La Mezquita de Córdoba

In 169 B.C. the Romans founded Córdoba. After the fall of Rome, it became the capital of Al Andalus, Muslim Spain, in 716. The Moors conquered Córdoba in the eighth century and by the tenth century the city boasted a population of 500,000. Reigning with wisdom and justice, the rulers of Córdoba treated Christians and Jews with tolerance. They also improved trade and agriculture, patronized the arts, made valuable contributions to science, and established Córdoba as the most sophisticated city in Europe. La Mezquita de Córdoba by Julie Giroux opens with the destruction of the original Christian church in 716 A.D. and proceeds as a musical celebration of its multicultural, religious and artistic accomplishments. (Source: published score)