Thursday, Oct 1 2026 · 8pm
Church of the Roman Villa of Los Mondragones | Granada
[Free entry]
Opening Concert / Medieval Eurasian
TODOS LOS TONOS Y AYRES
Daughter of Silk:
Music and Franciscan Missions on the Silk Road
Abigail R. Horro | shu konghou 竖箜篌, guzheng 古筝, morin juur ᠮᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠬᠣᠭᠣᠷ,
medieval harp, recorder & voice
Mar Blasco | fiddle & voice
Luis Vives | percussion
Rubén García Benito | xiqin 奚琴, yu 芋, sheng 笙, xiao 箫, dizi 笛, recorder,
joomei (throat singing), voice & musical direction
Notes /
In 1951, a tombstone discovered in Yangzhou revealed the story of Caterina Ilioni, the daughter of an Italian silk merchant who died in 1342 in Yuan-dynasty China. Carved by a local artist, the stone combines Latin inscriptions with Christian iconography rendered according to Chinese artistic conventions, providing an exceptional testament to the encounter between East and West along the Silk Road. Caterina’s story leads us to a China open to trade and cultural exchange under the Pax Mongolica. Through her, we also discover merchants, Eastern Christian communities, and the first Franciscan missions to reach Cathay, as reflected in the accounts of travellers such as the Spanish Franciscan Pascual de Vitoria, witnesses to a remarkably cosmopolitan society.
Inspired by this historical context, Daughter of Silk recreates the soundscapes of these encounters. Todos los Tonos y Ayres makes its debut at the MUSAG Festival with a programme that brings together music connected to Eastern Christian communities, the diplomatic receptions of Franciscan missions, and the Chinese imperial court, placing each repertoire within the settings described by medieval sources. One of the distinctive features of this recreation is the revival of the pronunciation of Medieval Chinese. Through the story of Caterina Ilioni, Daughter of Silk invites audiences to discover the sonic world of an era in which the Silk Road was also a space of coexistence and exchange between East and West, its rich musical heritage reflecting the intensity of these encounters.
Program /
Daughter of Silk:
Music and Franciscan Missions on the Silk Road
I. The Discovery
Anonymous (18th century)
Xianhua diao 鮮花調 / Molihua 茉莉花
Anonymous (13th century)
Machina penalis
II. Franciscans in Medieval Europe
Anonymous (13th century)
Canticum exercuit / Benedicamus Domino
Alfonso X (1221-1284)
Quen algũa cousa quisér pedir
[Cantigas de Santa María CSM 143]
III. On the Way to Cathay: The Journey of the Franciscan Pascual de Vitoria
Alfonso X
Madre de Déus, óra
[Cantigas de Santa María CSM 422]
Anonymous (13th-century manuscript)
Vexilla regis prodeunt
Anonymous (18th-century edition)
Baituo ge 白駝歌
Anonymous (14th century)
Sagïnʃamen bahaʃïz kanïnï
[Codex Cumanicus]
IV. Music for the Khan
Anonymous (before the 10th century)
Qingbeiyue 傾杯樂
Anonymous (14th-century manuscript)
Veni Creator Spiritus
Anonymous (14th century)
Yiketangwu 也可唐兀
Anonymous (13th-century manuscript)
Credo in unum Deum
Anonymous (18th-century edition)
Tieli 鐵驪
V. The China of the Ilioni Family
Jiang Kui 姜夔 (ca. 1155-ca. 1221)
Gexi Meiling 鬲溪梅令
[Baishi Daoren Gequ 白石道人歌曲]
Komitas I Aghtsetsi Կոմիտաս Ա Աղցեցի (?-628)
Անձինք նուիրեալք ('Devout Souls')
Manquzi Xijiang 慢曲子西江 (before the 10th century)
景教三威蒙度讃 (Gloria in excelsis Deo)
[Nestorian hymn from Dunhuang; pronunciation in Medieval Chinese]
Anonymous (14th century)
Sia laudato san Francesco
VI. The Tombstones: Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Anonymous (13th century)
Katerine collaudemus
Anonymous (14th century)
Vergine doncella da Dio amata
Anonymous (14th century)
A voi, gente, facciam prego
Biographies /
Todos los Tonos y Ayres
Todos los Tonos y Ayres is the first Spanish early music ensemble to specialize not only in European music, but also in the research and performance of the ancient musical traditions of East Asia, with a particular focus on China. Founded by Rubén García Benito and Abigail R. Horro following their training in China, the ensemble seeks to shed light on the historical and musical connections between Europe and Asia in the past, as well as on the presence of Iberian music beyond its own borders, always approaching the musical traditions of the diverse cultural contexts they explore with the utmost respect and historically informed rigour.
The ensemble has developed numerous artistic and research projects in collaboration with prestigious institutions such as the Confucius Institute, the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències and the Instituto Cervantes. Their work has been presented at leading festivals, including the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival (China), the Granada International Festival of Music and Dance, the Santander International Festival, the Gijón Early Music Festival and the Encontros de Música Antiga de Loulé (Portugal). These projects have enabled the ensemble to undertake ambitious explorations of the intercultural dimensions of early music across the world, demonstrating its commitment to bringing together academic research and musical performance.
In 2018, Todos los Tonos y Ayres, in collaboration with Íliber Ensemble, made its international debut with The Emperor's Harpsichord, presented on tour in China. The programme pays tribute to the Spanish Jesuit Diego de Pantoja, a pioneer in establishing relations with the Ming court, and marked the release of their first recording on the IBS Classical label. In 2024, they undertook their second tour of China, in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes in Beijing, with their programme Daughter of Silk. Their projects exploring historical intercultural exchange have attracted the attention of a wide range of creators and national and international media, including Chinese national television CCTV and filmmaker José Luis López Linares for his documentary Spain: The First Globalization. They were also invited to collaborate with virtuoso multi-instrumentalist Fang Jinlong 方锦龙 in the only concert held in Spain as part of his 2023 world tour.