The Liceu Conservatory Foundation in collaboration with the Mexican Programa de Fomento a Proyectos y Coinversiones (Sistema de Apoyos a la Creación y Proyectos Culturales, antes FONCA), the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Santa Fe (ITESM), the Centro de Estudios Mexicanos (UNAM-España) and the Fondation Maison du Mexique, proudly hosts the presentation of the album and score book of the unpublished songs of Mexican composer Cenobio Paniagua (1821-1882) -both produced by the company Ópera: Nuestra Herencia Olvidada- in Madrid, Barcelona, Granada and Paris.
The presentation will include a lecture on the historical background and the process of rescuing Paniagua’s music by editor and researcher Áurea Maya, followed by a piano and voice concert of the songs by the original performers of the album.
Cenobio Paniagua, born in Tlalpujahua, in the state of Michoacán, on October 30, 1821, was the first Mexican composer to premiere one of his operas. The premiere in 1859 of his opera Catalina de Guisa, would mark a before and after in the ambitions, as well as in the practices, of Mexican musicians in the 19th century. He was the main teacher of the next generation of composers, who would seek to premiere their operas in the theaters of Mexico, and influence the opinion of a nation in the midst of political development. Thus, the figure and oeuvre of Cenobio Paniagua, materializes as one of the most important in the history of Mexican music.
An essential part of understanding Cenobio Paniagua’s work are his songs for voice and piano, composed from his youth until his death, which deeply permeated Mexican society in the 19th century, defining not only the musical language of that time, but also the social practices in which music was an essential component. Thus, listening to these songs again after more than a century, and more than 200 years after the birth of this distinguished composer, allows us to complement and rediscover the sound memory of independent Mexico and to revalue the vast Mexican musical heritage.
Participants:
ÁUREA MAYA, editor and researcher
ANA ROSALÍA RAMOS, singer
CARLES REINÓS, singer
FERRAN SAINT MARTIN, pianist
