Musicologists find gems in scores found in Bolivian mission churches

Published: 2008-05-21

CONCEPCION, Bolivia (CNS) -- While the painstakingly restored churches in eastern Bolivia may be the crown jewels of South America's colonial Jesuit missions, the real gems were found in several decrepit boxes after nearly two centuries of neglect. In 1972, while he was beginning restoration of the early missions, Swiss architect Hans Roth found boxes and piles of music in the churches in San Rafael and Santa Ana de Velasco. Some were fragments, while others were nearly complete scores. The music was found "in an unfortunate state," said Javier Mendoza, director of the museum and music archive in Concepcion. Nevertheless, he said, "the interesting thing is that the people kept it." The scores connected singers in the communities with the Jesuit missionaries who brought classical music to this region of Bolivia, called the Chiquitania, in the late 1600s.

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