Austin Baroque Orchestra

Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad to all who celebrate!

As a small end-of-the-year gift, we’ll be sharing some of our favorite Iberian and Latin American music for Christmas and Día de Reyes (Epiphany) between now and Jan. 6. Links are below and in the comments. The algorithms aren't giving us too much engagement; the more often you like a post, the more often you will get our messages in your feed, so hit the like button!

Image: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, La Navidad (ca. 1665–1670, detail), The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGa-GUTn6V8

Cristóbal de Morales was the first Spanish composer of the Renaissance to become internationally famous. He was born in Seville around 1500, and he eventually held prestigious positions in Naples and Rome, making it as far as the papal choir. We also have evidence that he job-hopped, and records give us an idea of why: Apparently he was pretty arrogant and difficult to work with. He knew he was good and wasn’t scared to tell people that! But even if he was kind of a jerk, we have to admit that his music is quite beautiful.

One of his most striking motets is a three-voice setting of the text Puer natus est nobis (Unto us a child is born), published in 1543. If you listen closely, you can hear the first five or six notes of the Gregorian chant in all three of the voices as each enters. This was pretty common back then: composers would often include recognizable bits of Gregorian chant to satisfy church officials who sometimes complained that the choral music that was increasingly replacing chant was too sensuous.

One of our favorite composers to share with you, Manuel de Sumaya, passed away exactly 275 years ago today in Oaxaca, Mexico. This villancico of his is one of his best known works. The link is in the comments; give it a listen!. Want to help us find a way to keep bringing this music to you? Leave us a message here or at [email protected].

Program's almost done! We hope to see you tomorrow afternoon at the The Blanton Museum of Art. This is the music we do best – we can't wait to share it with you! We think all but one of the pieces on the program are first-time Austin performances (well ok, one is a second performance, but we did it first!).
https://www.facebook.com/events/1375819347595218 for details!

A message from our artistic director about our future, and about the crossroads our organization is presently at.

We've just released some music – a beautiful cantata for the Feast of St. Peter by the colonial-era Mexican composer Manuel de Sumaya. We hope you enjoy it! Spotify and AppleMusic links in the comments.

Si ya a aquella nave: I. Preludio–Largo: Si ya a aquella nave Provided to YouTube by CDBabySi ya a aquella nave: I. Preludio–Largo: Si ya a aquella nave · Austin Baroque Orchestra & ChorusManuel de Sumaya: Si ya a aquel...

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We love and miss y'all. Stay safe out there, Central and South Texas.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it! Here's one of our favorite pieces: a lullaby chanzoneta in Nahuatl for Christmas Day by the Guatemalan-Mexican composer Gaspar Fernández.

Xicochi, conētzintlé, ca ōmitzhuihuixōcoh
in angelesmeh. ¡Aleluya!

Sleep, dear child, for indeed they have come to lull you,
they who are angels. Alleluia!

Gaspar Fernández – Xicochi conetzintle—Xochipitzahuatl The Austin Baroque Orchestra & Chorus performs the chanzoneta Xicochi conetzintle by the Guatemalan-Mexican composer Gaspar Fernández. Taken from the "Cancio...

It's almost Christmas – here's one of our favorite little Christmas songs from 17th-century Germany, recorded a few years ago at St. Martin's Lutheran in Austin.

Michael Praetorius – En natus est Emanuel En natus est Emanuel is from the sixth installment of Praetorius's collection "Musæ Sioniæ," published in 1609, which consisted primarily of arrangements of ...