Santa Fe Desert Chorale
Joshua Habermann, conductor
We explore the cross-pollination of cultures that call the Mediterranean Basin home, catching a glimpse of Spanish, North African, Jewish, and Arab peoples through their sacred and secular music. Fifteenth-century songs from the Spanish Cancionero de Palacio stand beside Moroccan folk melodies, Middle Eastern hymns, Levantine chants, and Sephardic love songs in a joyful celebration of this musically rich region. Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Fattah Abbou, hailed as a “North African music master,” percussionist Polly Tapia Ferber, and Nathan Salazar on the harpsichord and organ join sixteen Desert Chorale singers for a program that unites these Mediterranean cultures through song.