The spring concert program of the Island Community Chorus will feature a major work never before performed on the Vineyard: the Misa Criolla, an epic folk mass based on the rhythms and traditions of Hispanic South America.
The Misa Criolla, the most famous work of the Argentine composer Ariel Ramírez (1921-2010), was completed in 1964 and has been hailed by The Washington Post as “a stunning artistic achievement [that] combined Spanish text with indigenous instruments and rhythms.” Sung in Spanish, it is a setting of the Mass composed at a watershed moment, shortly after the Second Vatican Council permitted the use of vernacular languages in Catholic services. Ramírez’s work mines the rich musical traditions – chacarera trunca, carnavalito, cochabambino, vidala-baguala and estilo pampaneo – of indigenous Andean music.
The Misa Criolla is written for chorus and soloists with accompaniment by piano, guitar, and percussion. Singing with the Island Community Chorus as soloists will be the Boston-based Colombian tenor David Rivera Bozón and the Vineyard’s own baritone, David Behnke of West Tisbury.
The Chorus, under the direction of William Peek and with accompanist Molly Sturges at the piano, will also sing a selection of tunes celebrating spring at its weekend concerts. Performances are Saturday, May 3, at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, May 4, at 3 pm, both at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown. Suggested donation at the door is $20, and students are admitted free.
