On the road againnnn, from Compostela to College Stationnnnn
Danny Johnson
And I'm glad we aren't on the road *this* weekend! Really? The strongest storm in history in the Western Hemisphere? Yikes! I hope it doesn't live up to its description ... At any rate, even though we're still dealing with earworms from the Medieval Pilgrimage concert, we are preparing for our annual (since 2010) pilgrimage to St. Thomas Episcopal Church in College Station to present a shorter version of September's popular concert, Convivencia Re-Envisioned: The Three Worlds of Renaissance Spain. If you're in the vicinity and want to re-visit the concert or if you missed it the first time around, then check out the info below and come see us! Or you could recommend it to your friends in College Station and environs.... News about the Christmas concert is coming up ...
–Danny
Convivencia Re-Envisioned: The Three Worlds of Renaissance Spain
Sunday, November 8, 2015, 6:30 p.m.
St. Thomas Episcopal Church
906 George Bush Drive, College Station
Please join us for a concert that explores and celebrates the musical relationships among the three great cultures—Muslim, Jewish, and Christian—that co-existed peacefully on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Islamic Spain during these times was an extraordinarily tolerant culture in which learning was prized. In the library of the caliph of Cordoba were at least 40,000 books; most Western monasteries were fortunate to have 400, or even 40! Many works on mathematics, astronomy, physics, and medicine had been translated from Greek, Persian and Hindu sources into Arabic, and these books were, during this time, being translated from Arabic into Latin through the combined efforts of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian scholars. Co-operation, Tolerance, Co-existence, Mutual Respect: These were the hallmarks of this extraordinary time. This year marks the fourteenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, and since that time we have experienced the brutality of the Islamic State, the horrors of the civil war in Syria, and, in our own country, Ferguson, Baltimore, Charleston, and more. The need for true Convivencia is greater than ever; these are qualities much needed in our own day.
This concert will feature Sephardic and Middle-Eastern songs and dances, along with 16th-century Spanish polyphony for voices and instruments, focusing on the intersecting issues of life among these three cultures: Love, dance, food and drink, dreams, secrets and prayers. Featured performers include santur and oud player Kamran Hooshmand (Iran), harpist Therese Honey (Houston), outstanding instrumentalists on psaltery, viols, Renaissance guitar, and other instruments of the period, and outstanding singers. The award-winning Texas Early Music Project is under the direction of Founder and Artistic Director Daniel Johnson. The concert will be followed by a Reception in the Parish Hall.
This concert is supported in part by generous grants from the Gilbert and Thyra Plass Arts Foundation and the Joe and Florence Ham Charitable Trust.
Tickets $10/$5 students, at the Door
For more information, please contact Bonnie Harris-Reynolds, Organist & Music Director, St. Thomas Episcopal Church
St. Thomas: music@stthomasbcs.org
Phone: (979) 696-1726 or (979) 696-0452
