MAMÁS BRAVAS PROGRAM NOTES
Under the House of Habsburg (Austrian, 1516-1700) and then the House of Bourbon (French, 1700-1808), Spanish music-theatre had many names. We might refer to this concert for instance as a Fiesta de Zarzuela as opposed to ¡Ópera Española! which–like the flavour of the music we have programmed–is ironic. When we evaluate Spanish music-theatre through the lens of French or Italianate baroque opera and the great masters of that style, we unearth deceptive simplicity in the use of harmonic language, structure, and the relative minimalism of many vocal lines. The vitality of Spanish music in this period may only be revealed by understanding the performance as a whole: a fantastical celebration of dance, music, acting and often circus, which calls for the audience to be invested and involved; a whole-hearted congress of art music and folk tradition–the young with the old, the rich with the poor, mingled together; an artistic landscape and an all-encompassing melting pot, smouldering for an immense reawakening. Less the static opera stars of neighbouring Europe and more “all-terrain vehicles [which] we would have difficulty today in finding their like,” these performers were nothing short of astounding.
The relative absence of opera in Spain and the significance of Spanish music in the canon of Western Europe throughout the Long Eighteenth Century (1685–1815) provokes dissonance in the field of musicology. The influence of Spain during this period, however, is undeniable—not only in the works of surrounding nations, but in the surviving corpus of vocal and instrumental works of the period. Many records were lost when the Royal Library and Music Archive of the Alcázar palace in Madrid burned down in 1734, and following that, the earthquake of 1755 took with it the library of King John IV of Portugal. Making matters more complex, due to severe controls on publishing there was usually only one copy made of each book or manuscript. The works presented in this program, then, have quite literally risen from the ashes. It is an incredible honour to present them to you as we have interpreted them, and we hope you will feel inspired and deeply satisfied as you join us on this musical journey.
INDIVIDUAL BIOGRAPHIES
Born in Australia, Mezzo-Soprano Allegra Giagu, made her Sydney Opera House début at eleven years old— engaged by Opera Australia, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony. She stepped into the spotlight as soloist for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo—Salute to Australia, which led her to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music. Recent engagements include an ARIA nominated Album, Curious Caledonians, for ABC Classic with Evergreen Ensemble, soundtracks for VIVID Sydney and FOXTEL's Fighting Season and performances with Pinchgut Opera. She is excited for her upcoming performances with Shepparton Festival, Australian Digital Concert Hall, Bloomington Early Music Festival in the United States and Melbourne's 3MBS Fine Music.
Tim Willis was born in regional New South Wales. With a background largely in folk music, from 2010 he studied baroque violin under Marina Robinson at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and at the same time began to work with some of Australia’s period instrument ensembles including The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Pinchgut Opera. Since relocating to Germany in 2015, he has played with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Collegium 1704 Prague, Lautten Compagney Berlin, Batzdorfer Hofkapelle and Elbipolis Barockorchester, among others. He also has a special interest in the viola d'amore.
Born in Perth, Australia, Adam Masters completed a Bachelor of Medicine and worked as a doctor before undertaking a Bachelor's degree in baroque oboe at the University of Melbourne. Adam gained numerous years of experience as principal oboe with baroque orchestras throughout Australia and New Zealand, and received teaching positions in baroque oboe at the University of Melbourne and Sydney Conservatorium. Adam completed a Masters degree in Baroque oboe at the Universität der Künste in Berlin studying with Xenia Löffler, and performed for a number of years with numerous baroque orchestras throughout Europe including Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Elbipolis Baroque Orchestra Hamburg, Collegium 1704 Prague, and the Netherlands Bach Collegium, among others.
Samantha Cohen maintains an active career as a performer of lute, baroque guitar and theorbo, and has appeared with many of Australia’s leading orchestras including The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra. She performed alongside early harp virtuoso, Andrew Lawrence King at the World Harp Congress in Sydney and received funding from the Australia Council to study with the legendary lute pedagogue, Pat O’Brien in New York. She has received numerous awards and grants, including a Churchill Fellowship and a scholarship from the Fondazione Marco Fodella to the Civica Scuola di Musica in Milan. Samantha is a founding member of Ludovico’s Band and Melbourne’s Continuo Collective.
‘Fearless’ (Bachtrack) and ‘exquisite’ (Limelight), Hannah Lane is the leading Australian exponent of the Baroque harp. She studied in Milan, Italy with renowned historical harpist Mara Galassi. As a soloist and continuo player, Hannah performs regularly with leading ensembles throughout Australia and Europe and has appeared in concert at international festivals such as the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi, Urbino Musica Antica and Adelaide Festival. She is a recording artist for ABC Classics, Obsidian Records, Brilliant Classics and Pinchgut Live, and the artistic director of Ensemble 642, dedicated to music for early plucked strings.
Melbourne-based viola da gamba specialist Laura Vaughan is a dynamic and well-recognised member of the early music movement in Australia. Following her return from studies at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, she has established an active performing career on viol and violone, encompassing a wide range of solo and chamber repertoire across Australasia. Passionate about the unique sound world of the viol, Laura is committed to bringing this exquisite repertoire to audiences around the world. She is also one of the few exponents of the rare lirone. Laura can be heard regularly on ABC Classic FM as a soloist and chamber musician and appears on numerous CD recordings, including solo recordings for the Move and Paladino labels. In addition to solo performances, she works with many Australian early music ensembles including the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Adelaide Baroque, Accademia Arcadia, Consortium and is a founding member of the multiple ARIA award nominated trio Latitude 37. Laura has appeared with Tasmanian and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras, and Auckland Philharmonia.
Jess Ciampa began his musical life as a trumpet player but changed to percussion halfway through a Bachelor of Music Education degree at the New South Wales Conservatorium. He is a multi-instrumentalist at home in a variety of styles of music, ranging from mainstream orchestral through to jazz, latin and commercial. He has performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Synergy Percussion, the Seymour Group and the Sydney Dance Company, and was also percussionist for The Lion King stage show. Jess has performed with several groups as part of the Musica Viva in Schools program.