The baroque period
is considered a rather poor one for the Spanish world after
the cultural glories and prominence of their previous age. As
well as the common difficulties - ranging from political and
economic problems to plagues - musicians had to deal with a
lack of specialist printers and publishers, as well as face
the fact that the nobility was no longer interested in supporting
music. Indeed, some so-called nobles even went so far as to
exclude music from their homes. Patronage could therefore only
come from church and king. All was not as dire as it could have
been, however: the kings were fairly musical, and Philip III
and Philip IV commissioned a fair amount for court occasions.
It is more the case that much has been lost than little was
written.
This disc presents
a variety of songs and dances from this period, all beautifully
performed by Charivari Agréable, directed by Kah-Ming Ng. The
songs are mostly love songs, full of melancholy, yearning, desire
and grief, while some manage to combine tremendous beauty with
what can only be described as rather catchy tunes. The opening
Esperar, sentir, morir is a good example of this. This
is the only work on the disc by Juan Hidalgo - Philip IV’s chief
composer of secular songs, harpist of the royal chapel, director
of the court chapel, composer of religious plays and operas,
and the most influential and famous theatre composer of his
time.
The voice of Clara
Sanabras is perfect for this repertoire – clear, slightly astringent
and robust. The tenor, Rodrigo del Pozo, seems equally at home
with the songs, and impresses with his vocal range – some of
the pieces - the charming Canten dos jilguerillos and
Corazon, causeteneis, for instance - are for a fairly
high tenor. The latter song (track 4), by Sebastian Duron -
who had to flee as an exile to France after supporting the wrong side in the Spanish war of
succession! - contains some fine word-painting, as on the word
"suspirais" ("sigh").
The instrumental dances
are often appealingly lilting and light-hearted, such as de
Ribayaz’s Espanoletas, and the anonymous Differenzias
sobre la Gayta. All are brilliantly played, with graceful
embellishments and excellent understanding and communication.
One work of note is
Barter’s Hazo, Anton – a comical nativity “Villancico",
in which the composer exploits contemporary stereotypes such
as mayors and country bumpkins in the guise of a devotional
piece of music – great fun! I loved also the glorious polyphony
of Solo, triste y ausente (again, anonymous), the gentle
Que se ausenta by the Carmelite friar Francisco de Santiago,
and the inclusion on the disc of the composer Francese Valls
– who was infamous for the scandal he caused by his use of an
unprepared dissonance in a mass!
Given the improvisatory
nature of this music, it falls to the musicians to interpret
and expand, not just perform the works. Taking this a step further,
Kah-Ming Ng has included two works of his own; one a version
of a popular theatre song, the other a canarios - dance from
the Canary Islands, with tunes by contemporary Spanish composers.
These works make a nice addition to the “original” pieces.
This is delightful
music, well performed, and the disc comes well-recommended.
Em Marshall
Charivari Agréable: Clara Sanabras (soprano), Rodrigo del Pozo (tenor),
Kah-Ming Ng (director)
