Hesperion XXI: Musical Europe

The Golden Age of Consort Viol Music

Presented in partnership with The Honorary Spanish Consulate

Saturday, November 10, 2012
8 pm (preconcert lecture at 7 pm)
Town Hall Seattle

The premier Spanish ensemble, directed by its founder Jordi Savall, returns to the International Series to present music for five violas da gamba, lute, and percussion. Their program is a virtual tour of 16th- and 17th- century Europe, with works by John Dowland, Antonio de Cabezón, Michel Philidor, Samuel Scheidt, Luigi Rossi, and others. One of the most multifariously gifted musicians of his generation, Jordi Savall’s career as a concert performer, teacher, researcher and creator of new projects, both musical and cultural, make him one of the principal architects of the current revaluation of historical music.

Hesperion XXI ~ United by a common goal – the study and interpretation of ancient music according to new, modern criteria – and fascinated by the immense richness of the Hispanic and European musical repertoire before 1800, in 1974 Jordi Savall, Montserrat Figueras, Lorenzo Alpert and Hopkinson Smith founded the ensemble Hesperion XX. In its thirty years of existence, the group has, in collaboration with other outstanding performers, rescued numerous works and programs from oblivion, thus contributing to a major reappraisal of the fundamental aspects of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque repertoires.

At the beginning of the new millennium, Hesperion XX continues to be a front-line tool for musical research, in 2000 reflecting the advent of the new century by changing its name to Hesperion XXI. The ensemble has been characterized by its eclectic approach to the process of artistic decision-making: as 21st century musicians, its members’ objectives are grounded in the search for a dynamic synthesis of musical expression, stylistic and historical research and creative imagination. The fascinating task of reconstructing the rich exuberance of music from other ages, specifically music composed from the 10th to the 18th century, has breathed new life into current musical thinking.

Watch Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI perform Canarios (improvisations) from this program.

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