A program highlighting the culture and music of Bolivia will be held at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at the Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
The program, “The Baroque in Bolivia: The Jesuit Mission Story in Music, Words and Images,” is being presented by Partners of the Americas (Arkansas-Eastern Bolivia), the Arkansas Humanities Council, the Jesuit Society, the Association for Arts and Culture and SongsUnlimited Inc.
Kay Kraeft, president of Songs Unlimited, said the program is a unique opportunity for residents to learn about the music of the Jesuit mission towns of Bolivia. In the 1990s when churches in several Bolivian towns were being restored, several thousands pages of sacred music were discovered in Chiquitos and Moxos. Much of the music was from the 17th and 18th centuries and is now featured in music festivals in Bolivia as a way to preserve the culture of the mission communities, several of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The program will include a talk by Kristin Mann, associate professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a specialist in the history of colonial Latin America. Video clips of musical and cultural activities in the Jesuit mission towns will be shown and music will be provided by local and Bolivian vocal and instrumental musicians. A photo exhibit of Jesuit mission images will also be displayed.
Kraeft said the relationship among the Jesuits, their music and Bolivia is a “remarkable story that few people know about even among Catholics.”
“It’s gorgeous music and not only did the Jesuits teach them how to first of all listen and perform and compose music, but also to put their manual skills to making wonderful violins and other musical instruments,” Kraeft said.
The program is free and the public is welcome. Information is available by calling (501) 327-2964.
Religion, Pages 13 on 10/12/2013