SECONDA PRAT!CA
The modern voice of memory
“Seconda Prat!ca Ensemble is a music group specializing in performing ancient music for modern ears.
We chose the name Seconda Prat!ca because we believe there are always new ways to approach the past, finding its modern voice and rediscovering its memory.
The ensemble’s main goal is to bridge the gaps between performers and audience, revitalizing western musical heritage by bringing it back to a shared living experience. We achieve this through a continuous mixing of media, performance, research and musical excellence.”
Founded in 2012 by international musicians gathered in The Netherlands for their studies, and directed by Nuno Atalaia and Jonatan Alvarado, Seconda Prat!ca has become one of the leading ensembles of the new generation of early music performers.
From 2013 to 2017, Seconda Pratica was a beneficiary of the Eeemerging project (Emerging European Ensembles) supporting young early music ensembles within the framework of the Creative Europe programme.
The ensemble has performed in some of the top European festivals, and has been featured in various news-editions (Voolskrant and Público), radio-broadcasters (Radio France, Antena2 and Opium 4) as well as television (CultureBox, RTP2 and RTVNH).
Their debut album, “Nova Europa” has been released in October 2016 with the Label Ambronay Editions.
http://www.seconda-pratica.com
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HEMONY ENSEMBLE
The Hemony Ensemble is a small professional ensemble for renaissance music.
It specializes in Dutch music from the sixteenth and early seventeenth century.
LIANOR E A FONTE
Lyrical resonances of 16th century Portugal
“Lianor e a Fonte: Lyrical resonances of 16th century Portugal” is a program focused on the poetic output at the Portuguese court during the Renaissance, as kept not only in their own Cancioneiros but also scattered through Spanish collections. We aim to honor the singularity of Portuguese poetry and music beyond the common misconception of considering it a byproduct of Spanish literature. By studying the specificity of its tropes, its styles and overall sensibility, we seek to follow an approach in which the difference between both traditions and languages is acknowledge and explored, in order to better represent the undeniable influences between them. This short recital comprises a couple pieces from each thematic block of the program, and has been filmed and recorded in full takes, without any corrective editing whatsoever. The pronunciation used follows the research of Sofia Pedro in the field of 16th century Portuguese vernacular, applied also to the Castillian texts according to the hypothesis of Dr. Paul Teyssier.”
La Favorita
Ensemble La Favorita is an early music ensemble based in the The Hague, the Netherlands, specialised in the early 18th-century vocal repertoire composed around the court of Vienna.
Sofia Pedro & Xander Baker Duo
During the 17th century, the viol (or viola da gamba) gained great importance
in Europe. Known as an instrument preferred by the elites, repertoire for
this instrument flourished in the courts of France, England and Italy. Still,
this music was mainly instrumental, for viol consorts or solo practice. The
lute, however, flourished and remained the main accompaniment for singers
throughout this century. But sometimes, a composer would choose the viol
as the instrument to accompany their songs, as is the case with Tobias Hume.
What might have happened had the viol gained the same weight in the work
of other artists of this period?
In this programme, we bring a collection of French, English, Scottish and
Spanish songs, mostly written for a continuo group or a lute accompaniment,
adapted for a more intimate setting of one voice and viol, to explore this
neglected possibility.
Sofia Pedro 