Presented by the Canberra International Music Festival

The expeditions of Colombus and Vasco da Gama altered the map of the world for once and all. In order to keep some order, the Pope had to draw a straight line 370 leagues beyond the Cape Verde Islands, north to south, pole to pole. This artificial border from 1494 designated the ‘West’ to Spain and the ‘East’ to Portugal.  Centuries later, in the aftermath of WWII, our much expanded world was held in precarious balance between the US and the USSR.  

This concert features four musical realms. Spain’s medieval cantigas, earthy and seductive still today, contrast with the sumptuous polyphony of Portugal’s Golden Age. Steve Reich’s New York eighties vibe provides the perfect foil for Shostakovich’s sixth quartet, a masterpiece of Soviet optimism post-Stalin.  

 Artists

Luminescence Chamber Singers
Orava String Quartet
Jason Nobel, Clarinet

Programme

Cantigas de Santa Maria  (Spain). ca 15’ 

Manuel Cardoso and Dom Pedro de Cristo (Portugal), motets 

INTERVAL 

Steve Reich, New York Counterpoint 

Dimitri Shostakovich, String Quartet nr 6