Music Before 1800 Presents Havana's Ars Longa in NYC Debut

The Cuban ensemble is presented by Music Before 1800, in cooperation with Gotham Early Music Scene & Americas Society. NYC early music series Music Before 1800's 42nd season, which features a series-record 13 centuries of music, presents an exciting NYC debut on Sunday, February 26 at 4PM at Corpus Christi Church. As part of its first-ever North American tour, the Cuban ensemble Ars Longa will perform rarely-heard baroque repertoire. The six singers and 10 instrumentalists will perform Latin American music from the 17th and 18th centuries, heavily influenced by the music and rhythms of African slaves. The concert is in cooperation with GEMAS (Gotham Early Music Scene and the Americas Society).

The program, based on the group's 2013 album Gulumbá gulumbé. Resonancias de África en el Nuevo Mundo, includes a mix of music and poetry. Central to the program are villancicos negros, African-inspired pieces intended primarily for Christmas that incorporate melodies, dance rhythms, and the onomatopoeic lyrics reminiscent of the languages of the African and Afro-descended population. Composers include Gaspar Fernández, Luis Gargallo, Mateo Tolis de la Rocca, as well as several anonymous authors. As large numbers of enslaved people arrived from Africa to the American colonies in the 16th century, local poets and musicians frequently borrowed phrases, themes, and rhythms from folk culture, including the dialects created by the Afro-American peoples, producing thoroughly unique music and poetry.

ARS LONGA
Gulumbá gulumbé: Resonancias de África en el Nuevo Mundo
Sunday, February 26, 4PM
Corpus Christi Church
529 West 121st Street
Tickets: $10-45
212-666-9266 / www.mb1800.org

"Passion was the connecting thread throughout the concert."
- JEAN-STÉPHANE SOURD-DURAND, METZ
ARS LONG