HOUSTON EARLY MUSIC
P. O. Box 271193
Houston, TX 77277-1193
HoustonEarlyMusic.org
Media contact:
Susan Love Fitts, 936-597-8825
susan@susanlovefitts.com
Houston Early Music Celebrates the Season with El Mundo
Program highlights include newly found work from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
HOUSTON – September 23, 2014 – Houston Early Music audience favorite El Mundo
returns to celebrate the holidays with a performance of “Villancicos y Cantatas de Navidad,” a
program of 17th- and 18th-century seasonal music from Spain, Italy and Latin America on
Dec. 12 at Christ Church Cathedral.
A part of the Hispanic Heritage Series, the program will feature traditional Baroque Christmas
songs known as villancicos, as well as cantatas from cathedrals located throughout Latin
America, along with works by noted Italian masters like Monteverdi and Legrenzi and
neglected women composers such as Chiara Margarita Cozzolani.
“We will also tuck a few instrumental and secular pieces in there for fun,” said Richard
Savino, El Mundo’s director.
Joining Savino, who plays Baroque guitar and theorbo, are sopranos Nell Snaidas, Celine
Ricci and Jennifer Ellis Kampani, and bass Paul Shipper, who also plays percussion and
Baroque guitar. In addition, two violinists, including Houston native Adam Lamotte, and
brilliant young cellist Andres Bello Vera will take the stage along with harpsichordist and
organist Matthew Dirst, director of Ars Lyrica Houston.
A highlight of the program will be the performance of a newly discovered work from the
collection of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Archival Center at the San Fernando Mission,
which includes music written at missions throughout California and Northern Mexico. These
missions, some dating to the mid-1700s, were dedicated to the conversion of the indigenous
population to Christianity, and the works were composed specifically for that purpose. Since
this population was not historically trained in Western music, these compositions often have
what Savino calls “a somewhat more naïve quality.”
“Within the vast collection are some gems,” said Savino, who has selected a small mass by
Juan Bautista Sancho, a solemn reverential work, which will contrast well with other
repertoire on the program that is rooted in dance music. There also will be a piece written by
little-known Spanish composer Juan Iribarren, the maestro di capella at Spain’s Salamanca
and Malaga cathedrals.
“This concert will feature some spectacular works that are rarely performed,” said Savino, a
professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and at California State University at
Sacramento and winner of the French Diapason d'Or. “I believe that the vocal and
instrumental virtuosity that we will present will leave the listener breathless,” he said.
El Mundo will present “Villancicos y Cantatas de Navidad” on Friday, Dec. 12, 2014, at 8
p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas Ave., Houston, Texas 77002. A preconcert talk
with Richard Savino will begin at 7:15 p.m.
SUBSCRIPTION / TICKET INFORMATION:
Full-season subscriptions for the Houston Early Music 2014-2015 season may be purchased at
HoustonEarlyMusic.org. Prices for full-season tickets are priced at $200 for general
admission and $175 for senior admission.
A mini-pass option, which provides a selection of any three concerts, is also available for
$110 general admission and $95 for seniors. Individual tickets are available for $40 general
admission, $35 senior admission and $20 for students with a valid student ID card. Children
under the age of 15 receive free admission.
For more information, e-mail info@HoustonEarlyMusic.org or call 281-846-4222.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS:
Monday, Nov. 10, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
APOLLO’S FIRE, The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra – Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers
of 1610
Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
1701 San Jacinto St.
Houston, Texas 77002
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
TAFELMUSIK – The Galileo Project
(In collaboration with Da Camera of Houston)
Cullen Theater at Wortham Center
500 Texas Ave.
Houston, Texas 77002
Friday, Dec. 12, 2014, 8 p.m.
HISPANIC HERITAGE SERIES
EL MUNDO – Villancicos y Cantadas de Navidad
Christ Church Cathedral
1117 Texas Ave.
Houston, Texas 77002
Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015, 3 p.m.
CIARAMELLA – Make a Joyful Noise
First Evangelical Lutheran Church
1311 Holman St.
Houston, Texas 77004
Friday, March 27, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
EMERGING ARTISTS SERIES
THE SEBASTIANS – Bach and Forth
First Evangelical Lutheran Church
1311 Holman St.
Houston, Texas 77004
Friday, April 10, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
QUICKSILVER – Stile Moderno, New Music from the 17th Century
Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church
4930 West Bellfort St.
Houston, Texas 77035
ABOUT HOUSTON EARLY MUSIC
As the city’s only organization dedicated to covering the large historical span of early music
in all of its forms, Houston Early Music epitomizes a movement that has swept the world of
classical music. Officially incorporated in 1969, the nonprofit provides performance
opportunities for up-and-coming and major early music artists from around the world in an
annual concert series. A successful educational outreach program introduces a future
generation to a broad range of music. Houston Early Music is funded in part by grants from
the Houston Arts Alliance, the Texas Commission on the Arts and The National Endowment
for the Arts.
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Attached photo:
The El Mundo chamber group will perform “Villancicos y Cantatas de Navidad,” a program
of 17th- and 18th-century seasonal music, at Christ Church Cathedral on Dec. 12, 2014.
To view the full line-up for the Houston Early Music season and to purchase tickets, visit
HoustonEarlyMusic.org or call 281-846-4222.
Photo courtesy of Houston Early Music.