Music lovers take trip to sunny Spain

LOCAL choral ensemble Camerata Nova took the faithful on a pilgrimage to sunny Spain Sunday afternoon, with a program that celebrated both the serene and tempestuous best of Hispanic music.

The weekend’s fiesta, Musica Hispanica, was the second concert in the 13-voice, a cappella choir’s three-show season. The afternoon also featured a special guest appearance by local Latin sensation, Rodrigo Munoz (Papa Mambo), making his debut with the Renaissance group in the glorious acoustics of St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Artistic director Andrew Balfour took his place alongside the singers, passing the baton on to University of Manitoba’s new choral director, Elroy Friesen, while he spends time concentrating on his own burgeoning compositional career.

The guitar fits Spanish music like a hand glove, with Munoz treating the audience to two classical guitar solos. More usually seen fronting his popular salsa band, the Chilean-born musician performed dance suites Pavana 1 y 2 by Luis de Milan and pavana Espanolete y Rujero by Gazpar Sanz with ease and fluency.

The program also included 20th-century Finnish composer Rautavaara’s Suite de Lorca (1973), based on a set of four poems by famed Spanish poet Lorca. Filled with tightly clustered harmonies – what the Finns seem to do best – and limpid chromaticism, the choir performed this dramatic work with powerful conviction. The edgy Maguena with its sweeping lines over a rhythmic ostinato was a highlight.

Italian film composer Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s difficult Romancero Gitano (Gypsy Ballads) consists of seven of Lorca’s poems that describe everything from heart-piercing daggers to weeping guitars.

Despite strong solos by bass Bryan Lopuck and soprano Heather Pauls, another rehearsal or two would likely have solidified what was a sometimes-shaky performance. Still, these singers sang with heart, with Munoz’s guitar accompaniment adding its own bittersweet presence.

One can never seem to tire of hearing the unearthly, high-reaching range of the countertenor. Tomas Luis de Victoria’s Missa pro defunctis (1603) featured soloist Ross Brownlee in a performance that had his strong voice soaring over a well-balanced, seamless ensemble.

Just when you were lulled into a state of peaceful, polyphonic bliss, 14th-century dance Cuncti simus concanentes (Let Us Sing Together) burst onto the scene to shake things up. Adding a cajon drum gave the short piece strong, rhythmic life that made it difficult to stay seated in the pews.

Friesen’s skilful leadership gave focus and keen shape to the afternoon’s music, with a Midas touch that continues to bring out the very best in singers.