Cappella Mediteranea
French / English

Carmina Latina

Carmina Latina is made up of Spanish and South American works from the 16th and 17th centuries. It is as much a journey back in time as a skillful blend of Baroque mysticism, exotic fervour and contemporary energy. Leonardo García Alarcón fires up his ensemble, paying tribute to Spanish and Portuguese ecclesiastics, and musicians like Juan de Araujo and Tomas de Torrejon y Velázquez, who emigrated to Peru and Argentina after the conquest of the Americas. With them, they brought over a polyphonic tradition that was at its peak.

From Spain to the New World: the voyage of Baroque music

“Towards the end of the 15th century, a new cultural mix began to emerge in Latin America, as all kinds of artists from Europe were brought together. The local population learned how to sing, play instruments, compose and make music. Elements that had been imported from Europe, including certain types of guitar and harp, gradually became such an integral part of popular traditions that they still exist today.” Jérôme Lejeune

Listen on your favourite platform
Concerts

Artists

Released on 6 May 2013 by Ricercar

Purchase the album from d’Outhere Music
Carmina Latina, ambronay, Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, Chœur de chambre de Namur, Cappella Mediterranea

What the press is saying

Olyrix

The ensemble, flawlessly led by the Swiss-Argentine conductor Leonardo García Alarcón, remains passionately committed to exploring Spanish and South American music of the 16th and 17th centuries, much of which has yet to be unearthed from Latin America’s libraries. This evening’s Christmas-themed programme revealed the richness of this little-known repertoire. In Francisco Correa de Araujo’s “Magnificat”, time seemed to stand still, while more festive pieces featured typically Hispanic syncopated rhythms. In the strikingly modern villancicos, contrasting pieces followed one another, almost without interruption, and the singers’ stage presence made them seem far ahead of their time.

Rémi Clavier for Olyrix

Our partners