This program pays tribute to the two major female figures of the Gospels: Mary, mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene, inexhaustible sources of inspiration for composers of the Spanish Renaissance.

In the 16th century, the place of women in society was not yet an issue, except in religion: the Protestant Reformation had rejected the worship of Mary and the saints, the Catholic church gave them a greater influence. The two women most present in the Gospels, Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary of Magdala, inspired magnificent works to several composers of the Spanish Renaissance, including Tomás Luis de Victoria, fervent singer of the Counter-Reformation.

The theme of this concert, a tribute to these two great female figures, is built on the main lines of the 1st and 2nd Vespers of the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, which frame the superb Missa Salve Regina by Victoria in 8 voices. Spatialized polyphonic 4, 6 and 8 voices alternate with soft Gregorian lines.

Most of the work is done in Victoria, but both pieces by Guerrero are worth hearing, especially for the dancing legibility of the first and the echoes of structures between the Magnificat by Guerrerro and that of Victoria. As for Lobo’s piece, whose tears recall those of Mary Magdalene in front of the tomb, it is a summit of density, both rich and sober, very representative of the very particular color of the Spanish Renaissance.

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