Baroque” was nominated for the Swedish Grammis Recording Prize. www.villancico.se

Peter Pontvik Born in Copenhagen in 1963, He studied composition, musicology, and choral conducting in Uruguay, and composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm as well as composition under Wolfgang Rihm at the Karlsruhe State College of Music (Germany) and in courses in the field of early music under Hans-Georg Renner. Pontvik’s compositions include Candombe for wind orchestra, Sagitra for choir and Missa Brevis.

Pontvik has occupied himself in special measure with research in the field of Latin American baroque music. He founded the Ensemble Villancico in 1995 and serves as its artistic director. He is also the founder and the artistic director of the Stockholm Early Music Festival since 2002, and currently the president of REMA (European Early Music Network) as well as the chairman of NORDEM (Nordic Early Music Federation). Pontvik is the initiator of the “European Day of Early Music”, celebrated internationally since 2013.

Peter Pontvik has been awarded the First Prize in Choral Composition in Tolosa, Spain, the “Cultural Promoter of the Year” by the Swedish Festival Association, and the “Swedish Early Music Award”.

International press voices

"The art of Villancico blends light and dark, joy and sadness, forming a fresh and brilliant fireworks display that both entertains and enriches. An experience for both the eye and ear." (Smålandsposten, Sweden)

"Technique and temperament, rhythm and freshness" (El Cóndor, Santiago de Chile)

"Candy for the ears and joy for the eyes" (Augsburger Allgemeine, Augsburg, Germany)

"Colorful, dancing and wonderful; if one had believed that renaissance music is one-sided and boring, they were cured from this during the course of the evening." (Norrtelje Tidning, Sweden)

"Only the church columns failed to be moved by the ensemble's spontaneity and clean, airy presentation style" (Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden)

"The absolute high point of the festival so far" (Nordlys, Tromsö, Norway)