Sephardica Concert in Santa Brígida

Details

Ballads, lullabies, wedding songs, troubadour melodies, ancient Mozarabic jarchas and festive compositions that have survived for more than five centuries thanks to oral tradition make up the repertoire that will be performed this Friday, July 3, at 8:00 p.m. at the Centro Cultural de la Villa de Santa Brígida, with the concert by Sephardica. The evening, which is free of charge, will offer a journey through Sephardic, Andalusi, Renaissance music and the traditional ballad repertoire, performed with historical instruments such as lutes, viols da gamba and various period percussion. The ensemble, made up of Emilio Villalba, Sara Marina, Irene Arévalo and Patry Cruz, will recreate the sound universe that accompanied Sephardic Jewish communities before and after their expulsion from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492, when this valuable heritage began a long journey across the Mediterranean, where it managed to survive thanks to oral transmission from generation to generation. Specializing in the recovery and dissemination of Sephardic musical heritage and of the sound worlds that shaped the Peninsula between the 15th and 17th centuries, Sephardica revives a legacy in which Hispanic, Andalusi, Arab, Ottoman and Balkan influences converge, and in which women played an essential role as guardians and transmitters of tradition. It was the mothers, grandmothers and women of the Sephardic communities who kept alive, for centuries, lullabies, ballads, wedding songs and other compositions of medieval origin that today remain part of this valuable intangible heritage. Beyond musical performance, the show incorporates an educational dimension. The members of Sephardica introduce each piece by explaining its historical context, the origin of the instruments and the evolution of the different musical traditions, turning the concert into an experience that unites music, history and pedagogy. The concert is part of the Batalla del Batán programme designed by the Department of Culture of the Santa Brígida Town Council, headed by councillor Avelina Fernández Manrique de Lara.