Monday October 9, 8 pm
Adriana mayer & ENSEMBLE
hôtel favart
An evening with Josep Melcior Gomis
Adriana Mayer

mezzosoprano
​
Rubén Parejo

guitarra romàntica Petit Jean l'Aîné 1830
​
Carles Budó
fortepiano Broadwood 1828
​
Pere Olivé

percussion
PROGRAMme
​
Hôtel Favart: Soirée autour Gomis
A romantic evening around Josep Melcior Gomis

Ouverture du Barbier de Séville I, Giacomo Rossini (1792-1868) - Ferdinando Carulli (1770-1841)
Vieni, o Ruggiero (Boléro), G. Rossini
El dolor de los zelos, Josep Melcior Gomis (1791-1836)
No Feature like the Eye, J.M. Gomis
Je suis un amoureux nocher, J.M. Gomis
Fantasia sobre un tema de Gomis, Rubén Parejo
Bacchanale No. 1, Daniel Steibelt (1765-1823)
La gitanilla zelosa, J.M. Gomis
Ouverture du Barbier de Séville II, G. Rossini - F. Carulli
Si la mar fuera de tinta, J.M. Gomis
Yo que no sé callar, Manuel García (1775-1832)
​
A unos ojos verdes (si los hay), J.M. Gomis
The Swiss Boy, J.M. Gomis
El Curro marinero, J.M. Gomis
​
​
PROGRAMme notes
​
The biography of Josep Melcior Gomis presents, like his work, a journey full of contrasts. Born in Ontinyent, he spent his early childhood in this Valencian city. At the age of ten he moved to Valencia where he studied in the cathedral of the town with his maestro de Capella, the Girona-born Josep Pons. In the middle of his youth, and after taking part in several revolutionary acts, he settled in Madrid. There he became politically involved with the liberal movements and composed various patriotic hymns (including Riego's Hymn). The arrival of the absolutist monarchy of Ferdinand VII forced him to go into exile, from which he would never return. He first settled in Paris, where he received the help of Manuel García, a famous Rossini composer and tenor, who introduced him to the artistic circles of the city and gave him access to Rossini himself, with whom he established a good relationship. In 1827 he moved to London, where he developed the project of a singing academy and composed and published a large part of his vocal repertoire for the salon. In 1829 he returned to Paris, where he lived until his premature death from consumption in 1836. Throughout this period he premiered several operas, supported by friends such as the Hispanist Louis Viardot (future husband of Pauline, daughter of Manuel García), Berlioz and the librettist Scribe.
Gomis' work ranges from polyphonic motets with basso continuo to revolutionary operas and a wide variety of vocal chamber music. As far as this genre is concerned, his output presents a great variety of styles: English song, Italian romanza with reminiscences of the Bellinian style, some French compositions strongly influenced by Meyerbeer, as well as a considerable number of Spanish songs of a notably popular character, seguidillas and boleros, many of them with piano and guitar accompaniment. One of the most common Parisian meeting points for exiles and displaced persons from the Iberian Peninsula was the famous Hôtel Favart, where musical evenings were held and where artists such as the guitarists Dionisio Aguado and Ferran Sor, and the painter Francisco de Goya, also resided. Gomis' participation in these gatherings is sufficiently documented.
This concert is intended as an approach to Gomis' life journey and a recreation of the meetings at the Hôtel Favart. In addition to a selection of songs by Gomis, the programme includes others by Rossini, García or Carulli, as well as pieces with percussion included in French or English compilations. According to the testimony of his letters, despite being based in France, his predilection was for English pianos. In fact, for this concert we have a romantic guitar and an original Broadwood piano, built in London in 1828, during the composer's stay in the city.
Adriana mayer mezzosoprano
​
Adriana Mayer collaborates with ensembles such as Al Ayre Español, Vox Luminis, Collegium Vocale Gente, Forma Antiqva, Musica Ficta, Capilla de Ministros, La Grande Chapelle, Concerto 1700, Vespres d'Arnadí, Barcelona Ars Nova and the Milenio Ensemble of London. He has performed in renowned theatres and auditoriums in Europe and America, and has participated in numerous international festivals. Many of his concerts have been recorded by international television and radio stations, such as BBC, Radio Clásica de RNE, Osterreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), Radio Nacional de Colombia, Polskie Radio or RTVE. He has made recordings for the labels CDM, Enchiriadis, DUX, Universum Records and IVM, and has participated in the recording of the soundtrack for the film Quién te cantará (Carlos Vermut) and the American film Walking Out (Alex Smith).
​
rubén parejo guitarist
Rubén Parejo has been awarded in several international competitions, he is guest professor in numerous courses, seminars, competitions and master classes in universities and conservatories. As a solo guitarist he has performed in Holland, Italy, Portugal, Mexico, France, USA, Argentina, Austria, England, Brazil, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, Israel, Czech Republic, Thailand... where his playing has been praised by the press and specialised magazines. He has given concerts and master classes in different cities in Japan (Tokyo, Chiba, Azumino, Osaka, Sapporo).
​
carles budó pianist
​
He has studied piano with Árpád Bodó, Wolfram Rieger, Roger Vignoles, Irwin Gage, among others. At the same time he works on the interpretation of early music, harpsichord, basso continuo (Pia Elsdörfer, Pierre Hantaï, Christian Curnyn...) and medieval repertoire (Pedro Memelsdorff). He obtained a Master's degree in fortepiano with Arthur Schoonderwoerd and Luca Guglielmi. She has performed with performers and ensembles such as Chiara Banchini, Gilles Apap, Ara Malikián and La Colombina. He accompanies courses by Emma Kirkby, Ana Luisa Chova, Chiara Banchini or Marianne Muller. Since 2005 he has been teaching vocal repertoire at the Conservatorio Superior de Música Joaquín Rodrigo in Valencia.
​
pere olivé percusionist
Pere Olivé is a percussionist who brings together the freshness of the oral musical tradition of his country and the academicism of classical percussion. He holds a degree in historical percussion and traditional Catalan music from ESMUC, where he studied with Pedro Estevan. He has also trained with other teachers from all over the world: Andrea Piccioni, Michael Metzler, Yshai Afterman, David Kuckhermann and Glen Velez. He combines teaching with his life as a performer, collaborating regularly with ensembles such as Le Poème harmonique, Grande Chapelle, Achéron, Hespèrion XXI and Le Concert des Nations, and is a member of Quinteto Montsant, Cobla Catalana dels Sons Essencials, So Nat Grallers de Tarragona, Eròtic-Giust and Tañer. He has recorded some twenty CDs ranging from traditional and early music to contemporary music.
​
Saturday, October 9, 7pm
Lucentum XVI
Francesc de Borja
Music for the 450th anniversary of his death
​
Pere Saragossa, shawms and direction
Quiteria Muñoz, soprano; Carla Sanmartín, alto
Jesus Navarro, tenor; Giorgio Celenza, bass
Carlos García-Bernalt, organ
Xavier Boïls, cornetto; Vicent Osca, sackbut; Antoni Lloret, shawms;
Antoni Llofriw, dulzians; Fernando Fernández, lute; Facundo San Blas, percussion
PROGRAMme
francesc de borja
​
· La Bataille, by Clément Janequin (c.1485-1558), of the Dixiéme livre (Amberes, 1545) of Tielman Susato
​
· Rondeau «Ce jour», by Guillaume Dufay (c.1397-1474)
· Ave Maris Stella, by G. Dufay / Booksongs of Montecassino (c.1480)
· Miserere Nostri – Vexilla Regis, C. Montecassino
· El cervel mi fa, anonymous of the Booksong of Palacio (c. 1500)
· Susanne un jour, d’Orlando de Lassus (1532-1594)
· Credo in unum Deum of the Mass about Susanne un jour, by Orlando de Lassus.
· Makam Muhayyer «Kúme» usules Düyek Acemler, Turkish war march.
​
· Passio Domini nostri Iesu Christi secundum Mattheum*, by Jan Nasco (c.1510–1561) and Joan Baptista Comes (c.1582-1643)
​
*Named as «Passion de Valencia» by Joan Baptista Comes (Escorial Monastery Archive, c.1607)
ABOUT THE GROUP
lucentum xvi
​
Group of ministers (instrument players) led by Pere Saragossa , created to interpret and spread the rich and varied musical repertoire of the Renaissance. Bands of wind instruments, with the name alta capella , spread throughout cities and towns in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. The main function of the ministers within the liturgy was to accompany the vocal music, dubbing the voices. In the civil sphere, the high chapel was in charge of performing dances, popular songs, and love pieces and epics of courtly and popular origin.
​
Lucentum XVI's performances include those performed in Bari and Molfetta as part of the Anima mea de la Puglia Festival (Italy), Musical Vespers of the Monastery of Pedralbes, Festival of Ancient Music of the Pyrenees, Serenades Festival of the University of Valencia, Music Festival Antiga de Morella, Clásicos en la Frontera a la Ribagorça, Festival of Contemplative Music of Santiago de Compostela, Festival of Sacred Music of Benicà ssim, Festival of Ancient and Baroque Music of PeñÃscola.
​
In 2021 they published their first record work with the title " El Cantoral del Monestir de Santa Maria de la Murta d'Alzira ", a disc of which the specialized critic has said "The execution is absolutely exquisite, full of balance in the excellent voices and the instruments (...). The album is a gem, both for the interpretation and for the unprecedented and beautiful polyphony and for the documentation.» (Manuel de Lara Ruiz, Scherzo Magazine, June 2021).
Programme notes
francesc de borja
​
This programme comemorates the 450th anniversary of the death of Francesc de Borja i Aragó ( Gandia 1510- Roma 1572) who was Duke of Gandia, Lieutenant of Catalunya, later joining the Jesuit order being proclaimed a Saint in 1671, for which reason the Catholic church is now celebrating the 350th anniversary of this fact.
​
In this concert we present the premiere in modern times , of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew, a work which Ferran d'Aragó, viceroy of Valencia and Duke of Calabria commisioned from the Flemish composer, Jan Nasco ( 1510-1561) to give as a gift to the Cathedral of Valencia , being known at the time as the Passion of Valencia.
This work is part of the repertoire of the choir of the monastery of Murta d'Alzira, a musical body to which our group has dedicated the first of their albums released earlier this year.
​
The representation or interpretation of the Passion according to Matthew , where the gospel of this prophet is narrated, took place in the Roman Catholic liturgy during the Mass of Palm Sunday (the following Tuesday was the gospel of Saint Mark, on Wednesday, the gospel of Saint Luke and on Good Friday the gospel of Saint John.).
​
The main characters of the Passion are Christ, the Evangelist narrator and the crowd, the so-called “mob” played by the whole congregation.
​
The score for the crowd has not been found in the Monastery of Alzira , so it could have been performed in plain singing or in a now lost poliphony.
But some parts sung by the crowd appear in poliphony for 6 voices originally written by the Valencian Joan Baptista Comes ( chapel master in the Cathedral of Valencia, successor to Josep Prades) which is in the monastery of San Lorenzo d'El Escorial, a Jerónimo monastery, like that of Alzira. And the interventions of the mob, but for 4 voices, appear in a document of 1561 signed by Jan Nasco himself.
​
Since the Second Vatican Council, held between 1959 and 1962 the singing of the Latin Passion has been replaced in almost all diocese by the reading of the Passion in the vernacular language ( except in our territory where our own language is not used.).
​
Together with this great work we present among others pieces from the Cancionero de Palacio , the palace of Queen Isabel of Castilla ( the Catholic) and king Ferdinand of Aragón, and the Songbook of Montecasino ( Naples) a collection written in the 1480s which accompanied Alfons and Roderic de Borja to Rome where they became Popes with the names Calixtus lll and Alexander Vl.
