Resurgam concert celebrates composer who broke the mould
Resurgam will be in the city’s St Nicholas’s Collegiate Church this Saturday, March 1, to perform Lusitano: Travels & Tributes, a concert of polyphony by the extraordinary 16th Century composer Vicente Lusitano and his circle. It starts at 6pm and the choir will be joined by Schola Cantorum in Galway for a concert of rarely performed works.
Vicente Lusitano’s life and travels span the religious, musical and political divides of 16th Century Europe, even as he became the first Black composer to publish his music on the continent.
Born in Portugal, most likely to an enslaved mother and a father who had the means to give his son an education – even if he didn’t give him a surname – Lusitano became a priest and secured the patronage of one of that country’s most illustrious families. This allowed him to create a major collection of motets for the Catholic liturgy, which was published in Rome under the copyright of Pope Julius III.
Eventually, he left the priesthood, and embraced Protestantism, becoming involved in the secret heretical circles that operated in Northern Italy. He married and travelled to Germany, where a motet in a Stuttgart choir-book offers evidence of his presence there.
Resurgam will explore Lusitano’s travels, patrons, and influences: the opulent polyphony of the motets dedicated to dukes and popes; the simplicity of the music composed for Protestant Stuttgart, and also, the composers of previous generations who, in turn inspired him.
His circle included Josquin, Rampollini, and Sigmund Hemmel and their work will also feature.
Singers for the concert will include sopranos Aisling Kenny and Charlotte O’Hare, altos Mark Chambers and Stephen Wallace, tenors Christopher Bowen and Rory Lynch and basses Jeffrey Ledwidge and Paul McGough.
Tickets are €20/€15 concession, and €5 students. They are available on Eventbrite (key in Resurgam, Lusitano and Travels) and will also be on sale at the door.
Pictured: Resurgam performing in St Nicholas' Collegiate Church, under director Mark Duley.