Trevor Huxham

Interior of Baeza’s cathedral I talk a lot about the Spanish town of Úbeda on this blog, and for good reason—I lived there for eight months, after all! But I have no reason for barely even mentioning next-door Baeza so far; forgive me! Pronounced “bah-AY-thah” [baˈe.θa], this village of a little over 16,000 is often thought of as Úbeda’s little sister mainly because of its shared Renaissance heritage. During the same time that idealized, stately palaces and churches were being built in neighboring Úbeda, similar structures were constructed in Baeza as well. For example, the soaring local cathedral (whose bishop shares his seat or cathedra with the cathedral in Jaén ) seems almost out of place in a village of this size, but its ethereal, light-filled interior will shoo away any misgivings you may have. Winding street near the cathedral Like any good Andalusian city, its old core will make you feel like you’ve gone back to Moorish times—tortuous alleyways and quiet, ar...

Way back in November, it was a pleasant surprise for me to learn that my adopted hometown of Úbeda (along with neighboring Baeza) would be hosting a classical music festival spanning the next couple of weeks. Ever since I was young, I have always had a big place in my heart for classical music, from listening to WRR 101.1 FM in Texas growing up, attending as many concerts, performances, and recitals as possible in college, and singing in choirs throughout my “formative” years. So I was naturally delighted when I found out this little-visited corner of Spain would be home to a series of concerts centered on just that—classical music.  Informative booklet about the festival The Festival de Música Antigua is a month-long celebration of “ancient” music that is often forgotten in the classical music world, mainly medieval- and Renaissance-era works. Organized by the regional department of culture of Andalucía, the provincial government of Jaén, the town councils of Úbeda and ...