News

The Auditorio de Tenerife is welcoming Film Symphony Orchestra (FSO) next weekend on their new tour led by conductor Constantino Martínez-Orts. The ensemble is coming back with the FSO TOUR 19|20, a 50+ concert tour with top performance of the best film music live.  The concerts are held at Sala Sinfónica on 1 and 2 February at 8:30 pm and 7:00 pm, respectively. There are only a few tickets left for both performances.

The concerts feature the soundtracks of films like Back to the Future, Jurassic World, The King’s Speech, Pirates of the Caribbean, Amélie, Interestellar Avengers: Endgame, penned by great composers the like of John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Ennio Morricone, Alexandre Desplat or Alan Menken.

The tickets that are still available can be bought at Auditorio de Tenerife box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm,  Monday to Saturday except on holidays; via www.auditoriodetenerife.com  or calling 902 317 327.

Subscribers to Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife and Ópera de Tenerife enjoy a 10% discount on the ticket price. This benefit is limited and is only applied at Auditorio de Tenerife box office or through 902 317 327.

The Film Symphony Orchestra is a new artistic and business project that was set up to fill a gap in the cultural musical offer available in Spain. It is a professional symphony orchestra of the highest standard which includes more than 70 musicians and gives exclusively film music concerts or performances of authors who are closely linked to this medium.

Maestro Martínez-Orts is a composer and conductor specialising in film soundtracks. He is an enthusiastic musician who conveys his passion for music in every performance.  He teaches orchestra conducting at Berklee College of Music and creator of the Film Symphony Orchestra. He has performed in most Spanish theatres with the FSO. Fond of special projects, he has shared the stage with personalities like Alan Silvestri, Harrison Ford, Hugh Grant, Pablo Alborán, Paz Vega or footballer Roberto Carlos, among others.

The Laboratorio de Artes Vivas Tenerife LAV [Live Arts Lab] welcomes two resident artists, Óscar Cornago and Juan Navarro. For a week, both creators will work on the piece Se alquila at Teatro Leal’s  Sala de Cámara. The year’s first residency will be showcased next Monday, 27th January at 11:00 am in the Biblioteca Municipal de La Laguna. Admission is free.

Cornago and Navarro landed on the island yesterday to continue working on Se alquila. Archivo universal del actor, a long-standing project created and directed by both of them. A pilot was presented in March 2019 at the Théâtre de la Vignette in Montpellier, as part of a seminar about actors. They will continue their work with the support of this residency at Auditorio de Tenerife.

The opening of this process is special because it is shared with Metamorfosis, theatrical research and mental health group of the Sociedad Insular para la Promoción de las Personas con Discapacidad (Sinpromi) [Island Society for the Promotion of People with Disabilities], although it is open to anyone who wishes to learn about the process of this project.

The starting point of the work is the idea of an impossible conversation between a head and a body, between the world of ideas and the world of action, between the subject of a talk and the purpose of that talk; a conversation suspended in an improvised place between the past and the future.

Juan Navarro’s memory as an actor, performer, stage creator and theatre director, who has been involved in some of the most innovating contexts in the history of European theatre for more than thirty years, is the central point of this uncertain space of impossible conversations. The result is a performative talk or a performance that is displayed through a dialogue of open reflection.

The failure inscribed in modernity forces you to be constantly rethinking the boundaries between words and actions, past and present. Memory is updated to ask about the fact of getting together to remember; what is the meaning of bringing an action and a theatrical story out of its context, something that is only in the personal memory of those who performed it and, as collective memory, of some stage media. The past is full of black holes. But it is these very holes that actually turn history into live territory and the past into a potential future.

The dance company resident at Auditorio de Tenerife Lava Compañía de Danza is performing at 6:30 pm tomorrow, Wednesday the 22nd at MADferia, the performing arts fair held at Matadero Madrid. Also, on Saturday, the 25th the group led by Daniel Abreu (Premio Nacional de Danza 2014) is travelling to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria’s Teatro Guiniguada where they will perform the choreography Beyond at 8:30 pm.

At MADferia, the performing arts fair that has been held in Madrid every year since 2004, Lava will dance their latest double programme, which was put on in December 2019. The show was purposefully created for the company while two internationally renowned choreographers were staying on the island: Israeli Roy Assaf and South Korean Dongkyu Kim.

Dongkyu Kim, who worked on the island with his assistants Nara Yoon and Jiho Jang, also a composer, says that “we all make our own sound”. That’s why in Yalacha “sound doesn’t come from the mouth but from life: I live my own life and I make my own sound through the sound of others but, what sound do you make? he wonders. The piece is part of the Jisoo Gook Laboratory Dance Project

For his part, Roy Assaf -who had the assistance of associate artist Ariel Freedman- advises “while watching Hush I encourage you to ignore the unswerving temptation of seeking for the plot; refuse the stubborn need to understand, trust your instinct -being honest and sincere about it- and follow your tender heart, that has a great capacity for imagination”.

MADferia combines the exhibition of the latest performing arts creations in the country with activities related to reflection and providing a meeting point for professionals. It is organised by ARTEMAD Asociación de Empresas Productoras de Artes Escénicas de Madrid and is a member of COFAE Coordinadora de Ferias y Artes Escénicas del Estado español.

Beyond is one of the earliest pieces in Lava’s repertoire and it was premiered in December 2018. It has been chosen to open the annual dance programme of the Teatro Guiniguada, which is run by the Government of the Canary Islands.

It was created by La intrusa’s Virginia García and Damián Muñoz, Premio Nacional de Danza 2015, who worked with the Lava dancers in the autumn of 2018. Beyond deals with the experience of searching through the emotional landscapes of memory, presenting a scenario full of uncertainties, which forces us to create or reflect on our own life and on the landscape every individual shapes for themselves either consciously or unconsciously.

Lava Compañía de Danza is a company resident at Auditorio de Tenerife, a cultural centre under the Cabildo de Tenerife. It was set up in 2018 as a result of the commitment with contemporary creation. It focuses on developing a repertoire of works by internationally renowned artists.

Its artistic director from the start has been Tenerife-born dancer and creator Daniel Abreu (Premio Nacional de Danza 2014) with Dácil González (Premio Nacional de Danza 2019) as assistant director plus Auditorio de Tenerife’s team.

Six dancers with a strong presence on the stage, technically sound and versatile bring the creations to life. The different choreographies share a contemporary dance language and other codes of today’s artistic discourse. Physicality, poetry and commitment.

The company’s repertoire includes works by Fernando Magadan, Roy Assaf, Dongkyu Kim, Paloma Hurtado, La Intrusa or Daniel Abreu, which are high quality, original pieces beautifully put together.

These pieces enrichen and share the curiosity of the existing audience while engaging new audiences through the experience of dance and its context.

The Auditorio de Tenerife’s new chamber music series, Creativa Música Panhispánica [Pan-Hispanic Creative Music], opens on Saturday, the 25^th at 7:30 pm with Camerística. This first concert features Ángel García Jermann, cello and Jesús Gómez Madrigal, piano who will play pieces by Spanish-speaking composers of the early 20^th century at the Auditorio’s Sala de Cámara.

This unusual programme starts with Deux improvisations sur des airs irlandais and Variations chantantes sur un air ancien (Air de Xerxes de Cavalli, 1654), by Reynaldo Hahn (1874, Caracas - 1947, París). After the break, we will listen to Tenerife-born, Manuel Bonnin (1898 - 1993, Santa Cruz de Tenerife), with Sonata para violonchelo y piano. And finally, Pampeana nº 2 and the Rapsodia para violonchelo y piano by Alberto Ginastera (1916, Buenos Aires - 1983, Geneva).

The Councillor for Culture, Education, Youth and Sport of the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, Concepción Rivero, explained the relevance of this new series, “that seeks to bring to the Tenerife audience compositions that have seldom been played in our theatres by not very well-known authors, while at the same time highlighting Canarian composers of the 19^th and 20^th centuries”.

Tickets can be purchased through Auditorio de Tenerife’s sale channels: at the box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, Monday to Saturday except on holidays; via www.auditoriodetenerife.com  or calling 902 317 327.

Pianísimo, the second concert, is on at 12:00 noon on 6 February. Pianist Javier Laso will perform works by Federico Mompou (1893-1987, Barcelona), Frédéric Chopin (1810, Poland-1849, Paris), Manuel de Falla (1876, Cádiz- 1946, Argentina), Alberto Ginastera (1916, Buenos Aires-1983, Geneva) and Teobaldo Power (1848, Santa Cruz de Tenerife-1884, Madrid).

The last concert of this new chamber music series, Lírica, is on 14 March. It starts at 7:30 pm and includes the voice of Rosina Herrera along with pianist Nauzet Mederos, who will be performing scores by Ernesto Halffter (1905-1989, Madrid), Antón G. Abril (1933, Teruel), Blanca Báez (1920, Canary Islands), Luis Cobiella (1925-2013, La Palma), Isaac Albéniz (1860, Spain-1909, France), Lothar Siemens (1941-2017, Gran Canaria), Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000, Argentina) and Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959, Rio de Janeiro).

Auditorio de Tenerife and Asociación Tinerfeña de Amigos de la Música (Atadem) [Tenerife Friends of Music Association] present this new series with the aim of spreading unusual music on the Island. This idea led to the setting up of Pan-Hispanic Creative, coordinated by Conrado Álvarez and with Rosario Álvarez as artistic director. Ms. Álvarez explained that they will approach “music by Canarian composers and Latin American music, as very little of their huge piano, singing or chamber repertoires is known here. In this continent, after the different Independence movements of its territories, composers developed a language exclusive to their particular region”.

“We’ll show the audience some of this fresh, colourful creations. We are aware of this rich heritage and compare it with some of our own compositions, which are the result of the thoughts and work of both past and present authors. They have helped to develop native musical creation, which has led to our achieving a relevant national position”, Rosario Álvarez revealed.

El Auditorio de Tenerife recibe el martes [día 21] dos funciones, a las 10:00 y a las 11:30 horas, del concierto didáctico El prodigioso viaje musical, de la Orquesta Filarmónica Miguel Jaubert. La Sala Sinfónica albergará a 3.000 escolares de dieciocho municipios de Tenerife y uno de La Palma.

El espectáculo está protagonizado por Mary Poppins, quien, a través de la música, hará viajar en el tiempo a los alumnos de Arico, Candelaria, El Rosario, El Sauzal, El Paso (La Palma), Fasnia, Granadilla de Abona Guía de Isora, Icod de los Vinos, La Guancha, La Laguna, La Matanza, La Orotava, Los Realejos, Puerto de la Cruz, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santa Úrsula, Tegueste y Vilaflor.

En su camino, Poppins visitará varios países y vivirá una serie de situaciones para ir descubriendo el valor de las cosas, de las emociones, de la vida. Sufragistas, científicas pioneras, precursores de la aviación, el cine y la fotografía, exploradores y viajeros intrépidos mostrarán a esta aventurera niñera y a sus acompañantes una época de grandes avances tecnológicos: la del siglo XIX y principios del siglo XX.

Se trata de un periodo ávido de conocimientos y de obtención de libertades, pero también evidenciarán la necesidad de poner el corazón en lo que se cree, de crecer, de llegar a los demás y, por supuesto, de volar. Y es que a través de la música los escolares se sentirán como una cometa.

La dirección musical de este concierto pedagógico, enmarcado en el Área Educativa y Social de Auditorio de Tenerife, corre a cargo de José Antonio Cubas Delgado, profesor de Trombón en el Conservatorio Superior de Música de Canarias y en el Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

La dirección teatral lleva las firmas de los historiadores del arte Gerardo Fuentes Pérez y Tania Marrero, mientras que la dirección pedagógica está a cargo de María Jesús Cuéllar Moreno, profesora titular del Departamento de Didácticas Específicas de la Universidad de La Laguna.

La Orquesta Filarmónica Juvenil de Tenerife Miguel Jaubert nació en septiembre de 2012 con la Fundación DISA como principal patrocinador. Esta formación se encuadra dentro del Proyecto Social de la Asociación Canaria para la Difusión de la Música (Acadim) y se define como una orquesta de niños que hace música para niños, siguiendo así con la idea original de Miguel Jaubert Gómez, fundador de este proyecto.

On 4 January the fourth MAPAS  Mercado de las Artes Performativas del Atlántico Sur [South Atlantic Performing Arts Market], opened the registration period for artists, companies and agencies from Latin America, Africa and southern Europe plus for heads of programming worldwide who wish to take part in this international event to be held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife from 9 to 11 July. The market is organised by the Cabildo de Tenerife, unahoramenos and Circulart.

The councillor for Culture, Education, Youth and Sports of the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, Ms. Concepción Rivero, pointed out that “we must stress the relevance of consolidating the island as a space that connects three continents in the field of culture and events like MAPAS make this possible”. She then added that “traditionally Canarian culture has been influenced by different sources including Africa, Europe and America, so to keep this link alive it is fundamental to back activities like MAPAS, because they allow cultural professionals to achieve synergies and reach new markets”.

MAPAS 2020 furthers its commitment to encourage the business of the live arts by giving creators and agencies the opportunity to make exchanges that boost the circulation of their works and cultural services in the global market through the synergies established with the programmers. The registration process will be managed via the virtual platform www.mapasmercadocultural.com. 

Creators and agencies

The deadline for creators and management, booking and live performing arts distribution agencies –music, theatre, dance, street art and circus– to submit their proposals is 13 March 2020. The result of the selection process -carried out by a consulting committee made up by experts with a renowned international career in the cultural sphere- will be published on 8 April.

The participation of artists and companies is open to individuals, companies, professional groups and collectives of music, theatre, dance, circus, and street art from Latin America, Africa and southern Europe (Spain and Portugal). Among other requirements, artists must provide proof of at least one year of experience; music professionals must have at least five live performances and performing arts artists a minimum of ten, while agencies must prove they have at least three years’ experience in their activities and register a minimum of two artistic groups or shows.

Programmers and cultural managers

Heads of programming, artistic directors, curators, festival organisers, cultural managers of public or private institutions and impresarios of the performing arts industries from around the world are invited to register and take part in the business meetings that are taking place on  10 and 11 July. They will also have the chance to learn about the innovative artistic proposals from the three continents that will be showcased on the island on these days. This will help to strengthen the live arts industry in a space for collaboration and exchange. Registering is free of charge and is open until 15 June.

In 2019 MAPAS welcomed 149 programmers from 40 different countries who had the chance to hold meetings with 138 artistic groups from 27 countries plus 30 management and distribution agencies from Africa, Latin America and southern Europe. These meetings are rounded off with music and performing arts showcases that are open to the general public. This gives the heads and managers the chance to see live a carefully selected sample of the shows by artists, groups and companies.

The participation figures of previous years places MAPAS as a leading international forum for the cultural and creative industries. It has become the first professional sales market for the live performing arts and music in the South Atlantic area and offers a space to collaborate and exchange , share, learn and circulate artistic projects generated in Africa, Latin America and southern Europe.

Noa, singer and composer of Yemeni origins who was born in Israel and brought up in New York, is coming to the Auditorio de Tenerife on Saturday the 18^th. The concert to present her new work, Letters to Bach, starts at 9:00 pm. The album includes twelve pieces of instrumental music written by Johann Sebastian Bach with lyrics in English and Hebrew by Noa.

In addition to singing she will also play percussion and will be accompanied by Gil Dor’s guitar and voice, Gadi Seri, percussion and vocals, and Or Lubianiker’s bass. The lyrics of Noa’s new project, produced by Quincy Jones, are inspired by such different topics as technology and religion, global warming and feminism, euthanasia, the Palestine-Israeli conflict+ and relationships in the age of social media.

The guitar arrangements are by Noa’s long-time collaborator, Gil Dor, guitarist, composer, arranger and educator. Noa and Gil Dor strive to break language, gender and generational barriers as well as stigma in order to build a bridge of musical excellence towards respect and joy, a place for curiosity, courage and hope. It is all done under the auspices of the great super-connector, Johann Sebastian Bach.

Noa is an internationally renowned artist who has performed in the most prestigious theatres in the world, including many performances at the Vatican for the three Popes, the White House, the Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center and the top venues in Europe.

She has been backed and produced by Pat Metheny and Quincy Jones and has shared the stage with Stevie Wonder, Sting and Andrea Bocelli, among many others. She is Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, UN Goodwill Ambassador, Global Leader of Tomorrow, and has received countless awards for her art and her commitment to peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Tickets can be purchased at Auditorio de Tenerife box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm Monday to Saturday, except holidays; via the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com or calling 902 317 327.

The Addams Family musical reaches the Auditorio de Tenerife at Christmas time. The show will be put on nine times at the Cabildo de Tenerife’s cultural centre. The first two performances are at 6:00 pm and 9:30 pm on Saturday, the 28th. The last performance of this terrifically funny show is on 4 January.

In the world of The Addams Family being sad means being happy, foolishness is sensible, feeling pain equals joy, being imprudent is prudent and death and suffering are the stuff dreams are made of.  However, this peculiar family is about to face one of the spookiest nightmares common to every parent: the children are growing up.

For hundreds of years, Gómez and Morticia have tried to keep the genuine, special and unique Addams values, but however much they wish to go on living in that harmony, something quite unexpected is going to happen: their macabre and dear daughter Wednesday has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, a sweet, loving, and intelligent boy from a “normal”, respectable Ohio family. No one does really approve of the couple but to make matters even worse, Wednesday has invited the Beinekes to dinner.

Welcome to an ill-fated, ominous, and hilarious evening at the Addams’s, where the best-kept secrets will be revealed, relationships, love affairs and friendships will be under scrutiny and the whole of the Addams family -ancestors included- will be forced to face the one single terrible thing they have managed to avoid for generations: change.

Tickets can be bought via the usual sale channels of Auditorio de Tenerife: at the box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, Monday to Saturday except holidays; via www.auditoriodetenerife.com  or calling 902 317 327.

The cast includes Carmen Conesa, Lydia Fairén, Xavi Mira in the role of Gómez; Frank Capdet, who plays uncle Fester; Meritxell Duró is the grandmother; Alejandro Mesa, in the role of Pugsley; Fabio Arrante is Lucas Beineke; Eva María Cortés plays Alice Beineke; Andrés Navarro as Malcom Beineke, and Javier Canales is butler Lurch.

The show, that puts on stage the characters created by illustrator Charles Addams, is directed by Esteve Ferrer and produced by LETSGO (who has also produced titles like Dirty Dancing, The Hole, The Hole 2 and The Hole Zero) with their characteristic special effects.

The comedy, based on Brickmann and Elice’s libretto, includes music by Andrew Lippa. Touring started at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre in Chicago in 2009 and went on to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway in 2010, where it was hugely successful.

Known through the 1960s TV adaptation, The Addams Family hit the big screen in 1991 and since then there have been many film adaptations of this peculiar family.

In Spain, the musical premiered on 5 October 2017 at Teatro Calderón in Madrid with a top national cast and a staging to match this great family. Since then, they have toured across mainland Spain and have even returned to Madrid before travelling to the Canaries at Christmas 2019 and early 2020.

The Auditorio de Tenerife is putting on a concert by Lina and Raül Refree, two musicians who give fado an electronic touch. On 29 March at 7:30 pm the Sala de Cámara of the Cabildo’s cultural centre will welcome the Portuguese singer and the Barcelona producer, who has worked with artists like Rosalía and Amaia Romero.

Lina and Raül Refree build an intense, moving, very special musical relationship. Raül Refree -one of the most innovative European producers- was impressed by Lina’s voice when he heard her sing at the Club de Fado in Lisbon. Lina -a fado singer with a classical training, two records with Sony Music and an expert in Amália Rodrigues- selected some of the diva’s fado classics and they immediately got down to work in a joint project.

Refree framed Lina’s voice in analogical clouds with brilliant arrangements and a completely novel approach, that is, adding an electronic touch to fado, which underlines its universal scope. The result can be enjoyed at the Auditorio de Tenerife next March, with Refree at the acoustic piano plus Lina’s voice in addition to their synthesizers.

Tickets can be bought via Auditorio de Tenerife’s sale channels: at the box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm Monday to Saturday, except holidays; via the internet on www.auditoriodetenerife.com  or calling 902 317 327.

The Auditorio de Tenerife presents Pan-Hispanic Creative Music, a new chamber music series. It includes three concerts - Camerística, Pianísimo and Lírica, to take place at the Sala de Cámara of this Cabildo de Tenerife cultural centre. The programme focuses on Spanish-speaking composers from different countries and from the 19th century to the present, including Canarian authors. The artists who have been invited to play this unusual repertoire are cellist Ángel García Jermann, soprano Rosina Herrera and the pianists Jesús Gómez Madrigal, Javier Laso and Nauzet Mederos.

The first concert, Camerística, is taking place at 7:30 pm on 25 January and it features  García Jermann and Gómez Madrigal who will play compositions by Reynaldo Hahn (1874, Caracas-1947, Paris), Manuel Bonnin (1898-1993, Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and Alberto Ginastera (1916, Buenos Aires-1983, Geneva).

Pianísimo, the second concert, is on at 12:00 noon on 6 February. Pianist Javier Laso will perform works by Federico Mompou (1893-1987, Barcelona), Frédéric Chopin (1810, Poland-1849, Paris), Manuel de Falla (1876, Cádiz- 1946, Argentina), Alberto Ginastera (1916, Buenos Aires-1983, Geneva) and Teobaldo Power (1848, Santa Cruz de Tenerife-1884, Madrid).

The last concert of this new chamber music series, Lírica, is on 14 March. It starts at 7:30 pm and includes the voice of Rosina Herrera along with pianist Nauzet Mederos, who will be performing scores by Ernesto Halffter (1905-1989, Madrid), Antón G. Abril (1933, Teruel), Blanca Báez (1920, Canary Islands), Luis Cobiella (1925-2013, La Palma), Isaac Albéniz (1860, Spain-1909, France), Lothar Siemens (1941-2017, Gran Canaria), Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000, Argentina) and Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959, Rio de Janeiro).

Auditorio de Tenerife and Asociación Tinerfeña de Amigos de la Música (Atadem) [Tenerife Friends of Music Association] present this new series with the aim of spreading unusual music on the Island. This idea led to the setting up of Pan-Hispanic Creative, coordinated by Conrado Álvarez and with Rosario Álvarez as artistic director. Ms. Álvarez explained that they will approach “music by Canarian composers and Latin American music, as very little of their huge piano, singing or chamber repertoires is known here. In this continent, after the different Independence movements of its territories, composers developed a language exclusive to their particular region”.

“We’ll show the audience some of this fresh, colourful creations. We are aware of this rich heritage and compare it with some of our own compositions, which are the result of the thoughts and work of both past and present authors. They have helped to develop native musical creation, which has led to our achieving a relevant national position”, Rosario Álvarez revealed.

Tickets for the three concerts can be purchased at Auditorio de Tenerife’s box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm Monday to Saturday except holidays; via www.auditoriodetenerife.com or by phone on 902 317 327.

Christmas Oratorio is Sinfónica de Tenerife’s sixth concert in the 2019-2020 season, which is taking place at 7:30 pm on Friday, the 20th in Auditorio de Tenerife, under the baton of its principal conductor Antonio Méndez. Part of the same programme will be played at La Laguna Cathedral on Thursday the 19th at 8:00 pm, as it is included in the events of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of San Cristóbal de La Laguna Diocese.

For their new concert -this is the first time this work is included in their repertoire- the Sinfónica de Tenerife appeals to recollection, reflection and joy, as suggested by Johann Sebastian Bach in the score of his Christmas Oratorio BWV 248. The soloists are soprano Marta Bauzà, contralto Mireia Pintó, tenor Juan Antonio Sanabria and baritone Fernando Campero, along with choirmaster Xavier Puig, who will conduct Palau de la Música Catalana’s Cor de Cambra.

The first part of the programme includes Cantata I: Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage and Cantata II: Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend. The second part comprises Cantata III: Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen and Cantata VI: Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben.

The Christmas Oratorio is a religious composition written in 1734 and is socially, culturally and religiously significant in Europe, especially in Germany -Bach’s native country- where it is recurrently performed at this time of the year. The work shows technique, resources and creativity providing a wide musical display that has been a source of inspiration for later composers.

Bach created a work divided in six parts to cover the liturgy of Christmas, the New Year and the Epiphany. The global result comes from the unity of action contained in the text, the presence of recitatives taken from the Scriptures and a stressed personification, with the performance of real drama roles.

This oratorio was composed using a common technique at the time known as parody or self-borrowing, in which at least 13 of the 64 numbers are from previous cantatas by Bach for different events, both liturgical and secular.

Rejoice, sing happily and celebrate these wonderful days is the title of the first part, that starts with an energetic choir that appeals to joy and hope. The music of this first choir was originally for the birthday of the Princess of Saxony (BWV 214,1). This explains its natural joy, combined with the solemnity of trumpets and timpani.  The ternary beat contributes to convey the expression of joy and celebration in the musical rhetoric.

Meant for Christmas Day, the second cantata starts with a symphony, a genre that designated the overture before dramatic or vocal works. One of its noteworthy features is its rhythm, characteristic of pastoral and rural music, reinforced by the tonality of G major in a musical dialogue between angels, represented by strings and flutes, and shepherds, depicted in the sound of four oboes.

The third part is a cantata that recovers the festive atmosphere of the beginning as the first cycle of Christmas celebrations come to an end, both in terms of time and liturgy and in terms of music. This fragment contains one of the few passages purposefully composed for this work: an aria where the contralto, violin and continuo delicately reflect on a prayer that invites to recollection.

The concert concludes with the sixth cantata, about the Epiphany. This is an epilogue to Christmas celebrations that deals with the Magi and brings back the happiness and rejoicing of the first and third cantatas.

Tickets for this subscription concert can be purchased at the Auditorio de Tenerife box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm Monday to Saturday except on holidays; by telephone on 902 317 327; or via the internet on www.sinfonicadetenerife.es and www.auditoriodetenerife.com.

The Auditorio de Tenerife welcomes at 8:00 pm on Sunday, the 22^nd the Spirit of New Orleans Gospel Choir. This gospel concert by the US group will perform the best songs in their repertoire including Hallelujah, Oh Happy Day, Glory, Glory and Stand By Me at the Sala Sinfónica of the Cabildo’s venue.

Tickets can be bought through Auditorio de Tenerife’s usual sale channels: at the box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, Monday to Saturday except on holidays and on Sunday two hours before the show starts; or via www.auditoriodetenerife.com  or calling 902 317 327.

The Spirit of New Orleans Gospel Choir is a larger version that the Joyful Gospel Singers (JGS) have set up for their 2019 European tour. The historical essence of the city -the 9th Ward- is where the members of JGS were born physically and professionally. That’s why wherever they go they bring with them the music of their city, their second line rhythm, their funky pulse, their R&B sound, everything that defines gospel from the Joyful and New Orleans, Louisiana.

They started their career in the mid-1990s. Their first CD, Take Me, Use Me, was recorded in 1995 with New Orleans emblematic label Rampart Street Music, which also produced their latest release to date, 9th Ward Revival, songs shrouded in nostalgia that are dedicated to the world before Katrina.

The list of great artists JGS has worked with is endless and it includes some of the greatest like Yolanda Adams, Thelma Houston, Bryan Adams, Earth Wind & Fire, Kirk Franklin, New Orleans blues diva Marva Wright and the German pop band PUR.

They usually feature at gigs in Germany, Italy and Spain. They have sung at the Monterrey Jazz Festival and are a classic at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. This Little Light of Mine, Down by The Riverside, Amazing Grace and The Old Rugged Cross are some other songs they sing in their concerts.