Within the framework of the Third Baroque Week that is taking place in Jujuy, today at 8 p.m., at the Museum of Colonial Art, the musician and researcher Augusto Berengan will give a talk on “Creole music and the American Musical Baroque: a meeting bridge”. Admission is free.
“The central axis of all this is the Jesuits, the company of Jesus that arrived in America, around 1600 or so. In Europe, Protestantism was advancing a lot, at that time, and Saint Ignatius of Loyola decided to create an order with people of high cultural level, with their respective specialties, so that they would go on missions in different places in the world. They arrived in America, entering through Tarija, and continued towards the east, to the area of Bolivian Chiquitanía. “, the speaker begins by explaining.
“The basis of his preaching is baroque music, which, at that time, was already shining in Europe, but on that continent it had a profane character. On the other hand, in America, baroque music arrives with a missionary character, with a religious function. The Jesuits had great teaching ability and a great humanitarian sense,” he continues.
He also explains that then “the great native ethnic group was that of the Guaraníes (which currently includes Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina), who adapted and accepted the message of the Jesuits. The Jesuits can observe that the Guaraníes have a great sensitivity , and good fine motor skills, which makes them have a great love for music.”
And he tells us that “in this talk what I am going to present is what I studied about the Baroque. It must be said that the Jesuits knew nuclear power not only through the execution of instruments, but also through choral activity. While studying, I have found similarities between the musical forms that they brought from Europe, and our musical forms.
Augusto Berengan specialized in the origin and evolution of Creole song, and that allowed him to make a comparative study between what was the Viceroyalty of Peru spilling towards the south, and what was American baroque music of a missionary nature.
“If one compares the baroque music that came to America with Creole music, one could go so far as to say that it is a detachment,” concludes Berengan.
