Carried by the voices of a choir and the sounds of period instruments, *Sucreries* transports us to the heart of Sucre, the ancient city formerly known as La Plata, high in the Andes. Drawing on scores preserved in Bolivia’s musical archives, Alkymia crafts a musical journey where the centuries echo one another and where a single energy is transformed over time and through cultural fusion.

At the heart of the concert resonate the villancicos, polyphonic sacred Baroque chants from Spain, where religious fervour blends with a festive energy carried by the voices and large ensembles. Composed for religious celebrations during the colonial era, these works have left a profound mark on the region’s musical life.

Over the centuries, these sounds have found a new resonance in 20th-century Bolivian folk traditions, notably the cuecas – songs and dances emblematic of modern-day Bolivia. ‘Y se va la segunda!’ (‘Here we go again!’), their closing announcement, prolongs the festive spirit and serves as a reminder of how the Baroque legacy continues to resonate in today’s popular repertoires.

Under the direction of the Franco-Bolivian conductor Mariana Delgadillo Espinoza, a research associate at the Bolivian Musical Archives and Libraries, the Alkymia ensemble creates a musical portrait of a city through its repertoires. *Sucreries* invites you to discover how an ancient heritage continues to circulate, reinvent itself and, for the duration of a concert, foster a dialogue between the celebrations of yesterday and the traditions of today.