El Mesías (The Messiah)
with the Minnesota Orchestra at Church of the AscensionSun Dec 11, 2022
Church of the Ascension
Border CrosSing, led by artistic director Ahmed Anzaldúa, joins the Minnesota Orchestra with El Mesías, a bilingual Spanish-English cross-cultural combination of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah and Navidad Nuestra, a Christmas cantata by Argentinian composer Ariel Ramírez. Together with the vocal soloists and choir, the unique combination of Andean instruments and the Baroque orchestra blur the lines between Western classical and South American folk traditions.
A Few Things To Know
- El Mesías combines the first part of Handel’s Messiah performed in English and Spanish, along with selections from Ariel Ramirez’s Navidad Nuestra.
- In December 2020, Border CrosSing and the Minnesota Orchestra joined together to film a selection from El Mesías. For a preview of the upcoming concerts, enjoy this performance of For Unto Us a Child is Born.
- After the Second Vatican Council relaxed the Catholic Church’s traditions, Ariel Ramirez, one of Argentina's most well-known composers, composed one of the first Masses (Misa Criolla) not written in Latin.
- While choirs and orchestras in the Western world program Handel's Messiah to celebrate the Christmas season, Ramirez's Navidad Nuestra occupies a similar role in much of the Spanish-speaking world, especially in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
Artists
The Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra, now in its second century, ranks among America’s top symphonic ensembles, with a distinguished history of acclaimed performances in its home state and around the world; award-winning recordings, broadcasts and educational engagement programs; and a commitment to intentionally build concert programs to feature more works by composers of color, exploring music both contemporary and historic. In September 2024, Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård begins his second season as music director.
Ahmed Fernando Anzaldúa El Samkary is a Mexican conductor and pianist of Egyptian descent and the founder and artistic director of Border CrosSing. He is an active musician, performing in Mexico and the U.S. frequently as a soloist and conductor with choirs and orchestras, and also performs as a pianist in solo recitals and collaborative settings. He is a recognized authority in Latin American and Spanish music, particularly the compositions of Federico Mompou and Miguel Bernal Jiménez, and he collaborates regularly with composers to premiere new works, including music by Helmut Lachenmann, Paul Lansky and Arturo Márquez.
Twin Cities-based choral ensemble Border CrosSing was founded in 2017 by Ahmed Anzaldúa as a response to a lack of representation of Latin American culture in choral music in the United States. In its first five years it has grown into a vibrant organization with several programs and has expanded beyond Latin American repertoire, with a mission to integrating historically segregated audiences and musicians through the performance of choral music.
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