Jordi Savall: Un Mar de Músicas

Renowned Spanish ethnomusicologist Jordi Savall returns to the Hop with a bold departure from his traditional focus on early Western music. A Sea of Music honors the more than 25 million victims who were deported and enslaved by European nations over nearly four centuries, from 1492 to 1888 (the year slavery was abolished in Brazil). The origins of the program's repertoire lie in their songs and traditions, revealing how African and American heritage intertwined with elements imported from the European Renaissance and Baroque periods. 

The viola da gamba virtuoso joins forces with his usual ensembles—La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hespèrion XXI—and with musicians from Canada, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Mali, Mexico, Colombia (with the Tembembe Ensamble Continuo), Brazil, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela. More than 30 musicians from three continents—Africa, America, Europe—come together on a single stage to recall this human tragedy through the universal language of music. The program unearths works by Gaspar Fernandes, Diego Duron, Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla, Felip Olivelles, Santiago de Murcia and others.