archive
Music of the Jesuit Missions
A local church in Chiquitania
Spring Colloquium
Wednesday, April 10, 2013, from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
All events are free and open to the public
Loyola University Chicago
1032 W. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, IL 60660
The Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage presented a research colloquium: Music of the Jesuit Missions. This colloquium explored the history, traditions, and efforts to restore and re-introduce the colonial music of Latin America.
The focus of the project has been to research the Jesuit contribution to music education in nomadic indigenous populations’ communities usually called reducciones. The reducciones were first established by European missionaries in the 16th century. The Jesuits arrived to the continent a few decades later and created slightly different communities: they allowed indigenous people to practice and preserve their traditions while at the same time providing European education, including music composition and performance.
The colloquium focused on the Jesuit missions in Chiquitania, a region located in Eastern Bolivia. Over the course of 70 years, the Jesuits founded eleven settlements in the region. The missions were self-sufficient, had thriving economies, and were virtually autonomous from the Spanish crown. They also built churches with a distinct style that combined Indigenous and European architecture and decoration styles. In instructing the people of Chiquitania, these humble Jesuit priests found an effective way to teach both music performance and composition.
The missions of the Chiquitos, comprised of six towns, are the last remaining Jesuit settlements in Bolivia. Inspired by the idea of the “ideal city,” these settlements preserved their unique life style, architecture, and remarkable musical heritage. These missions are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
After the Jesuit expulsion in 1767, Chiquitano Indians, the original inhabitants, tried to preserve their musical legacy for two centuries. Nevertheless, many music scores were forgotten or damaged. Loyola University Chicago professor of music, Dr. Gustavo Leone embarked on a three year project to restore, preserve, and reintroduce to contemporary audiences this invaluable musical heritage. “I was inspired to learn more about music as a tool for evangelization,” Dr. Gustavo Leone explained what motivated him to start the project.
In 2010 he travelled to the missions in Bolivia, where he photographed the scores and spent long hours painstakingly restoring the manuscripts.
Newly restored manuscripts from the music archives of the Chiquitos and the Cathedral of Durango were discussed and performed in concert as part of the colloquium.
COLLOQUIUM PROGRAM:
Presentations
• 10:00 AM -11:00 AM Lecture
Music Archives of Chiquitos: The Restoration of Manuscripts
Dr. Gustavo Leone, Professor, Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Loyola University Chicago
• 11:00 AM-12:00 AM: Lecture
That’s how Beautiful these Naked Barbarians Sing
Music of the Jesuit reductions and the narratives of civilization
Dr. Jutta Toelle, Faculty at Institüt Fur Musikwissenschaft und Medienwissenschaft, Universität zu Berlin, Humboldt
Break
Presentation
• 1:00 PM-2:00 PM Lecture,
The Global, the Local, the Stereotyped, and the Imagined: Reviving New Spanish Music
Dr. Drew Edward Davies, Associate Professor of Musicology, Northwestern University, Chicago
Panel Discussion
• 2:00 PM -2:45 PM
Dr. Gustavo Leone, Professor, Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Loyola University Chicago
Dr. Jutta Toelle, Faculty at Institüt Fur Musikwissenschaft und Medienwissenschaft, Universität zu Berlin, Humboldt
Dr. Drew Edward Davies, Associate Professor of Musicology, Northwestern University, Chicago
Dr. Hector Garcia, Professor of Spanish Literature, Loyola University Chicago
Dr. Robbert Kendrick, Professor of Music, University of Chicago
Free Concert
3:00 PM -4:00 PM
Madonna della Strada Chapel
Bella Voce, directed by Andrew Lewis
Chicago Arts Orchestra, directed by Javier José Mendoza.
