Join us across the centuries from the Golden Age of Renaissance Spain to vibrant Latin America

With tickets selling fast, our August 23 concert at Collins Street Baptist Church is shaping up as an exciting mix of Spanish renaissance sacred music, Ariel Ramirez's celebrated Misa Criolla, Latin American rhythms and brilliant South American classical guitar solos.

Our guitar soloist is Adam May. Melbourne based after extensive travel in Brazil, Adam specialises in Brazilian seven-string guitar and cavaquinho (Brazilian soprano guitar). He teaches classical guitar at the Conservatorium and is an active performer, appearing regularly with leading Brazilian music ensembles such as Duo Agogo, Roda de Samba and AgoBloco.

Adam will perform solo pieces from Spanish and South American classical guitar repertoire. From 19th century composer, Francisco Tarrega - Lagrima (teardrop) and Adelita. Lagrima, with its atmosphere of melancholy, was composed in the early 1890s. It is said that after being in low spirits on a visit to perform in London and missing home, Tarrega sought to capture this moment of sadness in Lagrima. In contrast Adelita is based on a mazurka, a traditional Polish dance popular in the 19th century.

Moving to Rio de Janeiro and the 20th century, Adam will play Grauna, a choro composition by renowned Brazilian guitarist Joao Pernambuco.

What is a choro? While it means cry or lament in Portuguese, it is a lively instrumental musical genre, originating in Brazil in the late 19th century. Some say it was the precursor to samba. And what is a grauna? Grauna is a blackbird native to the northeast of Brazil and known for its melodic song.

Francisco Tarrega (born 21 November 1852, died 15 December 1909)