The European Academy of Yuste Foundation, together with Patrimonio Nacional (National Heritage) has organised a concert led by musical ensemble Zarabanda, Baroque music specialists. The concert, on Saturday 23 September at 13.00 at the Royal Monastery of Yuste, will be directed by Álvaro Macías. It will be free of charge until it reaches capacity.
The concert, part of the Conciertos del Emperador (Emperor’s Concerts) series the Foundation has put on in recent years, commemorates two significant events: the V centenary of King Carlos landing in Spain on 19 September 1517 at Tazones cove, and his death on 21 September 1558 at the Royal Monastery of Yuste.
The programme includes defining pieces from a period of creative boom in Spain, something that encompassed the arts as a whole and all musical genres: sacred and secular polyphony; and keyboard, viola da gamba, and vihuela music – which the Spanish masters in particular excelled at. Through the programme Álvaro María and his group, Zarabanda, with singing from Sandra Redondo, wish to shine the spotlight on some of the songs played with these instruments, using King Carlos’ arrival to Spain five centuries ago as their starting point. The programme includes one of the Emperor’s favourite songs, Mille Regretz, from the French flamenco master Josquin des Prez, a song that brought the artist great renown at the time.
The ensemble is directed by flautist Álvaro Macías, a music critic for El País and recording artist with ABC, and recipient of the Ministry of Culture’s Premio Nacional de la Crítica Discográfica. A professor in recorder at Madrid’s Royal Music Conservatory he has also been a professor at Queen Sofía College of Music for ten years and has taken part in a number of summer courses.
The group Zarabanda, with wide-ranging experience in performing Baroque chamber music, uses original instruments or replicas. This, combined with with their stylistic standards, forms the foundations of a group oriented towards the authentic performance of early music. Zarabanda have performed in more than twenty European countries, Turkey, the United States, Latin America, and India, among other countries. They have also recorded for various collections.
The next musical performance at the Royal Monastery of Yuste will be on 28 October, with a performance from Schola Antiqua, conducted by Juan Carlos Asensio.
