The voices of other times and places, from medieval France to contemporary Cuba, via Elizabethan England, are showcased in a forthcoming concert, which promises songs with as much longing and humor as are found in the pop music of today.

For much of music history the guitar and its relatives, the lute and vihuela, were the frequent choice of instruments to accompany the voice. Then, with the triumph of the harpsichord and piano, the guitar faded into the background until, in the popular music of the 20th century, it returned to push the piano, this time in its electric version, into the background. But lost in the shadows of music history are literally thousands of remarkable songs, ayres, ballades, rondeaux and other works for the voice accompanied by guitar, lute or vihuela. These three instruments are so closely related that music composed for one can usually be played on the other two.

Apart from possibly the log drum, the voice is the first instrument of music. Combining both melody and meaning, the voice is fundamental to music. And so, the history of music is also the history of vocal music. The oldest notations we have are almost universally for voice. It is only quite late, around 1500, that we have music written specifically for the lute, vihuela and guitar.

Our program of music for voice and guitar, featuring Ann Barden and Bryan Townsend, starts a bit before that with a rondeau from 1426 by the greatest composer of the 15th century, Guillaume Du Fay. Imagine a musician with the combined stature of Stravinsky and the Beatles! 

The English Renaissance in the later 16th and early 17th centuries was a remarkable burst of creative energy in every field. Alongside the great explorers were writers such as Shakespeare and musicians such as Byrd and Morley. The most famous tune from this era is probably "Flow, My Tears" by the great lutenist-composer John Dowland. In all, we will perform seven of his finest songs, or "ayres." As a bonus, there will be a solo lute fantasia as well. Rounding out our visit to Elizabethan England will be single songs by Thomas Campion and Thomas Morley.

Moving into the 20th century, the concert continues with a suite for solo guitar written by the well-known Spanish composer Federico Moreno-Torroba for the young Andrés Segovia in 1926. These three movements combine romantic harmonies with distinctively Spanish rhythms and melodic contours.

Finally, the program concludes with two songs by the Cuban composer Leo Brouwer on poems by Federico García Lorca. Written in 1993, these songs use the guitar in an almost orchestral fashion to accompany the touching words of the text with energy and humor.

Ann Barden likes to say that she has been singing as long as she has been talking. She toured Europe with the Youth for Understanding Chorale after high school and then earned degrees in music from the University of Michigan and Temple University. In the years since, while raising a family and having a career as a physician's assistant, Barden continued to participate in various choirs and to perform in recitals. Her greatest interest, as a singer, has always been in ensemble work. After years of singing in large choruses, she enjoyed the experience of singing Gregorian chants and early music with the Ann Arbor Grail Singers, a group of 12 to 14 women. For the past 10 years, she has been studying Insight Meditation, and she now teaches meditation. She has found that the focused attention involved in this practice supports her skill and pleasure in singing.

Bryan Townsend studied with two of Segovia's most famous students, José Tomés and Oscar Ghiglia. He also studied with Pepe Romero. He was a student at the Instituto Oscar Espla in Alicante, Spain, and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and is a graduate of McGill University. He has taught at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, the University of Victoria and McGill University. Mr. Townsend has recorded two CDs, one of Spanish and Baroque music and the other of music of Latin America. He has toured in Canada, the United States, England, France, Germany and Italy and given many radio and television broadcasts. He moved to San Miguel de Allende in 1998 and is a principal of Select Real Estate.

Tickets are available at the Teatro Santa Ana from April 10. Proceeds benefit the Anyel Music School. A reception follows the concert at Select Real Estate, Correo 24.

Concert of music for voice and guitar by Ann Barden and Bryan Townsend
Wednesday April 12, 7:30pm, Teatro Santa Ana, Reloj 50
40 pesos

Pro Musica membership drive
By B. K. Lake

The Pro Musica series is launching its first drive to raise a reserve fund to help ensure adequate fees for its artists after five years of paying performers based on ticket sales. The funds will also be used to commission new chamber and ethnic music by Mexican and Mexican-oriented composers.

"It's time to appeal to the community to generate the funds needed to ensure the continuation of the series," said Russ Archibald and Stephen Kurtz, who started Pro Musica five years ago. "The sellout audiences that we usually have indicate the series is fulfilling a real need in the community, but we need the community's support rather than relying on a few generous donors when ticket sales sometimes fall off because residents are out of town or because of competing events."

Pro Musica will continue its policy of not guaranteeing a minimum fee to musicians, they added. "Over the last five years Pro Musica has been able to attract excellent professional musicians from Mexico, the United States, Canada and Europe to perform 15 to 20 concerts each year in San Miguel at rather low fees, and without any guaranteed minimum or coverage of their travel costs, because they can spend a few days in our beautiful city in a private home of one or more of our Pro Musica board members."

The international musicians, who are usually giving concerts in other cities in Mexico, also like to come to San Miguel, Archibald and Kurtz said, because of Pro Musica's reputation and the acoustics at St. Paul's Church.

Another attraction is the 1927 Steinway grand piano that Pro Musica bought for 8,000 dollars and spent another 6,000 dollars to recondition. Money raised from the drive also will help pay off the balance owed on the piano, which is made available for concerts by other groups in the community.

"Our small band of volunteers will continue as in the past," they added, "but some of us are approaching the burn-out point. Some of the funds raised will pay for one or two part-time staff to help handle communications with the artists and all of the logistics and office work. When funds are available we plan to begin commissioning new works by Mexican and other local composers to be premiered here in San Miguel."

"We will hand out membership invitation forms at the April 8 and 9 concerts, featuring the Musica Viva Trio and the Emerald Duo, and follow up with comments at the 'Meet the Artists' receptions after each concert," the founders said. "In addition to an ad in this week's Atención, we also will be using direct mail and personal meetings to reach as many supporters as possible." Benefits of being a Supporting Member of the Pro Musica Asociación Civil are shown in the ad, and include preferential and complimentary tickets, invitations to artist parties and celebrity dinners, listings of names in concert programs and discounted advertising for corporate members in the programs, and of course the knowledge that members are helping to keep this important addition to our community culture alive and well. In the 2006-2007 season of 20 concerts, Pro Musica plans to provide numbered, reserved seating at St. Paul's Church.

Next Pro Musica concerts: Musica Viva Trio (violin, viola and cello) on Saturday, April 8, at 5pm and the Emerald Duo (violin and cello) on Sunday, April 9, at 5pm at St. Paul's Church, Cardo 6. Tickets are available at the Chamber Music Festival Office at Bellas Artes, 10am to 2pm weekdays, at Galería San Miguel and at Casa de Papel. For more information about membership and upcoming concerts consult the Pro Musica website at http://promusicatripod.com 

Pro Musica Concerts, Musica Viva Trio, Saturday, April 8, 5pm
Emerald Duo, Sunday, April 9, 5pm
St. Paul's Church, Cardo 6
50/100/150 pesos