La Caramba Forma Antiqva, María Hinojosa, Aarón Zapico

• José Castel (1737 - 1807): Sinfonía No. 3:
• 1Castel: Sinfonía No. 3: Allegro03:26
• Traditional: La Caramba:
• 2Traditional: La Caramba: Allegro ­- Allegretto01:57
• 3Traditional: La Caramba: Coplas: Allegro01:50
• 4Traditional: La Caramba: Seguidillas: Andante Allegretto - Allegretto - Andantino03:44
• Pablo Esteve (1730 - 1794): Los Duendecillos:
• 5Esteve: Los Duendecillos: Allegro - Recitado: Andante03:02
• 6Esteve: Los Duendecillos: Andantino Gracioso02:39
• 7Esteve: Los Duendecillos: Coplas: Allegro03:21
• 8Esteve: Los Duendecillos: Seguidillas: Allegro Moderato - Allegretto05:35
• José de Nebra (1702 - 1768): Obertura »Iphigenia en Tracia«:
• 9Nebra: Obertura »Iphigenia en Tracia«: Allegro03:48
• José Castel: El Arrendador del Sebo:
• 10Castel: El Arrendador del Sebo: Andante Moderato - Más Andante03:10
• 11Castel: El Arrendador del Sebo: Coplas: Allegretto03:04
• 12Castel: El Arrendador del Sebo: Vivo01:16
• 13Castel: El Arrendador del Sebo: Seguidillas: Andantino03:43
• Bernardo Álvarez Acero (1766 - 1821): Fandango:
• 14Acero: Fandango03:08
• Pablo Esteve: Los Mormuradores:
• 15Esteve: Los Mormuradores: Andante Moderato y Cantable - Allegro - Como Prima - Allegro03:19
• 16Esteve: Los Mormuradores: Coplas: Allegretto Vivo - Andante - Fandango - Allegro07:17
• 17Esteve: Los Mormuradores: Seguidillas: Allegretto Moderato05:46
• Total Runtime01:00:05

Info for La Caramba

Already in her day, María Antonia Vallejo Fernández, known as "La Caramba", was the object of fascination for her beauty, her enormous power of seduction, her mischievous witticisms, her grace in the art of singing and, finally, her unusual religious conversion and retirement at the height of her career. Her memory did not disappear after her death, but in the 19th and 20th centuries her figure, already in the realm of legend, was the subject of songs, books, zarzuelas and films. In this programme we propose to return to the sources that founded the myth of La Caramba, trying to understand a little more about this extraordinary woman.

THE SINS OF MARÍA ANTONIA: In 2019, the head of Cardinal Belluga [Motril, 1662 - Roma, 1743] fell and rolled along the floor. The stern, skull-capped, sculpted head of the moralist from Motril could not bear to face the Teatro Calderón de la Barca in aeternum, and so detached itself from the rest of his body. The fevered imagination of Luis Antonio de Belluga y Moncada regarded theatre, music, dance and, above all, women as the devil’s tools for inoculating man with sin. He recorded this in hundreds of pages and pastoral letters, where he detailed, with suspicious delight, the potential »gravely sinful« circumstances arising from dancing likely to encourage groping, the adornments and measurements of women's clothing, and the comedies and sainetes that he implored Philip V to ban. Nevertheless, divine intentions are inscrutable. Seven years after his death, the very antithesis of his being was born in Motril: María Antonia Vallejo Fernández, one of the most popular and influential artists of the last third of the 18th century.

Known as La Caramba, she became the true quintessence of the sin envisaged by her illustrious fellow countryman: star of the sainete and the tonadilla, actress, singer, dancer, entrepreneur, free woman and mistress of several lovers. In short, a charismatic eighteenth-century ‘influencer’ capable of moving the masses, upsetting the powers that be, and dictating fashions in dress and adornment—those that the cardinal said caused »infinite offences to God«. Thanks to the tireless work of this woman ahead of her time, today we enjoy countless musical treasures that sparkle with audacity, brashness and wit, embodied in that genre, tonadilla escénica, which is yet to be studied in full. ...

Maria Hinojosa, soprano
Forma Antiqva
Aaron Zapico, direction

Forma Antiqva
is the personal and professional project of the 3 Zapico brothers: {Aarón}, {Daniel} and {Pablo}. Founded in 1999, in just a short time it has managed to secure a leading position in the sector of Baroque music in Spain thanks to their up-to-date, daring and accurate interpretations, their refined image and their presence on social networks.

Daniel, Pablo and Aarón try to ensure that every Forma Antiqva concert is a unique experience, whether playing as a trio, a chamber ensemble or as part of an orchestra.

Born in Asturias, Aarón Zapico has made a forceful arrival on the early music scene in Spain over recent years. The key to this success can be found in his elegant, resilient interpretations with their varied and nuanced dynamics, as highlighted by the specialized music critics. He is constantly present at the most important festivals and concert halls, where he can be found leading symphonic orchestras, specialised groups and his own ensemble Forma Antiqva.

His services are increasingly in demand as a guest conductor and he has had the pleasure of leading the Symphony Orchestra of Galicia, the Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Malaga, the Orchestra of Extremadura, the Roquetas de Mar Baroque Orchestra and Choir, the Bilbao Choral Society, the Princess of Asturias Foundation Choir, the University of Santander Camerata Choir, the Youth Baroque Orchestra of Andalucía, the Santander Academy of Early Music, Acadèmia 1750, the Baroque Orchestra of Vélez Blanco and the Youth Orchestra of the Autonomous Community of Madrid.

In 1999 he founded the baroque music ensemble Forma Antiqva (resident in the Oviedo Auditorium), to which he dedicates most of his time and attention. In just a few years he has managed to secure the ensembles place in the top ranks of historical interpretation thanks to their performances at the most prestigious cycles, their international tours across Europe, Asia and Latin America, as well as their recordings which have been repeatedly praised by international critics.

An exclusive artist of the German record company Winter & Winter since 2009, his recordings as a solo artist and conductor have been nominated on 4 occasions for the International Classical Music Awards (2010, 2011, 2014 and 2017) and have obtained maximum recognition by European critics. His version of Antonio Vivaldi’s celebrated Four Seasons in 2012 had a genuine impact across Europe and was unanimously elected by the critics as an absolute reference point.

Committed to recovering Spanish music from the 17th and 18th centuries, he has directed numerous debuts in modern times of authors such as Blas de Laserna, José Lidón, Antonio Literes, Joaquín Lázaro and Jaime Casellas. In a like manner, his interest in contemporary music and new artistic manifestations has led him to work closely with Ernst Reijseger (1954), and to record his symphonic poem The Volcano Symphony written especially for Forma Antiqva, Fumio Yasuda (1953) or Uri Caine (1956), in the multidisciplinar project Poem of a cell, premiered at the Heineken Jazzaldia in San Sebastian.

With classical training and an outstanding advanced degree in piano from the Conservatory of Oviedo, he specialised in early music and harpsichord at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where he completed his soloist diploma with the unanimous praise of the board. At the same time, he also received advices from the most renowned worldwide specialists in historical interpretation.

He has collaborated for many years with some of the most outstanding symphonic orchestras and ensembles under the baton of Frans Brüggen, Emilio Moreno, Pablo González, Marzio Conti, Álvaro Albiach and Victor Pablo Pérez.

He has worked as harpsichord and chamber music professor at the conservatories of Murcia and Oviedo and as guest professor on the most important courses on early music. He has also given advanced courses and master classes in places such as Melbourne, Singapore, Gijón, Aracena, Burdeos, Costa Rica, Vélez Blanco, Granada and Albarracín.

In 2009, his restless, committed and entrepreneurial spirit led him to found and direct (until 2013) the Early Music Academy in Gijón. From 2011 to 2013 he also directed the Early Music Festival in the same city, as part of which he created the first International Competition of Early Music in Spain and different pioneering initiatives, such as concerts for disadvantaged people. He has also participated actively in the foundation of GEMA (Association of Spanish Groups of Early Music) and in the Platform for teachers, performers, composers and researchers of the Principality of Asturias.

Aarón Zapico has been finalist as Best Director in the GEMA Awards the years 2015, 2016 and 2017. He has been the recipient of the Asturian of the Month award from La Nueva España newspaper, the Group of the Year 2010 prize from the Television of the Principality of Asturias, the Asturian Music Award in 2012, the Serondaya Award for Cultural Innovation in 2012, and the FestClásica Award (Association of Spanish Festivals of Classical Music) in 2015. He has been member of the Jury for the Princess of Asturias Awards.

Booklet for La Caramba