A Latin American Christmas with The Newberry Consort

The Newberry Consort presents a festive Christmas program celebrating the sacred and secular music of Peru, Spain, Guatemala, Panama, and the indigenous cultures of the Americas that would have been heard during Christmastime from the 15^th through the 18^th centuries. The framework of the program is a funny nativity play featuring a dialogue between shepherds who speak in a rustic dialect. The short play will be interspersed with spirited dances, sonorous motets, and festive villancicos, which are joyful folk music of praise and celebration. The program will feature traditional percussion and plucked instruments, as well as a consort of winds and a vocal ensemble, and will highlight indigenous and African elements in music composed by Spaniards in the New World.