History!

Dr. Rice has mentioned that we toured four churches in the colonial center of Quito; I found this outing to be one of the most enjoyable of the trip! It´s one thing to intellectually understand the age in the settlements of South America; it´s another to actually visit churches and see artifacts from the sixteenth and seventeenth century. We not only saw the nave and side chapels of the cathedral, but also visited the chapter house, walled with paintings of the cathedral´s bishops, with some items on display. By far my favorite was a printed book of polyphany from 1570, of course imported from Europe. The choir would all crowd around this one book to sing, with two parts on one page. Here is an example of printed books following the conventions of manuscript books, long after the invention of the printing press. The book was opened to a motet by Guerrero, and the existence of this book in the cathedral is the reason why we´re singing a mass setting of his at the concert; the book is evidence that his pieces were performed at the cathedral. The cathedral also has an incredible display of old vestments and liturgical artifacts.

I agree with Dr. Rice that the La Compania was absolutely spectacular. Patterns of gold cover much of the church and the altars. One of the altars shines as brightly as it did at the original construction, thanks to the restoration of the altar after a fire a few decades ago. Illustrating the importance of symmatry in baroque style, there is a spiral staircase at on one side of the door at the back of the church, and the exact same staircase painted on the other side of the door. The church was built by the Jesuits, and the facade is carved from volacanic rock. The relics in the altar are from the patron saint of Ecuador and the country´s first saint, Saint Mariana de Jesus de Paredes, who offered herself to God to save Quito from earthquakes.

In sharp contrast to the cathedral and La Compania, we saw the artwork in the main chamber at Ecuador´s National Assembly today. The entire back wall of the chamber is covered in murals (painted a few decades ago, I believe?), and I think that some of us found several of the images disquieting- or, at least, not what we´d choose to look at if we were in the midst of a legislative session. We took many pictures of the chamber, so you can judge for yourself!