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Sample Track 1:
"Hanacpachap Cussicuinin" from SAVAE, La Noche Buena (World Library Publications)
Sample Track 2:
"Xicochi, Xicochi Conetzintle" from SAVAE, La Noche Buena (World Library Publications)
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SAVAE, La Noche Buena (World Library Publications)
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Latin Colonial Holiday Music Finds New Form

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San Antonio Express-News, Latin Colonial Holiday Music Finds New Form >>

Christmas music perhaps was never so ebullient and upbeat as that composed during Latin America's colonial period..

"Today is the day to rejoice and to sing. Come, everyone! Come, everyone, and dance! We rejoice this day with great pleasure. Therefore, in Him we have mysteries of such great joy."

Those are the Guatemalan lyrics for the opening selection of "La Noche Buena," the latest compilation of early music by San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble (World Library Productions 002360).

The CD's music matches the spirit of the lyrics, with melodies as delicious as a cup of hot chocolate on Christmas Eve.

The voices of the seven-member ensemble are gorgeous, but anyone wanting proof of the CD's beauty can experience a concert celebrating its debut at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Institute of Texan Cultures.
 
Institute members can attend for free. Admission for nonmembers costs $12. Mexican chocolates and sweets will be served.

The musical forms for the 16 selections on "La Noche Buena" are European, such as motets, but the performances are spiced by American Indian and African rhythms and percussion.

Africans labored in slavery conditions in colonial Latin America because of diseases that nearly wiped out the native populations. The Christmas songs influenced by African music on the CD reflect the way the Catholic Church attempted to evangelize the New World Africans.

In addition to traditional European early music instruments, New World sounds are delivered by the vertical drum and log drums, the rain stick and various rattles and shakers.

The ensemble arranged the drumming patterns based on those indicated in an ancient Aztec codex.

Most of the music, composed in the 16th and 17th centuries, originated in Mexico, mainly Mexico City and Puebla, but other pieces were discovered in Peruvian and Bolivian archives.

If today's traditional holiday carols leave you wishing for variety, the concert and CD will refresh your holiday spirit San Antonio-style.

-David Hendricks 12/08/05 >> go there
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