Exploring and performing the historical music of the 18th century California mission baroque style, Cal Poly’s Early Music Ensemble will be holding a concert, “Antonio de Salazar and Manuel de Sumaya: Kings of the Mexican Baroque” at the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa on Saturday.
The Early Music Ensemble, directed by Thomas Davies, principally performs music written before the 1800s.
“This is music that is not known by the bulk of the music community,” Davies said.
The pieces are not only sung, but also discussed by music historian Craig Russell, creating an educational-lecture format. This allows listeners to take part in an interactive history lesson, learning both the background of the artists and hearing their messages manifest in the very venue they were meant to be sung in.
“We can get a real context of the work and how it was put together, and maybe the thinking of the composer,” Davies said.
Dr. Russell recently published “From Serra to Sancho: Music and Pageantry in the California Missions” in 2009. The book takes a deep look into the culture and style of the California mission music. Russell continues his research as a musical historian, gathering and photographing the original pieces by the artists.
“I photograph old manuscripts and then reconstruct them, because there’s so much wonderful music that’s not available,” he said.
One of the three choirs in the music department, the Early Music Ensemble is the smallest with only 16 members. It’s small size, however, allows for more individual attention to the students.
Music senior Morgan Hurd, now in his second year with the ensemble, believes the small body gives each person more of a responsibility, which serves as both a challenge and, simply, a good time.
“It’s more difficult than a lot of other groups because it’s less people per part,” Hurd said. “That gives you a challenge that you can’t get anywhere else.”
Having taken music history classes, he enjoys the fact that his lectures and choir practice overlap.
“It’s interesting to be having the actual history lesson in class, then go into choir and sing the music. It’s like the lab portion,” he said.
Preparing for the performance hasn’t been an easy feat. With a few members joining the ensemble just earlier this month, the choir is rehearsing close to every day.
“Daily we’re narrowing in the exact repertoire — we’re just trying to be realistic about what we can do and do well,” Davies said.
Both professors hope to immerse the audience in the culture of the everyday life of the early inhabitants. Singing both elegant and toe-tapping pieces, the choir seeks to capture styles of all kinds, from the Native American perspectives to the speech patterns and rhythms of African-Americans.
The pieces themselves have been reconstructed, not out of personal preference, but out of necessity. As Russell explained, 300-year-old manuscripts are hard to maintain, let alone discover.
“Sometimes there are missing parts,” he said. “I had to patch in notes because there’s a hole in what we have to work with.”
Accompanied by baroque guitar, baroque harp, organ, cello and percussion, and conducted by Dr. Davies, the ensemble hopes to leave the audience with an interesting night of music that hasn’t been professionally performed in centuries.
The concert will be held at 8 p.m. at the Old Mission Church in San Luis Obispo. Tickets are $12 for the public and $8 for seniors and students and on sale at the Performing Arts ticket office. Tickets may also be purchased at the door the night of the concert.