Blow the trumpet; sound the horn
By Michael Pearl and Randy Harriman
October 24, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Promusica Concert
M5: Metales de Morelia
Sun, Oct 26, 5pm
St. Paul’s Church
Cardo 6
80/150/200 pesos

Mexico’s leading brass ensemble comes to San Miguel for one performance only. Like their instruments, the name Metales de Morelia is something of a mouthful, so they call themselves M5, as it is a quintet. At first I misread the name as MI5 and spent hours wondering why a group of Mexican musicians would name themselves after the British Secret Service!

So what is special about M5 in a country full of brass bands and mariachi groups playing in the Jardines and Zócalos of every city and town? Well, for a start, I have never heard mariachis playing J. S. Bach’s “Little” Fugue in G Minor. But does a big brass band playing a little fugue make sense? Surely if there is a “little” fugue there must be a “big” fugue and that is what they should play. Well, there is a big fugue but the work M5 will play is not really little; Bach just gave it that title to distinguish it from a piece he wrote later, the “Great” Fantasia and Fugue in G minor.

I saw the 50th anniversary production of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story in London a few months ago. The rendering of the famous leitmotif aria “Maria” reduced the audience to tears. You’ve never heard “Maria” arranged for trumpet, tuba, trombone and French horn? That alone has to be worth the price of the ticket.

What else are M5 playing that will make you want to come to this concert? The Trumpet Voluntary by Maurice Green (1696-1765) for one thing. In the topsy-turvy world of English classical music nomenclature, the piece was not written for trumpet at all. The title refers to the trumpet stop of an organ, not the brass instrument familiar to us. But to turn the composer’s idea on its head, it has now been transcribed for trumpet!

Why is it “Voluntary”? Can musicians play involuntarily? The thought conjures up scenes of medieval prisons full of musicians being tortured into playing excruciatingly painful pieces. Actually the meaning of voluntary is much more mundane; it refers to composing on the keyboard, rather than sitting down and writing out the music. Green must have been a successful torturer because in 1735 he was appointed Master of the King’s Musick by George II.

M5 have not played for quite such august company as the English monarch but, so as not to feel left out, they are going to play “High Society.” This famous Dixieland jazz piece was arranged by the great Luther Henderson, who arranged a few other things as well: in fact more than 50 Broadway musicals and the music of Fats Waller and Duke Ellington.

From Tin Pan Alley of the thirties to sixteenth-century Italian Baroque, these guys are nothing if not versatile. Their program also includes Giovanni Gabrieli’s “Canzona per Sonare No. 4.” Gabrieli was one of the most influential musicians of his time and he wrote much music for brass instruments. He was principal organist at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. Can you imagine the grand, vaulted spaces of the Basilica echoing to the sounds of multiple brass instruments? The good news is that you don’t have to go to Venice to do so. Just come to St. Paul’s Church and experience M5’s unique sound in the perfect setting of this beautiful building with its acoustically perfect brick bóveda ceiling.

One of Mexico’s favorite tunes also will be played. “La Virgen de la Macarena” has been arranged by M5 for their instruments. La Macarena is what you call any woman from the Macarena quarter of Seville. In this case, the “woman” is a statue of Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza (Our Lady of Hope) located in that neighborhood. The song may have originally been a hymn to the Virgin, but nowadays it is intimately connected to the bullfight. Its haunting melody is usually played by a solo trumpet and as one writer puts it, “When you hear it, the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up!”

It’s not difficult to move from the Virgin to Madonna’s infamous “Like a Virgin.” M5 are incredibly versatile but, no, they will not play it! Nevertheless, Madonna had the same problem as the composer of the next piece, Franz von Suppé. Whilst she was christened Louise Veronica Ciccone, his parents got there first, naming him Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo Cavaliere Suppé Demelli.

Both artists wisely changed to more popular monikers. Suppé went on to study law, become a singer and compose nearly 50 operettas. M5 will play one of his most famous pieces, the “Poet and Peasant” overture.

All this music-making is thirsty work, so to wet the palate M5 moves on to Munich’s famous Hofbräuhaus for their own arrangement of “Der Alte Peter.” Many will have heard this famous old German drinking song. Please bring your own beer and steins!

You thought that was all? Indeed not! M5 will finish the show with “Viva Mexico!” a rousing finale of some of their favorite Mexican tunes, arranged and performed as a salute to La Patria.

It’s all a load of brass!

Intimate concert features recording star 

Concert
Jana Stanfield
Authors’ Sala benefit
Mon, Nov 3, 5–7:30pm
Villas Xichú
Camino a Xichú 9, Valle del Maíz
200 pesos at the door

Jana Stanfield is a versatile performer, incorporating stories, humor and inspirational messages into her concerts. You have heard her original compositions on Entertainment Tonight, Oprah, 20/20, the motion picture 8 Seconds and all three of the main TV networks. At least a dozen other artists have recorded her songs, including Reba McIntyre and Andy Williams. Her own records have sold more than 200,000 copies, and for 20 years she has performed to rave reviews throughout the US and Canada.

The San Miguel Authors’ Sala presents Stanfield in a concert at the lush B&B Villas Xichú. The event begins at 5pm with wine and homemade botanas, followed by Stanfield’s performance, 6–7:30pm. Villas Xichú and Stanfield are generously donating their services to benefit the annual Authors’ Sala Literary Festival and Writers’ Conference in February 2009. This year, the conference includes a two-day creative writing workshop, in Spanish, for 60 local high-school students, for whom the Sala hopes to provide scholarships. 

The featured author for the conference is American poet and novelist Erica Jong. Her iconic 1973 novel, Fear of Flying, played a key role in the then-burgeoning feminist movement. She has since written 21 other books including fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

Tickets to the concert will be available at the door. However, because seating is limited, email your reservation to Jeanne Mills as soon as possible at: mexico@gtunlimited.com, or phone her at 152-4018. Directions to Villas Xichú, located just off Salida Real a Querétaro, will be emailed to you when you make your reservation, or go to www.villa-xichu.com.

Kantaré kids give first public performances

Concerts
Kantaré Chorus 
Wed, Oct 29, 6:30pm
St. Paul’s Church
Cardo 6
Thu, Oct 30, 6:30pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
Voluntary donations

Local children’s chorus Kantaré will present two public performances this week at two different venues. The group is made up of children age 4 to13 years old.

This project has been hosted by the Biblioteca Pública for the last year, and these performances represent the first fruits of their work.

During this year the children have learned the foundations of vocal technique such as breath support and phrasing, as well as basic knowledge of reading music.

The Kantaré Chorus is directed by professor Xavier Hernandéz and pianist Liliana Gútierrez. 

Flamenco’s many sources
By Javier Estrada

Concert 
Javier “Gitano” Estrada
Gypsy guitar and voice 
Fri, Oct 31, 7pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
100 pesos

The roots of flamenco evolved in southern Spain from many sources: Morocco, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Greece and other parts of the Near and Far East. How exactly they came together as flamenco is subject to great debate.

Gypsies created this music after their arrival in Spain in 1447. They probably came from Sind, now northern Pakistan, and left in several waves for Egypt. Later, three groups moved to different parts of Europe.

Gypsies are nomads and make their own versions of local music for celebrations and everyday life. They start with a voice and soon add rhythms with their hands and feet. They have always liked embellishments, improvisation and virtuosity. In Andalusía, they found a rich ground for their musicality, fertilized by hundreds of years of high culture where Moorish, Jewish and Catholic influences mixed.

The predecessor of the flamenco guitar developed during this time. “Flamenco” may be a mispronunciation of the Arabic words felag (peasant) and mengu (fugitive). By the eighteenth century, flamenco was a synonym for “Andalusian gypsy.” 

Tour Latin America in an hour
By Gabriela Sevin

Concert
Folklore harp and flamenco guitar
Sergio Basurto
Thu, Oct 30, 7:30pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
150 pesos, limited seating

Sergio Basurto’s great sensitivity in interpreting folklore rhythms will transport us on a magical tour around Latin America. For example, Cascada (waterfall) is a Paraguayan polka inspired by their plentiful cascades.

The joropo “Concierto de la Llanura” is considered Venezuela’s informal national anthem. Cuba’s habaneras “La Paloma” and “La Comparsa” remind us that Havana is a port and its songs, sung by sailors and fishermen, reflect their culture of nostalgia, distant loved ones and fascination with the sea. In contrast, the explosive rhythms of sones jarochos from Veracruz are used in fiestas to accompany Mexican flamenco dancers in the zapateado.