Sergio Gonzalez hurdy gurdy and musicology
Q: How did your journey with the hurdy-gurdy begin, and what drew you to this unique instrument?
That's an interesting and fun story, when I was around 6 years old, I was in the village of my father, literally in the middle of nowhere, and we went to a concert in a small church in the next village (Cañete)
The concert was about "Las Cantigas de Santa Maria" and there I meet the hurdy gurdy for the first time in my life, at this point I still don't know who played that concert, but that experience sparkled a lifelong love for medieva music and historical musicology in me.
The concert was about "Las Cantigas de Santa Maria" and there I meet the hurdy gurdy for the first time in my life, at this point I still don't know who played that concert, but that experience sparkled a lifelong love for medieva music and historical musicology in me.
Of course many years later I re-discovered the hurdy gurdy with the work of Efrén López, I saved money for a long long time and gor my first instrumento by Sedo García.
Q: You've traveled and taught seminars around the world. Could you share some memorable experiences or encounters during your musical adventures?
Yes! this hurdy gurdy journey has brought me to teach and perform in many countries, one of the most memorable ones was when I taught my first workshop in New York City, there's something with american people, they really have a big passion for the instrument, we had a great time there and it was a good milestone that opened the door for organising more projects and workshops in the USA in the future.
Q:Could you tell us about Sauc Ensemble and its mission in awakening Renaissance music?
Together with Daina Mateu we created Saüc Ensemble in the beginning of 2023 and it has been really amazing, in the first year of the ensemble we brought the music of the renaissance to 8 different countries with a great acceptance of the audience.
Together with Daina Mateu we created Saüc Ensemble in the beginning of 2023 and it has been really amazing, in the first year of the ensemble we brought the music of the renaissance to 8 different countries with a great acceptance of the audience.
The ensemble is commited to the diffusion of Early Music, in this first project "Mármara" we focused on secular music from the renaissance blending it with my other biggest influence, the traditional music of the mediterranean.
We did a very interesting research to find secular pieces with interesting and fun stories to proove that the music of the past doesn't necesarily need to be boring, so we ended up singing songs making fun of italians, talking about renaissance cuckold, a song that talks about making dildos, or confusing ducks with cows!
Q: What fascinates you the most about Renaissance music, and how do you approach bringing it to life in the modern era?
I'd say what fascinates me about renaissance music is the blend between sacred and secular music, you can find stuning pieces written for god in the most amazing way, but there's also a lot of secular repertoire with very fun every day stories.
To bring back this music is not a simple process, we go to the very old manuscripts of the 1500's and dive deep into them trying to find interesting repertoire, and of course the music notation back then is different and has a lot of crazy rules, so we have to study all this old language and style, and transcribe the white mensural notation to a more "modern" aproach so our musicians of the ensemble can interepret it.
Q: How has the study of historical musicology enriched your understanding and interpretation of the music you play?
I've been always amazed by how things were done back then, history is a big passion for me but I'm also kind of allergic to regulated studies that make you loose time teaching you about dodecaphonic music of the XXI century or the war of korea (yes I've seen this being taught in musicology) when you already know where you want to specialise.
So, sadly university wasn't a place for me, I decided to embark in this journey talking to musicologists, reading specialised books, taking lessons with great scholars (like the people of the EHMA "Hispanoamerican Historical Musicology"), reading the sources and basically inmersing myself in Early Music 24/7, and now I'm proud member of the SEdeM (Spanish Society of Musicology)
All of this ressearch and field work has taught me a new cosmovision as a performer and every day I know more and more about style, diminutions, and early music in general, this is a never ending travel.
It's very important, how would you feel if you go to a Swing concert and the band doesn't play with swing? it defeats its own purpose right? well, that's something that happens a lot in Renaissance and Baroque music, people often play the notes and the rhythm not carying about the style or other important considerations that we find studying the sources, and of course my interpretation or the instrument I use might not always be 100% historical accurate sometimes, but studying the sources gives you tools to then decide how you make your product enjoyable for broader modern audiences.
Q:Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations that you're particularly excited about and would like to share with your audience?
Absolutely, first of all, next week, we'll have the premiere of the first videoclip of Saüc Ensemble, followed by the release of our CD Mármara, I'm very excited about this and I hope you enjoy it.
Absolutely, first of all, next week, we'll have the premiere of the first videoclip of Saüc Ensemble, followed by the release of our CD Mármara, I'm very excited about this and I hope you enjoy it.
In the teaching side, this 2024, I'll be back again teaching workshops in Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Australia, Ireland, Switzerland and the United States, so it really looks like a bussy year full of music, hurdy gurdies, early music and camaradery
Q: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us about your projects, who would you like us to interview next?
Oh wow, that's a big responsability (haha) I'd say let's talk to the people of the AVRC (Catalan Viola de Roda Association) they have awesome projects that would be great to show to the gurdy people
and thanks for having me in this space that is part of the online story of the hurdy gurdy
Keep on cranking
