The Molina Música Antigua Festival (MOMUA) is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary with a special edition featuring a diverse programme aimed at connecting audiences of all ages with the rich cultural heritage of ancient music. Organised by DeMusica Ensemble, alongside artistic directors Mari Ángeles Zapata and Lorenzo Cutillas, the festival will take place from 14 to 28 November.
This year's programme includes five concerts showcasing talent from both within and outside the Region of Murcia, highlighting the potential for research into ancient music. The festival's promotional material features the sculpture of the Dama de Molina, symbolically playing a lyre to announce the return of Renaissance melodies to the town.
Key events and highlights
The central event of the anniversary will be the concert titled 'Candelaria', marking the first time MOMUA will extend beyond MUDEM to various historic sites in the municipality. The Church of the Assumption will host a unique performance by DeMusica Ensemble, which will reconstruct a complete mass as it was performed in the ancient Roman rite, specifically the Mass of the Purification of the Virgin Mary, also known as the Feast of Candelaria. This ritual, one of the oldest in the Church, will blend plainchant from Murcian monasteries with polyphony, featuring wind instruments and voices as they were used in the period.
Project leader Mari Ángeles Zapata has worked to recover music from the cloistered female convents of the Dominican and Justinian orders in the Region of Murcia, preserving pieces that have survived through the ages. The polyphonic section will include works by the renowned 16th-century Spanish composer Francisco Guerrero, whose music has remained hidden for centuries in the Monastery of Santa Ana in Ávila. Musician David Mesquita has reconstructed these pieces according to the compositional practices of the time, allowing for their live performance for the first time.
Additional activities
This concert is part of a larger research project titled 'The sounds of silence: Music in cloistered female convents', which featured in the ninth edition of MOMUA and will culminate in a CD release during this anniversary. The concert will be held in chapel format, with singing from the lectern and original manuscripts, serving as the closing event for this edition on Saturday, 28 November, at 20:30, with free entry until capacity is reached.
Maria Hernández, the Councillor for Culture in Molina de Segura, emphasised that this tenth edition of MOMUA is an opportunity to explore the town's historical and cultural heritage, advocate for the importance of ancient music, and promote musical education. She noted that the Molina Música Antigua Festival has become a cultural reference point, not only locally but also regionally and nationally, representing a source of pride for Molina de Segura as it looks to the future.
Musical walks will also feature in this year's programme. Led by Paco López Mengual as master of ceremonies, actress Isabel Soler, and Ensemble Anónimo IV, a Renaissance-style procession will take place through the streets and squares of the Castillo neighbourhood. This event will celebrate the life and literary work of the town's most illustrious resident, Infante Don Juan Manuel, starting from Plaza de Cristo Rey (Plaza Vieja) and concluding at the Mirador del Castillo (Plaza de la Maita). The procession will occur in two sessions at 19:00 and 21:00.
On Saturday, 21 November, Sara Águeda will perform with her double-harp at the La Cárcel Exhibition Hall, incorporating MOMUA into her participation in festivals worldwide. Her programme, 'Ellas renacen', will showcase the sound of one of the most important instruments of the Golden Age and highlight many romances and songs from the 16th century that feature female perspectives, outside the secular context of the time. This performance will begin at 20:00, with free entry until full capacity.
For family audiences, a concert aimed at both children and adults will take place on Sunday, 22 November. 'The magical book of Maimonides', a collaboration between Tantatachán Teatro and Ensemble Musicantes, will present a journey of music, puppetry, and magic through the Sephardic world, exploring various Jewish communities across the Iberian Peninsula through the adventures of a character tasked with refilling his empty magical book. This performance will be accompanied by live music and will start at 12:00 at the Virginia Martínez Fernández Auditorium in MUDEM.
