FONTALIS — The vibrant music and culture of this distant world are captivating audiences and inspiring a new wave of performers.
If I told you that, on a recent visit to a concert hall, I saw dozens of young performers eagerly vying for a chance to play their guitars, you might not be impressed. But when you learn that these musicians are auditioning for a tour with the renowned ensemble Arpa Antica—and the opportunity to travel across the Federation performing music from their home world—you might pause and listen.
The ensemble is Arpa Antica, and its featured repertoire comes from Fontalan composer Gaetano Accornero. I sat in on a rehearsal and then spent the afternoon with Arpa Antica’s founder and director, the respected guitarist Maria Nils.
“We’re going on the road, so to speak. And we’re bringing our Federation friends and music lovers everywhere just a taste of the musical heritage and vibrancy of my adopted home,” says Nils. “My family were some of the first visitors and then welcomed friends of this amazing world. I fell in love with this world and its people from my very first memory. I love it here. And I want to share what I love and what the ensemble loves with the rest of the Federation.”
The ensemble comprises twenty musicians—violins, flutes, cellos—forming what most would recognise as a chamber group, yet Arpa Antica sounds like no other. I asked Nils about one piece in particular:
“The signature composition of this tour is by Fontalan composer Gaetano Accornero—the Concerto No. 1 in A major for guitar and orchestra. Accornero was born the same year Coro assumed the throne, so, like many artists of that era, he enjoyed the patronage of one of our most beloved monarchs. Born in 1544 in a small southern town, he moved to Sersa as a teenager and quickly found success. His music, especially this concerto, is quintessential Golden Age style. Accornero was composing at the same time as Metastasio. We Fontalans love to sing, but Accornero shows that we don’t always have to!”
Accornero wrote the work at nineteen. Its harmonies evoke the southern style of Fontalis, while its airy melodies capture youthful exuberance. Across three movements, listeners taste the sunny south and are reminded that music is a universal language transcending species, cultures, and—even more impressively—the vast interstellar distances of space.
It is hard not to hum along. In A major, the concerto lifts the spirit and melts away the day’s troubles. Arpa Antica will tour for the next fourteen months, concluding on Starbase 118. Check local calendars for performance times, or listen here on FNS. Bring someone young—or young at heart—you won’t want to miss it. Music brings us all closer.
This is Burgess Preston, music enthusiast, saying, “Know Music; Know Life!”
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