Lusitano in Vicentino's Country

Nkeiru Okoye holds a mirror to a nearly 500-year-old struggle in this single-movement work for string quartet. In 1551, the Portuguese composer, theorist, and priest Vicente Lusitano (who was of partially African descent) debated Italian composer and theorist Nicola Vincentino on the topics of tuning systems and harmony in the music of their time. Lusitano won the debate, yet his position and legacy were marginalized in history by Vincentino’s. Okoye’s multi-layered music calls for Lusitano to be remembered, and depicts the struggle between the two composers with a mix of African rhythms, tunes evoking Renaissance modality, and modern, biting dissonances.