Music of the Americas: En Casa and Recuerdos, December 8–11

Tuesday, December 8, 10 a.m.

Carlotta Pupulin began studying harp at the age of four and later enrolled at the Turin and Milan conservatories before turning to baroque harps under the guidance of Mara Galassi at the Civica Scuola di Musica "Claudio Abbado" in Milan and with Christina Pluhar at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, where she received her master's degree. She is a member of Ensemble La Chimera, which we will hear later in the week.

Pupulin sent her own arrangement of Couperin's "Les barricades mysterieuses," from his second book of harpsichord pieces. The title is mysterious, with one plausible interpretation considering that a heavy, fast-moving object is gradually stopped by a series of mysterious obstacles. In any case, it is a beautiful piece that has remained popular through the centuries.

Wednesday, December 9, 10 a.m.

Egüez sent us a recording of the First Fantasy from the Livre de tablature du luth, published in Lyon in 1562 by Antoine François Paladin, a lutenist and composer active in that city, of whom little is known. This collection is written for the six-course lute.

Thursday, December 10, 10 a.m.

Carolina Egüez was born in Varese in 1998 and began studying cello at four and conducting at age 13. She studied viola da gamba at the Turin Conservatory under Sabina Colonna-Preti, before moving on to the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where she studied with Paolo Pandolfo. She plays gamba with Ensemble La Chimera and the Maghini Choir of Turin.

In 2014, with the collaboration of Jhonny Gómez and Naybeth García who are the founders of “Manos Blancas” (a Venezuelan project dedicated to the inclusion of children with special needs in choirs through sign language), she began her training in this discipline. Egüez currently conducts the International Orchestra for Peace "Pequeñas Huellas" and the Manincanto Choir, both in Turin.

She sent us a sign-language version of "Vos mépris chaque jour" (Your Disdain Every Day), by French composer Michel Lambert. A successful voice teacher, composer, and lutenist, Lambert was an important figure in the early development of French opera, and collaborated frequently with his famous son-in-law Jean-Baptiste Lully. Lambert was a very prolific composer of songs and ended his successful career as master of chamber music for King Louis XIV. 

Within its lyrics below, this song laments the rigors of unrequited love.

Your daily contempt causes me a thousand alarms
Yet I cherish my lot, though it be harsh
Alas! If I find such charms in this misfortune
I would die of pleasure were I more fortunate

Thursday, December 10, 6 p.m.

Egüez has performed at Music of the Americas on two occasions, so we are bringing back two tracks from the first recital, which he shared with Italian baritone Furio Zanasi. The first is the opening movement of the sonata "L'infidèle," by Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1686–1750), one of the most celebrated lutenists and composers for the instrument. The second is the beautiful "Lamento di Apollo," from Cavalli's 1640 Gli amori d'Apollo e di Dafne.

Friday, December 11, 10 a.m.

We close the week with Ensemble La Chimera, which includes the whole family, in a piece for violin and continuo by Bagio Marini, featuring Margherita Pupulin as soloist. 

Pupulin started playing the violin at four, became fascinated by baroque music a few years later and completed her studies at the Turin Conservatory. In addition to her work with La Chimera, she has played with Ensemble Café Zimmermann and Ensemble Pulcinella, among others, throughout Europe and appears in recordings with La Chimera and I Gemelli. In 2014, she started working as an actress, touring Europe in Peer Gynt directed by Irina Brook. She has collaborated with artists such as Philippe Jaroussky, Emőke Baráth, Ophélie Gaillard, Gabriel Garrido, Céline Scheen, and Furio Zanasi, among others.

Sabina Colonna Preti was born in Milan and studied cello at the Genoa Conservatory with Alfredo Riccardi. She later specialized in early music, studying viola da gamba and baroque cello with Roberto Gini at the Civica Scuola di Musica in Milan, and at the Conservatorio di Musica "Santa Cecilia" in Rome. She has played gamba, violone, and lirone with internationally renowned musicians such as Claudio Abbado, Philippe Pierlot, Jill Feldman, Roberto Gini, and Gabriel Garrido, among others and can be heard in numerous recordings for Astrée Auvidis, K617, Stradivarius, Naxos, and Chandos. In 2001, she founded Ensemble La Chimera, with which she has recorded several albums. In 2004, she founded the children's orchestra, Pequeñas Huellas, creating a project that unites children and young people from all over the world with music as an instrument of peace, brotherhood and culture. Since 2007, she has taught viola da gamba at the Turin Conservatory.

La Chimera closes our "Egüez Week" with Marini's Sonata Variata No.58, Op. 8. Marini was an early baroque violin virtuoso and composer known for his contribution to the development of the modern violin technique and his wildly imaginative music. 

The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation.

The Fall 2020 Music program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.