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Tonight’s concert consists of music from the Spanish theater during the period known as the siglo de oro. The fame of the poets and playwrights of this time is in stark contrast to the relative obscurity of the music that accompanied their words. Poetry, theater, and music interacted in diverse ways in baroque theaters. Spoken plays were spiced with music—either incidental pieces written for the occasion, or popular tunes worked into the plot. Opera, of course, had its own poetry sung throughout. However, the strength of the spoken theater tradition in Spain helped resist the influence of opera, hardly composed at all in Spain until the mid-18th century. The Zarzuela was developed at court around 1630, with spoken dialogue and newly composed music throughout, such that both music and declamation are integral to the drama. We are complementing the Zarzuela songs with a variety of instrumental music; from the virtuosic guitar music that Spain has been known for since this time to the fashionable, Italian-inflected style of the famous immigrant Andrea Falconieri, to the most rustic dances. We cannot be sure exactly what music was played during spoken plays, but we know there was a good deal of music, and we’re presenting a wide range of what might have been. It is a misfortune that the names of masters such as Sebastián Durón, Juan Hidalgo de Polanco, and Antoni Lliteres are unknown as they are; we are delighted to celebrate their achievements.