PROGRAM DETAILS FOR LE TENDRE AMOUR – LOS ELEMENTOS
1. Text about program
LITERES AND 18th CENTURY SPANISH THEATER
Of humble roots, Antonio Literes became perhaps the most important composer of
theater music in 18th century Spain. Mallorcan by birth, Literes left his island at
around the age of 15, and headed to Madrid for musical training at the Real Colegio
de Niños Cantoricos (Royal Choirboys´ College). There he was also active as a violón
(violoncello) and vihuela de arco (viola da gamba) player. Not long after that,
Literes was contracted as 'violón principal de la Real Capilla' ('principal cellist of
the Capilla Real'), then conductor of the orchestra and director of court music. (In
Los Elementos, one can easily notice the importance Literes gives to the gamba and
bass lines, revealing that these instruments were perhaps his personal favorites).
The great Benedictine scholar Feijoo, a contemporary of Literes who was three
years his senior, characterized Literes as follows: »Antonio Literes [is] a first class
composer, the only one, perhaps, who has been capable of bringing together the
entire majesty and sweetness of the Ancient Music with the din and bustle of the
Modern; but in the handling of the accidental points he is unique, practically
whenever he inserts them they suffuse a stirring energy to the music, in
correspondence to the meaning of the words. This requires science and inspiration,
but much more inspiration than science.«
Yet life was difficult for musicians of the time. While Literes was in charge of court
music, King Charles II died. The new king, Philip V, threw the orchestra into a crisis
as he forced them to add many Italian musicians to the ensemble and play Italian
repertoire. Not only this, but he also cut the musicians´ salaries so drastically that
they were forced to find employment elsewhere. They responded by performing
concerts for the aristocracy and other powerful families, composing works to suit
their tastes. It was under these difficult circumstances that Literes composed his
most important stage works. On the other side, the aristocracy was quite receptive
to musical innovations, unlike the royal court!
THE MUSIC
The score of Los Elementos, found in the National Library of Madrid, has a
beautifully elaborate title page, describing the work as an 'harmonic opera in
Italian style', with a dedication possibly meant for María Ana Sinforosa, wife to the
Duke of Medina, on the occasion of one of her birthdays (A LOS AÑOS DE LA
Excma. Sra. DVQUESA DE MEDINA DE LAS TORRES MI SEÑORA 'To the Years of
Her Grace, the Dutchess of Medina de las Torres, My Lady'). What the title page
unfortunately does not have, however, is a date. Traditional elements of Spanish
theatrical music of the end of the 17th century – such as the extensive use of upper
voices (five sopranos and one baritone), and austere tonal palette (mainly only two
keys are used, with their respective minors) – date the work to that time. Yet the
Italian influence (recitatives in four-part time) and the da capo arias suggest
composition at the beginning of the 18th century. The Spanish artistic signature
device of using a completely female cast enjoyed one last period of popularity at
the end of the 17th century, especially in Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia. Female
singers were cast in obvious male roles such as Water or Fire for deliberate effect.
At any rate, whenever he did actually compose Los Elementos, Literes composed
with changing meters at breathtaking speed, and his famous polyrhythms and
hemiolas give this music a rhythmic vivacity that is practically contagious even
today.
As a side note, it should also be noted that in order to write out his typical
syncopations, Literes used a different sort of notation than what is used today,
filling the notes in black for syncopations and leaving them empty for nonsyncopations. He also changes the time meter about every other measure or so –
without indications in the score – creating interesting situations when attempting
to accurately create a modern edition of the work.
The twelve arias of Los Elementos, each with their corresponding recitatives, are
distributed in three large blocks with four arias apiece. Each block is framed with
chorus sections. Each of the six characters (the four elements, aurora and time) has
two arias, regularly distributed. Apart from the arias, the opera contains eight
choirs, a series of ariosos, duets, and an exceptional trio in the form of a canon for
three high-pitch voices. Literes frequently takes the opportunity to use the
instrumental voices as a sort of ritornello or echo of what the voices are
constructing. The chorus numbers, actually an 'ensemble' of soloists, create all the
possible arrangements, from the simple duet to a six-part group. Literes was
clearly exploring all the options and color combinations available to him.
Literes has also taken extreme care in the musical realization of the different
characters. For example, the beauty and sensitivity of the two pieces dedicated to
Aurora stand out; first a beautiful lament, '¡Ay amor!' ('Ah, Love!'), then the
beautiful villancico 'Dormida fatiga' ('Sleeping fatigue'), to the accompaniment of
two obbligato instruments. You may also notice Literes´ concern about text setting
– for example when AYRE sings about a sweet goldfinch singing sad minor notes,
the music moves chromatically downwards, or when AYRE asks why the birds do
not sing, she imitates their song with her own trills. The aria 'Iras fatales…' ('Fatal
wraths...') sets the phrase 'los torpes movimientos destemplados…' ('the dissonant
and clumsy movements...') to music with a ternary unstable rhythm and 'bolviendo
va en bemoles…' ('flats returning...') with modulations which lead us to shaky and
unusual territory in Baroque music - C flat and its dominant.
THE STORY
Just as the date of composition remains a mystery, so does the librettist. It is
assumed that he was a member of the aristocratic family who commissioned the
opera, the Duke and Duchess of Medina de las Torres, for whom Literes wrote a
number of compositions.
The language used is very Baroque and exceedingly florid, but there is a plot
amongst all the elegant lyrics: each one of the four Elements narrates, by means of
their respective arias, the waiting for Aurora in the middle of the dark Night. In the
villancico '¡Ay amor!' ('Ah, Love!'), Aurora appears, followed by Time announcing
the new daybreak. The four elements appear again before the desired Aurora
closes the cycle of the twelve arias with the villancico 'Dormida fatiga' ('Sleeping
fatigue'). As the opera progresses, two very well defined parts can be observed:
one of them with the presentation of the Elements and the discharge of their
wrath, yearning for the arrival of the Light and Day; another one which starts
predicting the time longed for. The closing villancico of the opera allows each of the
Elements – including Time – to comment on their role. As dawn finally breaks, they
sing together how 'the light of the nascent dawn celebrates the day, ' and the work
comes to a fiery, rhythmic close.
2. Program
a) Antonio Literes
b) (1673-1757)
c) Los Elementos
d) Opera armonica al estilo ytaliano
1. Principio de la Opera. Ayre/Tierra 'Frondosa apacible estanzia... '
2. (A dúo) Tierra/Ayre 'Moradores de estas playas... '
3. A 4 'Y asi le festejen... '
4. (A dúo). Ayre/Tierra 'Pues reverentes aves le gorgean... '
5. (A 6) 'La tierra con flores... '
6. Rezitado. Agua 'Y al rapido sonido de mi aliento... '
7. (Arioso). Agua 'Olmo apazible... '
8. Rezitado. Fuego 'Mas si fuese la planta fugitiva... '
9. Arieta. Fuego 'Fuego enzendido sea el diamante... '
10. A Duo. Agua/Fuego 'Pues soy el agua, pues soy el fuego... '
11. Rezitado/ (Arioso a dúo). Agua/Fuego 'Y aunque no aya materia
combustible... '
12. Rezitado. Ayre 'El Ayre soy que aliento la armonia... '
13. Arieta Violin Solo. Ayre 'Surque alagueña la esfera dorada... '
14. Rezitado. Tierra 'No podra que en mis senos intrincados... '
15. Arieta. Tierra 'De flores vestida... '
16. A 4 'En tan triste confusion... '
17. Arieta. Aurora 'Ay amor, que tierna se escucha la respirazion... '
18. Coplas/Estribillo. Tiempo 'Sienta la tierra... '
19. Rezitado. Fuego 'Mas en la obscura noche... '
20. Arieta Violin Solo. Fuego 'Sedienta de influjos al sol ha bebido... '
21. A 3. Ayre/Tierra/Agua 'Iras fatales fulminan... '
22. Rezitado. Tiempo 'Y aunque intente la fatiga... '
23. Arieta Con Violon. Tiempo 'Risueña el aurora... '
24. Rezitado. Tierra 'Y pues la luz del dia que amaneze... '
25. Arieta. Tierra 'Rompa la tierra... '
26. A 4 Con Violines 'Y sus acordes fraganzias... '
27. Rezitado. Ayre 'Y pues ya se desvian los vapores... '
28. Arieta. Ayre 'En brazos del alva...'
29. Rezitado. Agua 'Deydades que en el monte vipartido... '
30. Arieta. Agua y A 4 'Suenen los clarines... '
31. Estribillo/Coplas Con Viguela y Violon. Aurora 'Dormida fatiga... '
32. Vivo. Agua/Tierra/Ayre/Fuego 'El moble diamante... '
33. A 4 'Y pues tierra, agua y ayre... '
34. Arioso). Ayre/Tierra 'Flores, aves, fuentes, rios... '
35. Duo. Ayre/Tierra 'Y a la luz que madruga... '
36. Rezitado y (Arioso). Ayre/Tierra 'Mas ya se escucha el estruendo... '
37. A 4 'Y assi el canto de las aves... '
38. (Coplas y A 4).Ayre/Agua/Fuego/Tierra/Aurora/Tiempo 'Esfera
copiosa de luz peregrina... '
3. Biographies
Taking its name from a prevalent theme of the age of Louis XIV, Le Tendre Amour is
dedicated to performing music of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in
a way that is inspiring to the audiences of today. The Barcelona-based ensemble is
directed and organized by Katy Elkin and Esteban Mazer. Le Tendre Amour
originally began with a chamber format of five musicians and soprano, but over the
past few years they have expanded to also include numerous productions of
chamber opera and alternative programs. Since their beginning, the emphasis has
always been in creating unusual and surprising programs, with the aim of pleasing
audiences of all ages.
Research in the field of Jewish baroque music led to the Jurica Murai prize for best
interpretation for their program of that repertoire in the Varazdin Baroque festival
(Croatia, 2008) and subsequently their first chamber opera production, Esther by
C.G. Lidarti, which was a commission by the Musée d´Art et d´Histoire du Judaïsme
in Paris. Its success led to a production of Esther at the Psalm festival in Graz,
Austria and soon after the intermedio Le Devin du Village by JJ Rousseau at the
famed Styriarte festival in Graz, Austria. In 2011, Le Tendre Amour, in cooperation
with the Teatre de Sarrià, produced Pergolesi´s La Serva Padrona in Barcelona. The
premiere of A. Literes´1718 opera Los Elementos also took place in 2011, with
roaring success in the Trigonale festival der Alte Musik in Austria.
Since 2011, Los Elementos has appeared in such festivals as Banchetto Musicale
(Vilnius, Lithuania), the early music festival in Luxembourg, the opera season in
Bydgoszcz, Poland (with an audience of 1200), and the Varazdin Baroque festival
(Croatia), where the production was awarded the “Ivan Lukacic” Prize for the best
concert of the festival as well as for the best interpretation. All of these opera
productions continue to tour, and were collaborations with actor Adrián
Schvarzstein.
In 2013, Le Tendre Amour performed 40 concerts of Boismortier´s opera “Don
Quichotte chez la Duchesse,” a completely original production that combined
theater, circus, and music in the Biennale de Bron (Lyon, France).
Their next large productions will be a fully staged version of Handel’s opera Acis et
Galetea as well as a production of English music and circus called Seasons in 2015.
The ensemble has recorded a CD of French sacred cantatas called “Le Passage de la
Mer Rouge” for the illustrious label K617 in 2009, a disc of 17th century English
music called “All in a Garden Green” for Brilliant Classics in 2011, as well as a world
premiere recording of the sacred music of De Bousset called “Cantates spirituelles”
in 2012, again for Brilliant Classics, and released in the spring of 2013. Le Tendre
Amour has also recorded live for the national radios in Catalunya, Slovenia, and
Croatia.
More information: www.letendreamour.com
Stage director and actor Adrián Schvarzstein is a mix of Spanish, Argentinean,
Italian, and everything! Adrián is known for his creative productions, where the
artists and audience are brought together. Always an entertainer, Adrián brings
out the child in everyone. His background in commedia dell´arte (after studying
with Dario Fo in Italy) led to the development of his personal street theater style
and unique charm. He has worked extensively in the world of circus (Circus
Ronaldo, Circus Klezmer, Call Me Maria) and street theater (the Greenman, Dans).
The creation of the street theatre show 'Kamchatka' (Miramiro prize in 2008) and
the direction of the opera 'La Barca' in the Reisoper in Holland are few of his last
successful projects. Adrián has been awarded the Ernst Prize at La Strada Festival
in 2008, and the Zirkolika Prize for the best circus director in 2010. For years he
worked in staging at the Tel Aviv Opera House in Israel, and since 2003 has
collaborated with Le Tendre Amour, staging the operas Esther, Le Devin du Village,
La Serva Padrona, and currently Los Elementos. Future projects with Le Tendre
Amour include La Foire in 2012 and Don Quixote in 2013.
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