To commemorate the death of Charles V on 21 September 1558 the European Academy of Yuste Foundation, in collaboration with Patrimonio Nacional, has organised a concert entitled Música de España y Flandes en torno a 1500 (Spanish and Flemish Music in the 1500s) next Sunday 25 September at 13.00 at the Royal Monastery of Yuste. The concert, performed by Baroque music ensemble La Folía and conducted by maestro Pedro Bonet, is part of the Conciertos del Emperador series and one of the activities planned as part of the European Routes of Emperor Charles V Consortium, European Cultural Routes Institute of the European Council.

2016 marks the fifth centenary of the deaths of renowned painter Hyeronimus van Aken Bosch (known as Bosch) and Ferdinand the Catholic (grandson of Emperor Charles). It was the same year that Charles I’s reign began in Spain: he went on to be named Holy Roman Emperor and was known as Charles V after his coronation in 1520. The concert centres on these three historical figures, closing with a musical reference to Emperor Charles’ successor Phillip II. Thanks to the latter’s penchant for the works of Bosch, a large part of the artist’s body of work can now can be found in Spanish galleries.

The programme will start with an anonymous version of La Spagna, followed by two pieces from the Cancionero de Palacio, an anthology consisting of almost five hundred pieces which represents an essential reference point for music of the 1500s. Closing the suite will be a song from an Italian source, praising the figure of King Ferdinand.

The concert includes pieces from the Segovia Cathedral Songbook, a fundamental record of the relationship between Flanders and Spain. This suite will be concluded by two pieces from Francisco de la Torre, singer from the Chapel of Ferdinand the Catholic who has since moved on to fulfil important duties at the Cathedral in Seville, his native town.

The concert is free of charge and is open to all (until capacity reached).

LA FOLÍA

The ensemble was formed in Madrid in 1977. They have worked tirelessly on bringing to contemporary audiences the music of the 16th to the 18th centuries, often working with monographic themes. The ensemble has given concerts in close to forty countries. Regularly working with contemporary composers they breathe new life into Baroque instruments (notably two recorders, viola da gamba, harpsichord, and sometimes vocals) and have featured in the openings of major international festivals (Granada, Alicante, Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, Rome, Acapulco, Caracas, Río de Janeiro and Istanbul). La Folía have recorded pieces for film, radio, and television, as well as numerous CDs including La Leyenda de Baltasar el Castrado, awarded best soundtrack at the Mostra de Cine de Valencia in 1995. www.lafolia.es

PEDRO BONET

Founding member and director of La Folía, he is a recorder professor at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, and teaches various subjects within the Early Music department. He has taught master classes and courses at various universities and specialist centres in Europe and Latin America. As a concert performer he has a wealth of experience performing the Baroque repertoire with original instruments, recording works and performing at concerts in Europe and other continents: as a soloist with orchestra, solo flautist, and other chamber formations.

CONCIERTOS  DEL EMPERADOR

The Foundation and Patrimonio Nacional opened the Conciertos del Emperador series with a homage to Miguel de Cervantes as part of activities planned by the Ministry for Education, Culture and Sport for the fifth centenary of the death of Cervantes. The recital was performed by choir Amadeus directed by Alonso Gómez Gallego. In June a concert entitled Música para Carlos V y sus hijos was performed by choir Zenobia Scholars and conducted by English maestro Rupert Darmerell.

The European Academy of Yuste Foundation started a set of concerts in 1997 with the aim of “starting up a musical series in Extremadura relating to Charles V’s era” underscoring the importance of European cultural heritage and its role as a driving force in the process of European construction and integration.

More than forty concerts have since been put on, most of which have been at the Royal Monastery of Yuste Church, others in Cáceres, Plasencia, Jarandilla de la Vera, Badajoz, and Trujillo. Outside of Spain there have been concerts in Lisbon, Brussels, Ghent, Ranst, Beveren, and Mechelen: all of which have been a resounding success.

The concerts are also linked with the European Routes of Emperor Charles V, which was in 2015 recognised and certified as a European Cultural Route by the European Council.