Neumesletter*

Summer 2019 Edition Música Antigua de Albuquerque

* Neumes: the musical signs used in chant notation.

A Preview of Our Upcoming Season

Charles V & the Spanish Empire

Concert I of our 2019-2020 season will be a quincentennial recognition of the election in 1519 of the Spanish King Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor. The grandson of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Charles was King of Castile and Aragon from 1516 to 1556. Through his father, Philip the Handsome, he was also head of the House of Hapsburg, which meant he was Duke of Burgundy as well as the ruler of Austria and other Hapsburg holdings in central Europe. It was during his reign that Spain expanded its sphere of influence in the New World and became a formidable colonial power.

O Joyful Day

Our Christmas concerts will include a variety of musical selections from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, interspersed with excerpts from period literary works narrated by Kathy Wimmer.

A Trip to the Zoo

Our third subscription concert, in March of 2020, will be a musical bestiary. It will feature music about animals, both real and mythical, from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. One of the most curious was the basilisk, a fearsome legendary reptile with poisonous breath.

A Merry-Go-Round of Sound

Concert IV will present music about "roundness" in the Middle Ages & Renaissance. The idea for the theme was loosely inspired by the first written description of a merry-go-round at a fair in the year 1620. Our program will include musical rounds as well as other "round"-themed selections like the Wheel of Fortune, wool-spinning, dances with spinning steps and drunken reeling.

Special Note about Christmas

& our New Concert Times

Because the attendance at our Santa Fe Christmas concerts has increased in the last couple of years, we have decided to add an extra performance there in December. Our Santa Fe audiences will be able to attend at either 4:00 or 7:30 on December 15th. We would like to express our thanks to all those people who scrunched together in the pews last year so that we didn't have to turn anyone away! With an extra concert this time, it won't be necessary to get so cozy (unless you want to, of course). NOTE: Albuquerque audiences will still have their usual choice of two Christmas concert dates (December 8 & 22). And just so that things won't get confusing, we are shifting ALL of our afternoon season concert times to 4:00 instead of 4:30.

Past & Upcoming Activities In addition to our subscription concert performances this past season, MAA performed at several other venues. As part of our mission to bring early music to young people, we gave presentations for several student groups this past season. In November, we gave a performance for the ninth-graders of Albuquerque Academy for their annual “Medieval Day.” In May we played a program for the chorus and guitar students at Albuquerque High School, and for orchestra students at Volcano Vista High. We also gave demonstrations of early music and instruments for Music Appreciation students at the University of New Mexico in the fall and spring semesters. In January, we gave a special guest performance in Socorro at New Mexico Tech's Jean Macey Annex Recital Hall as part of the 2019 Baroque Music Series directed by Gaby Benalil. And in May, we played for two services at First Unitarian Church in Albuquerque. Upcoming: On June 22 we will be performing on the Midsummer Music Marathon at St. John's Methodist Church in Albuquerque. The event will run from 12 noon to 8 p.m. and will feature performances by a number of musicians to benefit Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless. Música Antigua is scheduled to play at 7:00 p.m.

Featured Instrument: The Mysterious Gemshorn

One of our favorite early instruments is the gemshorn, a flute that was made from the horn of a gemsbok. Today we think of the gemsbok as the very distinctive-looking African antelope, but its name actually comes from gems, the Dutch word for the European chamois, a member of the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. While the gemshorn was originally made from the horn of the chamois, later illustrations show examples made from horns of oxen, cows and domestic goats, as well as the Alpine ibex (capra ibex) and the Iberian ibex (capra pyrenaica). All of these shared a curved horn shape and a stopped conical bore, and produced a very sweet tone. The early gemshorn was undoubtedly a simple folk instrument, but it evolved into a more sophisticated form in the early sixteenth century, although never reaching the same level of popularity as the recorder. Only one instrument has survived the passage of time, but the theorist Sebastian Virdung depicted it in his Musica getutscht (1511), and Martin Agricola included it in the 1529 edition of his Musica instrumentalis deudsch. Since its revival in the 1960's, modern makers have produced the instrument in a variety of sizes, similar to the recorder family. The instrument gradually fell out of use by the late 1500's, probably because of its limited range (anywhere from a sixth to a tenth, depending on the size), but from the mid-fifteenth century its sound had begun to be imitated by organ builders and gemshorn stops are still found on modern organs.

Creativity in Performing Early Music

One of the great pleasures we derive from the performance of early music is the process of deciding just exactly how we will perform a particular piece. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, composers did not mandate what instruments were supposed to be used for their works, but instead left such decisions to the discretion of the performers. When we choose to play (or sing) a piece, we have only the notes in front of us. There are no indications as to what instruments to use, how loud or soft to play, how fast to go, whether we should play staccato or legato, and so forth. We have to make those decisions, and there are many options open to us. The result is that we as performers have a lot of creative input and we are responsible for making the music come alive. We always of course try to make our choices with a knowledge of probable performance practice. In other words, we are seeking to produce an "informed" historical performance. We can never know exactly how a piece would have sounded at the time, but we can make some educated guesses as to what instruments are appropriate for the period in which the piece was written. Written sources can provide information about such things as how to ornament a melodic line, how to improvise over a bass line, whether vocal vibrato should be used, and whether the performer is expected to add sharps or flats to the written notes. In the case of vocal music, there are other considerations as well. We have to decide whether we want to try to pronounce the words as they would have been at the time and place they were written and then figure out just how to do that. And for music with multiple vocal lines, we have to choose whether we want to have all the lines sung, or whether we want to have instruments covering some of the parts instead. Do we want to perform a vocal work a cappella or accompany it with instruments? Even with sacred music, there are differing opinions on whether instruments were appropriate for use in the church. But rather than feeling daunted by all of these choices, we find it to be a liberating process, and we always hope that the result will be musically satisfying to our listeners.

The Fun of Playing Multiple Instruments

We are often asked how long it took us to learn to play multiple instruments, and we always answer that once you know the basic concepts of music, you can apply those to learning a new instrument. The language of music remains the same, and while you obviously have to learn the technique of the new instrument, you don't have to start all over and relearn musical basics. So our message is—if you want to learn a new instrument, don't be afraid, just go for it!

Subscribe for the Season & Save 20% Over Single Tickets

Send your check and order form to: Música Antigua de Albuquerque

1017 Roma NE Albuquerque, NM 87106-4733

For more information:

Phone: (505) 842-9613 E-mail: musicaantigua@comcast.net

Performance Locations Our Albuquerque concerts will be given again at St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church, located at 601 Montaño NW. Santa Fe concerts will continue at Christ Lutheran Church, 1701 Arroyo Chamiso. Our thanks to these churches for the use of their fine facilities for our music.

St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church

Christ Lutheran Church

Support Early Music in New Mexico!

Help Música Antigua continue its programming. Our ticket sales cover only a portion of the cost of putting on our season’s concerts. We need your support to enable us to keep our early music activities going. Música Antigua is a non-profit organization, and your generosity will be greatly appreciated! Donor categories are:

Bach Benefactors ($500+) Dufay Donors ($50+) Praetorius Patrons ($250+) Machaut Muses ($25+) Hassler Helpers ($100+) Troubadour Troupers (< $25)

Donations can be made by personal check or online via Network for Good (networkforgood.com), or United Way of Central New Mexico (www.uwcnm.org). You can also help by doing your Amazon shopping via smile.amazon.com (a portion of your purchase can be donated to MAA).

Ticket Order Form

✾ Send subscriptions as indicated: @ $64 Regular rate @ $48 Senior (65+) or Early Music America member @ $32 Student (full-time) Please indicate the four dates desired: “Charles V & the Spanish Empire” Sun., September 29, 4:00 p.m., Santa Fe Sun., October 6, 4:00 p.m., Albuquerque “O Joyful Day” Sun., December 8, 4:00 p.m., Albuquerque Sun., December 15, 4:00 p.m., Santa Fe Sun., December 15, 7:30 p.m., Santa Fe Sun., December 22, 4:00 p.m., Albuquerque “A Trip to the Zoo” Sun., March 1, 4:00 p.m., Santa Fe Sun., March 8, 4:00 p.m., Albuquerque “A Merry-Go-Round of Sound” Sun., May 3, 4:00 p.m., Santa Fe Sun., May 17, 4:00 p.m., Albuquerque ✾ I wish to purchase single tickets only: (as indicated above) @ $20 Regular rate @ $15 Senior (65+), EMA member @ $10 Student (full-time) (child age 12 and under—$6) ✾ I include a tax-deductible donation:

q List me in programs as follows:

q Do not list my name in programs.

✾ Please send Música Antigua recordings (@ $15): Thys Yool, Thys Yool Round & Round We Go Music to the Max The Sport of Love A Rose of Swych Virtu ✾ AMOUNT ENCLOSED: Subscriptions @ $64 (regular) $ Subscriptions @ $48 (senior/EMA) $ Subscriptions @ $32 (student) $ Single tickets @ $20 (regular) $ Single tickets @ $15 (senior/EMA) $ Single tickets @ $10 (student) $ MAA T-shirts @ $18 $ MAA Totebags @ $15 $ CDs @ $15 $ Shipping @ $1.50 per mdse. item $ Donation $

TOTAL $ Name Address City & State ZIP Code Phone Email

Visit Us Online

Keep up with announcements about the season and share your comments with fellow Música Antigua fans at:

www.facebook.com/MusicaAntiguadeAlbuquerque/ And of course, don’t forget to visit our website at http://www.musica-antigua.org

Música Antigua de Albuquerque L to R: Art Sheinberg, Hovey Dean Corbin, Jr., Colleen Sheinberg,

Ruth Helgeson, David McGuire, Dennis Davies-Wilson