Performer: Magos Herrera

At the center of this production is the centuries-old verse of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the wondrous voice of Magos Herrera and a richly realized telling of the quest for knowledge. 

Downes' playing is soulful, perhaps rather American, which gave Schumann a late-night jazziness. That tendency fit better with selections by Nina Simone and Harlem Renaissance composers Margaret Bonds and Florence Price.