Fall 2007

A Christmas Tour of the Hapsburg Empire

Sacred Music from Europe and the New World

Since God created the world, it has contained no empire as extensive as that of Spain. For from the sun’s rising to its setting, it never ceases to shine for one instant on its lands.
–Francisco Ugarte de Hermosa, 1655

Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the Habsburg monarchs ruled over the first World Empire, with holdings in Romania, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Northwest Africa, North and South America, the Caribbean, Oceania and the Philippines. The sacred music of this trans-continental empire is correspondingly diverse, ranging from High Renaissance polyphonic motets to European folk carols to New World compositions strongly influenced by Spanish, Native American and African rhythms and harmonies. Sung in Basque, Catalan, Czech, Flemish, German, Italian, Ladino, Latin, Nahuatl, Romanian and Spanish, this La Jolla Renaissance Singers’ eclectic winter program explores the riches of World Music, ca. 1600.

Spring 2008

By the Great Harry!

Music Composed by and for King Henry VIII

Did you know that England’s most notorious monarch (1491-1647) was an enthusiastic sponsor of music and a prolific composer? The La Jolla Renaissance Singers’ concert program for Spring 2008 features rarely-performed choral and instrumental works by the Great Harry himself, plus selections by the distinguished musicians who graced his court: Robert Fayrfax (1464-1521), William Cornysh (1465-1523) and Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1583). Also included are works attributed to Henry’s second wife Anne Boleyn and his father Henry VII, as well as anonymous compositions of the Tudor era.