Neumesletter*
Summer 2016 Edition
Música Antigua de
Albuquerque
* Neumes: the musical signs used in chant notation.
Early Music Meets
the Movies
The first concert of our 2016-2017
season, titled "Old Tunes Never Die,” will
explore some of the music used by
composers for movie soundtracks. Our
audience members frequently comment that hearing early
music transports them back to earlier time periods, and film
composers certainly have recognized this power of music.
The influence of early music is actually pretty extensive in
film music, as we have discovered in researching this topic
for our program.
The earliest reference that we have found to the use of
genuine early music in film was from 1938 in T h e
Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de
Havilland, Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains, with
soundtrack by Erich Korngold. The tune that appeared was
the famous medieval English round Sumer is icumen in.
Miklós Rózsa explored some early Spanish repertoire in
his Oscar-nominated score to El Cid (1961), which starred
Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. Rózsa went to Spain
during the filming and wrote the film score on site. He was
helped in his musical research of Spanish medieval and folk
music by the film’s historical advisor, Ramón Menéndez
Pidal. The resulting score made use of six of the Cantigas
de Santa María, as well as Los set goigs from the Llibre
Vermell.
The most extensive usage of early music was in the
soundtrack to La course en tête, a documentary about
Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx, composed by early music
giant David Munrow in 1974. The score consisted almost
entirely of genuine early music or music that Munrow
composed in early style, all performed on early instruments
by Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London.
Música Antigua’s program will feature early works that
inspired film composers, but we will be performing the
selections in their original form. Your homework
assignment as listener will be to watch the original movies
and try to identify the tunes as they go by. :=)
The Bladder Pipe
A recent addition to our instrument
arsenal is the bladder pipe, a type of medieval
bagpipe. Its air reservoir was originally
made from an animal’s bladder—hence the
name. It has a chanter pipe, which has finger
holes, and a drone pipe. Both are sounded
by double reeds, but the drone pipe’s reed is
enclosed in the bladder and therefore can
only sound a single tone.
The bladder pipe originated before the
1200’s, and an illustration of one appears in
the 13th-century Cantigas de Santa María.
The instrument is related in concept to the
later crumhorn, which also makes use of a
reed that is sounded via an air reservoir, in
this case the windcap.
Youth Consort Performance
The members of the Música Antigua Youth Consort
performed on Sunday, May 7, as part of the American
String Teachers Association student concert in UNM’s
Keller Hall. They performed a bransle by Michael
Praetorius, Lamentatio by Ludwig Senfl and Recercada
segunda by Diego Ortiz, with violas da gamba, vihuela de
mano and naqqara. The members of the ensemble this year
were Adrian Goodwin (sophomore at Del Norte High
School), Caroline Pierotti (sophomore at Albuquerque High
School), Erika Schwaner (senior at Volcano Vista High
School), and Daniel Strong (junior at Cibola High School).
Erika will be attending UNM this fall, where she will be
majoring in Music Education.
Coached by Art Sheinberg, the Youth Consort rehearses
weekly throughout the school year. The ensemble began in
1999 as part of MAA’s ongoing effort to foster appreciation
for early music among young people.
Some Season Highlights
In addition to our regular subscription concert series,
we gave a number of other more informal programs during
the 2015-2016 season. Last December we performed for
OASIS in Albuquerque, and in November we played for the
ninth-graders at Albuquerque Academy for their annual
"Medieval Day" celebration. In February we played in
Santa Fe at the opening reception for the New Mexico
Museum of Art exhibit of Shakespeare’s First Folio. We
also performed Shakespeare-era music in a program for the
Albuquerque Bernalillo County Public Main Library in
downtown Albuquerque.
We also gave lecture
performances of medieval and Renaissance music for Music
Appreciation classes at UNM and for students of St.
Thomas Aquinas School in Rio Rancho.
Coming up is a performance for the Rocky Mountain
Medieval & Renaissance Association Conference, hosted by
UNM’s Medieval Institute, in the Student Union Building
on the UNM main campus. In July we will be playing
service music for two church services at the Unitarian
Church in Albuquerque.
Kepler Fest
Sometime in February 2017, Música Antigua plans to
perform a concert as part of “Kepler Fest” at St. John’s
College in Santa Fe. The program will feature music from
the time of the famous astronomer, mathematician and
astrologer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630). Watch for the date
to be finalized.
Kathy Wimmer
We are happy to announce that Kathy Millé Wimmer
will be returning as narrator for our Christmas concerts this
season. As an actor active in and around Albuquerque, one
of her recent roles was Yente in Landmark Musicals'
production of Fiddler on the Roof. She is also a member of
several local musical groups. She plays folk harp with the
Canterbury Harp Ensemble and a variety of instruments
with the early music quartet Cantores Festivi and also with
UNM's Early Music Ensemble. By day she can be found in
the production department of KNME/New Mexico PBS.
The 2016-2017 Concert Series
1. Old Tunes Never Die—Early
Music Meets the Movies
Medieval and Renaissance music that has been used in
film in the 20th and 21st centuries.
2. A Star Shone Bright
Medieval and Renaissance Christmas music, with
narration from literary works of the time. The concert title
comes from the text of an anonymous English carol, “As I
Out Rode This Enderes Night.” Kathy Wimmer will return
as narrator.
3. Power of the Press
Music made accessible to the public by the flourishing
music publishers of Renaissance Europe, including Pierre
Attaingnant, Pierre Phalèse, Tylman Susato and Ottaviano
Petrucci.
4. Crossing the Line
The convergence of the sacred and secular in the
Middle Ages and Renaissance, including the evolution of
the troubadour courtly love tradition into the so-called cult
of the Virgin Mary, the combining of secular and sacred
texts in the medieval motet, and the practice of setting
sacred texts to pre-existing secular tunes in the Renaissance.
Concert Locations
Our Albuquerque concerts will be given again at St.
Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church, located at 601
Montaño NW. Santa Fe concerts will continue at Christ
Lutheran Church, 1701 Arroyo Chamiso. Our thanks to
these venues for the use of their fine facilities for our music.
St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church
Christ Lutheran Church
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Ticket Order Form
✾ Send subscriptions as indicated:
@ $51 Regular rate
@ $42 Senior (65+) or Early Music America member
@ $29 Student (full-time)
Please indicate the four dates desired:
“Old Tunes Never Die”
Sun., Oct. 2, 4:30 p.m., Santa Fe
Sat., Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m., Albuquerque
“A Star Shone Bright”
Sat., Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m., Albuquerque
Sun., Dec. 11, 4:30 p.m., Santa Fe
Sat., Dec. 17, 7:30 p.m., Albuquerque
“Power of the Press”
Sun., March 12, 4:30 p.m., Santa Fe
Sat., March 18, 7:30 p.m., Albuquerque
“Crossing the Line”
Sun., May 7, 4:30 p.m., Santa Fe
Sat., May 13, 7:30 p.m., Albuquerque
Send a check and the subscription
form at the right to:
Música Antigua de Albuquerque
1017 Roma NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106-4733
For more information:
Phone: (505) 842-9613
E-mail: [email protected]
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season’s concerts. We need your support to enable us to
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non-profit organization, and your generosity will be greatly
appreciated! Donor categories are:
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Thys Yool, Thys Yool
Round & Round We Go
Music to the Max
The Sport of Love
A Rose of Swych Virtu
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Música Antigua de Albuquerque
L to R: Dennis Davies-Wilson, Art Sheinberg, Ruth Helgeson,
David McGuire, Colleen Sheinberg, Hovey Dean Corbin, Jr.
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