#zipoli

Doménico Zipoli Zuipaqui, motet in Guaraní

Camerata Renacentista de Caracas

Zipoli (1688-1726) was an Italian-born Jesuit missionary to what was then Spanish Paraguay. An organist and composer who studied under Scarlatti and Pasquini, Zipoli traveled to Seville and joined the Jesuits for unknown reasons, desiring to be sent to South America. There he continued to practice music and work with the Guaraní. Most of his surviving music consists of keyboard works, many from his youth in Europe. Among the extant vocal works this motet, a setting of text in the Guaraní language, is a gem. It exemplifies the style of early 17th century Latin American composition sometimes referred to as the "jungle Baroque."