Mission of Juan Bautista de Morales, The

For flute, zhongruan -中阮, percussion and strings

Juan Bautista de Morales (1597-1664) was a Spanish missionary who entered the Dominican order in 1614.  In 1620 he went to Manilla where he learned the Amoy dialect in order to minister to the Chinese community in the Philippines.  After two unsuccessful attempts to work in Cambodia, he went to China’s Fujian Province, where a Dominican mission had been established in 1631. 
Morales spent most of his time in China in the province of Fujian, parts of this piece employ some melodic phrases from an ancient genre of traditional Chinese music originating from this region, known as Nanyin 南音 (southern sound).  The phrases are played by the soloists, and by the strings.
 
Commissioned by Karen Carey on behalf of Santa Sabina College for the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the Dominican Order.
Composed 2016. 

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• The Mission of Juan Bautista de Morales - sheet music

ISMN 9790900979766

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