A Concert of Baroque Festive Music for Guadalupe from La Plata, Bolivia, c. 1717

A Criolla Celebration evokes the resplendent mood of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the city of La Plata (also known as Chuquisaca, present-day Sucre, Bolivia), the main festive event in the rich colonial city since its inception in 1601. 

The program was assembled especially for Ensemble PHOENIX's conert at Abu Gosh Festival by musicologist Bernardo Illari. It brings together music for different church services and popular songs and dances that found a place in the Guadalupe festivities. The majoirty of works, written by first-line Baroque composers such as the Spaniards Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco (1644-1728) and Juan de Araujo (1649?-1712), or the native-born Roque Jacinto de Chavarría (1688-1719), were performed in La Plata. They are complemented with pre-1800 traditional pieces of different provenances, so as to recapture the festival's characteristically colorful atmosphere and multicultural spirit.

This program was recorded live at the Abu Gosh Festival in October 2004, and was chosen as one of two outstanding concerts of the festival which were released as a CD.