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  • ART::MUSIC
    • 2023-2024 Concerts >
      • The Most Famous Motet
      • The Treasury of Petrus Alamire
      • Ein Kind ist uns geboren!
      • Appear and Inspire
      • The Singing Walls
      • Two Tall Tales
      • The Most Ambitious Project
    • Learning and Exploration >
      • Brombaugh Organ Exploration
      • BachTalks
      • The Choir Loft >
        • The National Anthems by David Lang - Steve Osborn
        • Heinrich Schütz Symphoniae Sacrae I from 1629
    • Tickets
    • Donate today!
  • Who we are and What we do
    • Mission Statement
  • Our Ensembles
    • Sonoma Bach Choir
    • Circa 1600
    • Green Mountain Consort
    • Live Oak Baroque Orchestra
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Sponsor a Singer!
    • Escrip & Amazon Smile
  • Resources
    • Virtual Offerings - Archive >
      • The Choir Loft
      • Virtual BachTalk
      • Adventures in Sightsinging
      • Parliamo Italiano! Language Workshop
      • Madrigal Mondays
      • Chorale Wednesdays
      • Motet Fridays
      • Virtual Recording Projects
      • Virtual Concerts >
        • Live Oak Baroque Orchestra
        • Music for these Distracted Times - Barefoot All-Stars
        • Agave Baroque American Originals
        • Bach's Long Walk to Lübeck - Anne Laver, organ
    • Concert Programs
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Tambalagumbá by Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla
Before the maelstrom begins, I want to send out our Friday Motet, which is a doozy: Tambalagumbá (it's fun to type!), by Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla (c.1590-1664). Padilla was born in Málaga, Spain, but emigrated to Mexico in 1620, becoming maestro de capilla of Puebla Cathedral in 1628. He was a wonderful composer in a range of styles, and (judging from the difficulty of some of his pieces) he must have developed very fine instrumental ensembles at the cathedral.

As many of you know, an important part of Sonoma Bach's origin tale is the SSU Concert Chorale's January, 1991 tour of Mexico. Motivated by our dear friend and fellow chorister Richard Morehead, we quickly mobilized to raise the funds and make the one-week trip a reality. And so much happened! My journal takes up many, many pages of a notebook, and my memories are still vivid.

Our concert repertoire was all-early-music, built around Bach's motet 'Jesu meine Freude', which comprised our second set. Our first set was a group of late-Renaissance and Baroque pieces from Mexico, including composers such as Hernando Franco, Francisco López y Capillas, and Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla.

We flew into Mexico City, but (after a rousing welcome dinner on our arrival night) our first concert was in Puebla, a drive of some two-and-a-half hours. We were hosted to a lovely lunch by a Puebla choir, whose members took our singers on a walking tour of historic Puebla. 

After a frenetic scene of changing into our concert garb on the buses (it must have looked hilarious to passers-by on the busy street), we went to the cathedral for our concert, which we shared with the Puebla group. It was so exciting to be performing there, especially because some of our pieces had been written and performed some 350 years before in 
that remarkable space. 

Our repertoire included two pieces by Padilla: 'Christus natus est nobis' and 'Exultate justi'. I had selected these and other motets to match the mood and gravity of Bach's motet. But it turns out that there was a whole 'nother side to Padilla. In addition to the traditional European polyphonic motet, he specialized in a number of more folky, dance-based forms known collectively as 'villancicos': The Jácara, the Romance, the Gallego, and many others. These were usually structured in repeating sections with multiple verses, and would have been performed in a lively style, with plenty of instruments including percussion.

Tambalagumbá is one of these pieces, drawn from an enormous (364 pages in transcription) compendium of music for the Christmas season. I am attaching a score and also a great recording of the piece, along with a text sheet (I can't seem to find a translation). One of the things that is cool about this style is that there is room for improvisation, so every performance is different. If you don't believe me, search on YouTube.

I'm excited about these pieces, and I'm already running through my mind how to construct a 'Navidad en Puebla' 
Early Music Christmas for our 2022-23 season!

Espero que disfruten de esta maravillosa obra, y que tengaís un buen fin de semana--
Click here to download learning materials
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