SPAIN meets South America in a programme of Latin American Baroque music which will be performed in Sherborne Abbey on Saturday, March 16.

Sherborne Chamber Choir and band will be exploring the rich and colourful music of 17th century Central America, where traditional European musical culture meets South American culture and African dance to create a unique fusion which is infectious, colourful and frequently foot-tapping!

The main item in the programme is an exuberant mass setting for double choir by the seventeenth century Spanish composer Juan Guttiérrez de Padilla, who spent most of his working life in Mexico. The Mass is a wonderful combination of the musical style of his Spanish roots and the traditional colours and rhythms of Central America.

The programme also includes a gentle lullaby in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, and a setting of the Magnificat by Francisco López Capillas, the first Creole composer of significance. The choir and band really get to let their hair down however in some lively dances: a guaracha, a forerunner of the Salsa, and a villancico, with rhumba style rhythms.

The choir’s Musical Director Paul Ellis will conduct the concert.

Tickets for the concert are priced from £5 to £20, students under 18 free. Tickets are available from Sherborne Tourist Information Centre, Digby Road, Sherborne, 01935 815341.