This Thursday's programme features the ˊLachrimæˊ by 16th-century composer John Dowland, performed by the ensemble and the singer.

 

The Auditorio de Tenerife offers this Friday (9th), at 7:30 p.m., at the Chamber Hall the concert My deserts: John Dowland. The programme consists of the 16th-century composer and lutenist's Lachrimæ, performed by the viola da gamba consort La Chimera and the American tenor Zachary Wilder.

With these compositions, John Dowland (1563-1626) guides the audience through a gallery of the different nature of crying in which, instead of paintings, crying is like a mirror, a precise portrait of the individual feeling. Many theories have been put forward about this enigmatic collection, one of the most interesting of which suggests that it may be a Maundy Thursday crypto-liturgy intended to gain favour with Queen Anne of Denmark; others view the Lachrimæ more as a reflection of the theories on melancholy, which were very fashionable at the time.

Whatever the purpose of this collection, each listener will find the chance to undertake a dense introspective journey in it, guided through extremely evocative titles to which it is possible to give an autobiographical meaning: old tears, forced tears, the tears of a lover... In the constant oscillation between the profane and the sacred, between nihilism and redemption, dazzling lights sometimes appear, like landscapes only just revealed by a lightning strike in the midst of a storm: moments of sublime joy, almost euphoria, where tears will arise out of happiness.

La Chimera consists of Margherita Pupulin on the violin, Xurxo Varela, María Alejandra Saturno, Sabina Colonna Preti, and Lixsania Fernández on viola da gamba, and Eduardo Egüez on lute. Sabina Colonna Preti created this ensemble in 2001, which has taken on new forms since her encounter with the Argentinian lutenist. While maintaining its characteristic sound of a viola group, La Chimera has become an ensemble of variable geometry formed by internationally renowned artists, whose activity is focused on the creation of original projects, with a particular interest in the links between the ancient world and the modern world.

It has had several projects over recent years: Buenos Aires Madrigal (Italian madrigals from the 17th century and Argentine tangos), Tonos y Tonadas, which mixed musical and literary elements from the Spanish baroque with contemporary Latin American folklore, La Voce di Orfeo, inspired by the famous tenor Francesco Rasi, to whom Monteverdi entrusted the role of Orpheus, which obtained several awards, and Odisea Negra, which combined the music of the African griots, the old music of Cuba and Peru, and contemporary Central American folkloretenor awards.

With a solid technique, a beautiful timbre, and a refined musicality, the American tenor Zachary Wilder is renowned for his work on repertoires that encompass the 17th and 18th centuries, and he is sought-after for concerts and opera production on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2011, he was invited by the Aix-en-Provence Festival to play Corydon in Acis and Galatea by Händel, production that subsequently toured at Teatro La Fenice in Venice.

He regularly works with many eminent international ensembles. The highlights of past seasons include a seven month tour celebrating the 450th anniversary of the birth of Monteverdi with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists, two European concert tours with Ensemble Pygmalion and two extensive tours around the Netherlands with the Christmas Oratorio by Bach with Les Talens Lyriques, as well as several lyric performances.

The tickets can be purchased at a single price of €15 on the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com, at the auditorium's box office, or by dialling the phone number 902 317 327 from Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Check the special discounts for the audience under 30 years of age, students, unemployed, and large families.