The best of South America from Phoenix

South America is the melting pot for many ethnic groups and musical styles. “Esa Noite Yo Baila” (This Night I Dance) is Phoenix’s program for a concert taking place at Jerusalem’s Federation House July 22nd at 8:30 pm. Those attending will hear a rich selection of music from the streets and palaces of Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia.

The program will also include music of such Spanish court composers as Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710) and Juan Hidalgo (1614-1685). Seventeenth century Mexican and Peruvian composers, however, combined a mix of Spanish elegance, the ethnic dance style of the Indians, African- and Gypsy rhythms with the tradition of street celebration music, resulting in their own eclectic Baroque sound.

Phoenix Ensemble

The program will focus on various aspects of Latin American music: religious music, black music, that of the Indians and music from the streets. Between 1782 and 1785, Baltasar Martinez Companon y Bajanda, Bishop of Trujillo, made a number of official visits within his diocese, resulting in a record of nine volumes of watercolors illustrating the natural landscape, daily life and architecture of his bishopric. In this codex, known as the Trujillo del Peru, there are twenty musical works that were heard in the streets of the villages he had visited. Some of the pieces performed in the PHOENIX concert will be from that collection.

Myrna Herzog, Phoenix’s musical director, will play the viola da gamba, the rabel (a bowed folk instrument from Spain), the crumhorn (a Renaissance, double-reeded woodwind instrument) and the recorder. Adi Silberberg will play recorders, crumhorns, rauschpfeife (a strident-sounding, double-reeded 16th century woodwind instrument) and the colascione (a long-necked lute.)

Rony Irwyn will play percussions. Michael Eli will play colascione and Baroque guitar.( The charango Eli was to have played - a small South American member of the lute family, traditionally made with the shell of the back of an armadillo - is still in the process of being built. It should be ready for Phoenix’s next performance of this program.) Vocal works will be performed by soprano Michal Okon.