¡La otra Cuba!

Leo Brouwer (*1939) Balada de un dìa de julio and Amor… Yo he enseñarte el camino…. (from: Canciones Amatorias)
Leo Brewer Selection from Rondas, refranes y trabalenguas
Wilma Alba Cal (*1988) Selection from 5 Canciones
Leo Brewer Cántico de Celebración
Calixto Álvarez (*1938) Selection from Osun Requiem

Cappella Amsterdam
Martha Galarraga singer
Grupo AKE batá (percussion)
Pedro Ricardo Henry dancer
Edgar Sagarra dancer (in Nijmegen)
Leonard Evers conductor
Kenza Koutchoukali final director
Floriaan Ganzevoort lighting designer
Arien de Vries costume designer

Courtesy of photo model Ivon Arango Puig

Over the centuries, an immense amount of vocal music has been composed in Cuba, yet relatively little of it is performed here. Cappella Amsterdam invites you to discover the “other” Cuba through a program that showcases this extraordinarily rich vocal music tradition. From the presence of the first Spanish musical priests to the present day: when you listen to Cuban music, you hear centuries of influence from enslaved Africans, Spanish colonists, Americans, French, and Chinese laborers. All these influences have resulted in stunning, remarkably diverse music.

Under the direction of Leonard Evers, who also curated this unique program, chamber choir Cappella Amsterdam will perform intriguing choral works sung in Spanish, Yoruba, and Ecclesiastical Latin. To the beats of Grupo AKE, the vocal power of Cappella Amsterdam, and singer Martha Galarraga, you will witness dancer Pedro Ricardo Henry portray various orishas (deities of the Osun tradition).

Download the programme booklet

This concert series was made possible through the generous support of the Fonds Podiumkunsten, the City of Amsterdam, and Ammodo. Without their contribution, this project would not have been possible, and we are deeply grateful for their trust and support.