Baroque magic at the Ermita de la Veracruz

On 28 July we put on a concert with the association Puerto Cultura, that was very special to me, because my mother, a professional violinist and violin teacher in Czechia, came to take part.

Massimiliano suggested we play Baroque music, which suits the Ermita de la Veracruz perfectly, with its beautiful acoustics and cosy atmosphere. So we chose a repertoire to match.

Alongside Ensamble Bonela (Massimiliano Agelao, cello; Liliana Quintero, viola; Svetlana Svistunova, piano; Zuzana Breilová, violin; and Joanna Pytel, flute) and my dear mother, Ludmila Hrušková, the soloists were Nieves Artacho (mezzo-soprano), Olivia Peña (soprano) and the pianists Simon Vandenbremt, Davide Agelao and Ana Muñoz.

The concert opened with a short selection of festive Baroque pieces, including Charpentier's Te Deum and Handel's Sarabande.

After the introduction, it was the young musicians' turn to share their talent: Davide Agelao played Galuppi's Sonata No. 5, and Simon Vandenbremt a Bach prelude.

It was a hot midsummer day, and you could feel the heat even inside the chapel, but that didn't stop it from filling up. There were even people listening from the lovely square outside.

Massimiliano treated us to his interpretation of Corelli's Adagio, and Joanna filled the space with a mystical sound in Gluck's Dance of the Blessed Spirits.

Nieves sang Handel's aria "Lascia ch'io pianga" in her soft, deep voice, and Ensamble Bonela played a short intermezzo with a little help from Bach and his famous Air.

The second half opened with Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, which I played with my mother. Funnily enough, almost 20 years ago we played this very piece together in my home village in Czechia. Here's a photo from the archive to make you smile.

The highlight of the programme was Olivia Peña's thrilling performance of Mozart's Queen of the Night aria. Her energy reached the very last row with undiminished force.

And what better way to end the evening than by inviting all the musicians, even the youngest, to join in? Four pianists, four violins, a viola, a cello, a flute and two singers came together to perform Pachelbel's famous Canon.

That's how we enjoyed the summer: with the magic of the Baroque. I hope we'll soon be sharing our music again at our beautiful Ermita de la Veracruz in Casarabonela.

A special thank you to Liliana Quintero, who not only plays the viola but also takes care of all the organisation, prepares our sheet music and the audience programmes, and much more!