PALOMA GUTIÉRREZ DEL ARROYO

Gregorian Chant. Music for the feast of Mary Magdalene

The feast of Mary Magdalene already appears in the sacramentaries of the s. VIII. From the s. IX, the liturgical books preserve pieces dedicated to the saint, especially those minted in Burgundy, where Odon de Cluny († 912) exalts her figure and inaugurates the tradition of her worship. Already in the s. In the eleventh century, when some of the saint’s relics arrived in Vézelay, also in Burgundy, a proper office for Mary Magdalene was established. In this course, we will sing liturgical and paraliturgical pieces of the feast of Mary Magdalene, from manuscripts between the 9th and 14th centuries, noted in Castilla, Switzerland, Burgundy… We will work on manuscripts and by oral tradition; and we will begin to improvise the first notated organ, for two voices, around Fleury and Winchester, according to the rules described by Guido d’Arezzo in his Micrologus.

Singer specialised in medieval music with the greatest performers and researchers of the repertoire, in centres in France (CNSMD de Paris and Sorbonne, Paris IV), Switzerland (Schola Cantorum Basiliensis) and Italy. He regularly performs on European stages, having collaborated with ensembles such as La Reverdie, Contrafacta, Dialogos, Malandança and formed duos with various actors and performers such as the singer Catherine Schroeder and the harpist Manuel Vilas. She is co-founder of several ensembles: Puy de sons d’autrefois, Oiet and Cantaderas, and directs the recently created EVOCA project (Exploration of the Vocality and Orality of Ancient Song). He has premiered contemporary works and recorded for the record labels Arion and Etcetera-records. He has collaborated with Radio Clásica-RNE and given courses in museums (Lázaro Galdiano), professional and higher conservatories (Madrid, Lyon), universities (UCM, UAM, UAB, Univ. François-Rabelais-Tours…), libraries (BNE), foundations (Royaumont, Santa María la Real, Joaquín Díaz) and in specialised centres such as the Centre de Musique Médiévale de Paris. He directs the “Escuela de Música Medieval y de Tradición Oral”, which he founded in 2016 at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza (Madrid). Parallel to her musical career, she pursued a scientific career that concluded with a thesis in biophysics (CNB-CSIC-UAM) and the title of Doctor (2009).