From the Old World to the New
Rodrigo de Ceballos (c.1525-1581) ~ In manus tuas, Responsorium breve, Diligite iustitiam
Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) ~ Ambulans Iesus, Cantate Domino, In tempore lætitiæ,
Dixit Dominus Petro
Tomás Luis de Victoria (c.1548-1611) ~ Lamed. Matribus suis dixerunt, Lectio secunda, Feria sexta in Passione Domini Aleph. Ego vir Lectio tertia, Feria sexta in Passione Domini Gaude Maria Virgo
Alonso Lobo (1555-1617) ~ Ave Regina coelorum
Hernando Franco (1532-1585) ~ Christus factus est Dios itlaçonantzine
Pedro Bermúdez (1558-1605) ~ Christus natus est nobis
Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla (c.1590-1664) ~ Stabat Mater, Circumdederunt me dolores mortis
Gabriel Díaz writes: “I am very happy to have been asked to direct another Lacock course in my native Andalucía. The port city of Cádiz was the main conduit of trade with América, after Seville: for many centuries the influences and links between Cádiz and América flowed in both directions. That is why I had the idea of devising a programme that started with Lenten music, appropriate for the season, by some of the finest renaissance composers who were born and died in Spain (Ceballos, Victoria, Guerrero, Lobo) and led on to composers born in Spain but died in América, Hernando Franco, Pedro Bermúdez or Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla, who all died in México.”
Gabriel Díaz was born in Seville and directed the first Lacock course in that city in 2018. As a leading countertenor he performs regularly with orchestras and ensembles such as La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Choeur de Chambre de Namur, La Grande Chapelle, Los Músicos de su Alteza, Vox Luminis, Les Ambassadeurs and Musica Saeculorum.
Since his operatic debut at the Warsaw Chamber Opera, singing the role of Ircano in Semiramide riconosciuta by Leonardo Vinci he has sung many other operatic roles, including Andronico in Handel’s Tamerlano with the French orchestra Les Ambassadeurs, the title role in Handel’s Orlando with Welsh National Opera and Medoro in La Lisarda by Giovanni Battista Mariani at the Donaufestwochen in Austria.
Gabriel has explored other modes of musical expression such as the jazz-flamenco-classical fusion of the Looking Back Orchestra and its show Zambra Barroca by prestigious jazzist, recorder player and improviser Andreas Prittwitz, which he premiered at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid. He also performed in the dance show Until the Lions with Akram Khan, one of the most celebrated contemporary dance choreographers.
Cádiz
With its southerly latitude and Atlantic outlook, Cádiz is famed for its winter climate; early spring is likely to be very agreeable. The city stands on a peninsula jutting out into a bay, almost entirely surrounded by water.
Named Gadir by the Phoenicians, who founded their trading post in 1100 BC, it was later controlled by the Carthaginians until it became a thriving Roman port. It sank into oblivion under the Visigoths and Moors, but attained great splendour in the early 16th century as a launching point for the journey to the newly discovered lands of America. The city was later raided by Sir Francis Drake in the struggle to gain control of trade with the New World, and managed to withstand a siege by Napoleon’s army. The course will be held in the historic (an understatement: no city in the western world has been occupied longer) centre, in the church of the Convento de las Reparadoras, Calle Zaragoza 14, 11003 Cádiz, very near Plaza San Antonio.
The course
Our plan will be to meet in time for supper on Sunday the 5th of March. Then from Monday to Friday our timetable will be a slight variation on the normal Lacock pattern to accommodate a daily mass at noon:
09.15 – 10.15 first session
10.15 – 10.45 break
10.45 – 11.45 second session
11.45 – 15.30 long break
15.30 – 17.00 third session
17.00 – 17.30 break
17.30 – 19.00 fourth session
We will arrange a supper for everyone together on the first and last evenings (not included in the fee for the course), but let the party split into smaller groups on the other four evenings. We’ll give a public performance in the evening of Friday the 10th of March.
Travel and accommodation
The nearest airport is Jerez, with flights from England with Ryanair, Tui and Vueling and elsewhere in Europe with Eurowings, Condor and Edelweiss.
There is a direct train from the airport to Cadiz and the journey takes just under an hour. Other possible airports are Seville and Gibraltar. From the excellent Man in seat 61 website you can find out how to reach Cádiz by train. You arrange your own accommodation. There is a wide choice of places to stay in the historic centre itself.
Fees and enrolment
The fee for the course is paid in two parts: a deposit of £335 (or the equivalent in euros) on registration and €300 on or before arrival in Cádiz. The deposit may be credited to another course if you have to withdraw and we are able to allocate your place to another singer. The fee includes payment for the music booklet, which will be sent to you in advance, but not meals, travel or accommodation. To enrol, just email us and include the information listed below, or if we already know it just let us know that you would like to come. We will then let you know if we can give you a place and send you details of how you may pay the deposit.