A selection of our most recent programs
El villano al tamboril. Spanish music of the 16th and 17th centuries. Lively song-dances such as the villanos, as well as romances (Spanish ballads) and villancicos are some of the genres selected for this recital. Works by Vásquez, Guerrero, Pisador, Aranies; anonymous settings of texts by Lope de Vega and other authors.
Angeles del zielo. 15th – 17th century songs for the Holiday season. Works found in Spanish collections Cancionero de Upsala, Cancionero de Palacio and Romances y Letras a Tres Voces.
Courtly love. 15th and 16th century French and Spanish love songs. Chansons by Dufay, Josquin, Sermisy; villancicos by del Encina and other composers featured in the Spanish Renaissance cancioneros.
Santa María. Religious Cantigas and Laude from Medieval Spain and Italy, respectively. Due to the congregational nature of this repertoire, the audience may be invited to join in some of the refrains.
Passava amor. This program of Spanish and English love songs and instrumental pieces features Passava amor su arco dessarmado (Love passed by me with his bow unarmed), whose text appears in La Diana (1559), pastoral novel by Jorge de Montemayor. The musical setting of Passava amor comes from A Musicall Banquet, collection of lute songs by Robert Dowland published in 1610.
Primavera! English, Italian and Spanish 17th century music in celebration of the spring season. Works by Campion, Rossi, Marín & Sanz, among others.
From Spain to the New World (De España al Nuevo Mundo) An exploration of Spanish pieces from the 16th and 17th centuries that have survived and can nowadays be heard in various Latin American countries.
Onion & Bread (Cebolla & Pan). Music in the theater of Spanish Golden Age playwright Lope de Vega.
Collaboration with the Newberry Consort: A Mexican Christmas: Angels in the Convent, Dancing in the Streets. Francy Acosta & José Luis Posada, performers and co-directors of the Villancico Ensemble that joined the Convent Ensemble in this program of Colonial Mexican music for the Christmas season. Program produced and directed by the Newberry Consort, Ellen Hargis & David Douglass, co-directors. 2018-2019 season https://newberryconsort.org/archives/