The story saved by Ibera Auri
The dimension of emotional states was one of the main concerns of Renaissance composers. Instead of trying to imitate nature, the use of musical means was aimed at evoking the passions of the soul.
One of the hallmarks of the international ECOS Festival of Sierra Espuña is the involvement of emerging early music groups in the halls of Aledo, Alhama, Librilla, Mula, Pliego and Totana. These historic locations have been an excellent breeding ground for this initiative by Jorge Losana, which is organizationally supported by the Early Music Project, the Sierra Espuña Tourist Association and the University of Murcia for six editions.
This weekend it is the city of Aledo that is immersed in the Spanish Golden Age with the staging of an artistic and research project of the Ibera Auri ensemble. Founded in 2017, this ensemble consists of Laia Blasco and Gabriel Belkheiri (vocals and recorder), Jeremy Nastasi (theorbo and baroque guitar) and Lidia Rodrigo (harpsichord and recorder), with the periodic collaboration of Ana Nicolás de Cabo (historical percussion).
Ibera Auri’s proposal is a multidisciplinary journey through 17th-century Spanish and French Baroque vocal music around a curious historical event that took place in Madrid’s Plaza Mayor during the reign of Felipe IV.
-The opportunity to talk to Laia Blasco, baroque flutist and singer of Ibera Auri, about the interactions between Spanish and French music helps us better understand what happened in the 17th century.
-On the one hand, the influence that the Spanish theater companies had in France expanded the music repertoire as a result of the cultural exchange between the two countries at a very specific historical moment. On the other hand, French music contributed with special rhetorical and affective contributions.
-The fact that the Ibera Auri ensemble consists of specialists in various Early Music instruments is of great artistic importance.
-This increases flexibility and creativity in presenting our repertoire as it allows us to cover a wide variety of sounds ranging from parts for vocalist and continuous bass to others where all members participate, with adjustments we make for purely instrumental pieces. » .
-The program that Ibera Auri will present in Pliego is inspired by the figure of the mistress of King Philip IV, Juana la Calderona, a famous theater actress from Madrid at the beginning of the 17th century, nicknamed Marizápalos, since she ended her performances dancing this popular dance.
-This project is entitled «The Balcony of Marizápalos» because the queen was forced by Queen Isabel de Borbón to place her lover in a side cabinet of the Plaza Mayor of the capital of Cervantes during the shows held there, when Philip IV was supposed to do it in the royal box.
-To tell the story, Ibera Auri combines short stories with compositions from this period.
-The pieces of music included in the program are the two versions of Marizápalos directly related to the character (one belonging to the Latin American Codex and another which is the latest Iberian version), along with popular works from the noisy Madrid of that time and others from France, country of origin of Queen Elizabeth of Bourbon.
-Laia, trained in baroque singing at the Scuola Civica in Milan and recorder at the Münster Conservatory, explains how they prepared this repertoire.
-The twelve compositions have been selected for the effects they produce to facilitate the listener’s understanding. Emotions such as love, jealousy, humiliation or abandonment are expressed with sung pieces that we alternate with short stories that allow us to dramatize this story. For us it is essential that the program consists of very varied compositions, both thematically or textually and soundly or rhythmically.
-One of the aims of the Ibera Auri concerto is to arouse the listener’s curiosity.
-We want to tell a story about a 17th century woman with short stories that help her understand. In order for the audience to have fun and enjoy Early Music, we want them to come out with a little story that will spark their interest in exploring more about the character when they get home. We want the spectator to leave the concert with the desire to give Marizápalos a face. People who go to festivals are usually not musicians, but they should have fun with a story they like. For this reason we propose a very flexible concert compared to the stiffness of the more conventional type.
-Laia notes that the ECOS International Festival has grown exponentially by betting on the participation of emerging groups in its central programming.
-Attending the ECOS Festival increases our visibility in Spain and allows us to know how the program touches the real Spanish audience. In addition, the contact with other groups and the programmers from other festivals enables us to learn and improve as a group. We love being here and we’re going to give it our all in public.
-Ibera Auri has participated in several festivals in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain with excellent reviews. What future projects do you have?
-We will participate in a series of festivals in Germany and Spain attended by very important groups in early music and we will be there. As for new projects, we will continue to explore to expand El Balcon de Marizápalos and prepare new programs related to the Spanish Golden Age.
Aledo returns to the 17th century at the hands of Ibera Auri. We don’t want to tell you more about what happened to Marizápalos, but her life was full of loves, passions, intrigue, ambition and survival actions that made her a unique character. They just have to go to their balcony and enjoy the show.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
