Carlos Mena and The Disfonik Orchestra will be at Auditorio de Tenerife on Saturday, the 2nd to share their reinvention of classical compositions through jazz. At 7:30 pm in Sala de Cámara they will perform a fusion by the countertenor and the orchestra conducted by Jacques Beaud, which was released in an album called Under the shadow, also featuring singer Ghalmia Senouci (alto).

The music proposed by The Disfonik Orchestra is an intimate encounter of classical music and jazz. Some of the pieces of the classical repertoire have been carefully chosen and arranged for a jazz ensemble like The Disfonik and a distinct countertenor classical voice, Carlos Mena’s.

The programme opens with Shall I Sue, from Prélude in Suite nº2 Solo Cello BWV 1008 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) arranged by Patrick Perrier and Jacques Beaud, with lyrics by an unknown 16th century author and Beaud himself.  The following piece, King Henry, is composed from Corsican traditional music with lyrics by an unknown 16th century author and Beaud, who also took care of the arrangements.

Lumi, potete piangere by Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690) led to Never Come Back Again, with lyrics by Beaud, who along with Salvatore Reitano, did the arrangements. A Prayer, from Libera Me in Requiem Op.48 by Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), lyrics by Jacques Beaud and Anne Ottiger, and arranged by Beaud, Reitano and David Tixier. These two pieces will be sung by Ghalmia Senouci and Carlos Mena.

Next comes When I am Laid in Earth, whose reference is the lament with the same title in the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell (1659-1695). Lyrics are by Nahum Tate and it was arranged by Jacques Beaud. Then comes the only instrumental piece, 1080 Love, from The Art of Fugue BWV 1080 by Johann Sebastian Bach and the talent of Jacques Beaud and Salvatore Reitano, who arranged it.

Then they will play Let me Die Alone, based on Lamento della Ninfa by Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) by an unknown author from the 16th century and Jacques Beaud, arranged by Beaud and Reitano. The music of White as Lilies was adapted by Beaud from Ich will meine Seele tauchen by Dichterliebe Op.48 by Robert Schumann arranged by the conductor and David Tixier, and with lyrics from an unknow author added by Beaud and Senouci. 

And lastly, Land of Darkness, composed from Alto Giove in Polifemo by Nicola Porpora (1686-1768), with lyrics by Beaud and arranged by him and Tixier.

Tickets can be bought at Auditorio de Tenerife box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, Monday to Saturday, on www.auditoriodetenerife.com  or by telephone on 902 317 327. Auditorio’s usual discounts are available for this concert as well as the new discounts for groups.

The Disfonik Orchestra was founded by Jacques Beaud and it is made up of seven professional musicians from very different music backgrounds who are connected by one single idea: Music. The orchestra features Juan Munguía, trumpet; Matthieu Roffè, piano; Salvatore Reitano, keyboard; Marc-Olivier Savoy, drums; and Jacques Beaud, electric bass.

Carlos Mena studied at Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel with Richard Levitt and René Jacobs. His intense concert activities have taken him to the most prestigious venues in the world, such as Konzerthaus in Vienne, Berlin Philharmonic, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Alice Tully Hall at New York’s MET, Kennedy Center in Washington, Berliner Philarmoniker, Suntory Hall and Opera City Hall in Tokyo, Osaka Symphony Hall, Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall in Melbourne.

He has performed the operas Radamisto by Händel (in the title role) at Felsenreitschule in Salzburg, at Dortmund Konzerthaus, at Musikverein in Vienne, at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Bellas Artes in Mexico City conducted by M. Haselböck and H. Grazer; Orfeo by Monteverdi (Speranza) at Festwoche in Innsbruck and at Berlin’s Staatsoper conducted by R. Jacobs/B. Kosky; Il Trionfo by Händel (in the role of Disinganno) at Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg and Europea 5 by J. Cage at Flanders Festival. Mena has an interest in the lied and contemporary repertoires and has premiered different works by composers like José María Sánchez-Verdú, Gabriel Erkoreka and Alberto Iglesias. He has conducted the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada and Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias with works by Handel, Bach and Mozart.

He is currently music and artistic director at Capilla Santa Maria promoted by Fundación Catedral Santa María de Vitoria and directs programmes spanning from the Middle Ages to Classicism at national and international festivals.