Last Friday, 15th December, at 19:30, in the Church of Virgen Grande in Torrelavega, the VIII edition of the Federico Ceballos Memorial took place, a solidarity and participatory concert that, at the initiative of the Solvay Ensemble Choir, brings together dozens of choristers and instrumentalists from the entire region each year to perform the Creole Mass by Ariel Ramírez. Once again, it was an absolute success, with a full house and an enthusiastic audience.
This concert has already become a tradition that marks the beginning of the Christmas festivities in the capital of Besaya. The Solvay Ensemble choir, directed by Juan José del Valle, has been organising this event at the start of Christmas since 2014. The Creole Mass only stopped being performed in Torrelavega during the Christmas seasons of 2020 and 2021, due to COVID restrictions. This year the concert is moving to the Church of Virgen Grande, due to the works at the Church of the Assumption, which used to be the usual venue.
The Creole Mass is a choral and instrumental work composed in 1964 by Argentine musician Ariel Ramírez, which uses elements of Andean folklore for the different parts of the liturgy of the Catholic Mass. Thus, we hear the Baguala, the Carnavalito, the Chacarera, or the Pampeano Style to sing the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, or the Sanctus of the Mass. The instruments used are also typical of Argentine folklore: the bombo, the charango, the quena, and the guitar.
This year, the event features the collaboration of an exceptional instrumentalist. It is the Argentine musician Pablo Mezzelani, who will take charge of the quena - the traditional Andean flute - and part of the percussion. Mezzelani's participation in this concert is a true luxury, as he is a musician of great prestige and long-standing career.
As for the choral part, more than sixty choristers from different groups in the region will participate, who, each year, join the Solvay Ensemble for this beautiful event, in a kind of musical-choral brotherhood that welcomes Christmas in Torrelavega.
The purpose of this memorial is to pay tribute to Professor Federico Ceballos, who passed away prematurely in May 2014. Federico Ceballos Horna was a musician and prominent chorister of Santa María de Solvay, author of the harmonisation of the Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramírez, which this group sang in a historic concert alongside the Calchakis. Fede Ceballos was also a very beloved person in Torrelavega, a music teacher at the Colegio de Los Sagrados Corazones and a very active member of various musical groups in Cantabria.
The event is sponsored by the Culture Department of the Torrelavega City Council. Admission will be free until capacity is reached. However, as this is a charity concert, voluntary contributions will be collected for the benefit of Cáritas. The concert will take place after the celebration of the Holy Mass, in which the Solvay Ensemble choir will also participate.