Christmas in Puebla
Siglo de Oro/Patrick Allies
Aileen Henry (harp); Toby Carr, Sergio Buchell (guitars); Katie De La Matter (organ); Tom Hollister (percussion); Katie Dowling (dulcian); Stephanie Muncey-Dyer (sackbut); Kate Conway (bass viol)
rec. January 2020, All Hallows’, Gospel Oak, London. DDD
Texts & English translations included
DELPHIAN DCD34238 [67:39]
Around 1620, Juan Gutierrez de Padilla gave up his post as maestro de capilla at Cádiz Cathedral and emigrated to the Spanish colonies in the New World. This I learned from Patrick Allies’ extremely valuable booklet notes on which I’ll draw for a good deal of background information in this review. Unless he had some pressing reason for leaving Spain, it was a brave move on the part of Padilla because it seems that he left without a job to go to. He arrived in New Spain (now Mexico) and fetched up at the city of Puebla de los Ángeles where he secured employment as assistant maestro de capilla at the city’s cathedral, which was at that time still incomplete (construction was finished in 1649). There, Padilla worked under Gaspar Fernandes, whom he succeeded as maestro on the latter’s death in 1629. Padilla continued to lead the cathedral’s music until his own death in 1664. Patrick Allies tells us that the city of Puebla, founded in the 1530s, was prospering significantly by the time of Padilla’s arrival and this prosperity was reflected in the size of the cathedral’s choir. Records show that by 1651 Padilla had 14 choirboys and 12 adult singers under his direction; many of the adults would also have been instrumentalists.
Between 2002 and 2007 the Birmingham-based ensemble Ex Cathedra and their director, Jeffrey Skidmore recorded three albums of music from the Spanish colonies in Latin America, mainly dating from the sixteenth- and seventeenth centuries, which showcased the music of Padilla and many of his peers (review ~ review ~ review). Those discs were an ear-opener for me because
until then I had no idea that such a stimulating musical life existed in the New World at that time. What was particularly fascinating was that quite a number of the pieces exhibited a fusion between the European polyphonic musical style and the native traditions, including exotic instruments, that the colonists encountered. That fusion is very much in evidence in the programme that Patrick Allies has devised for this present disc. Incidentally, anyone who owns some or all of those Hyperion CDs will be pleased to learn that though there are a few pieces in common with this Siglo de Oro programme, any such duplication should not be a deterrent to purchasing this newcomer.
Siglo de Oro’s programme has been constructed around Padilla’s Missa Joseph fili David. I’m not sure if this was composed with Christmas in mind, but Padilla modelled it on his motet Joseph fili David, which is a setting of a text specified for Christmas Eve, so it seems perfectly reasonable to me to use the Mass as the centrepiece of a programme which presents music which might have been heard in the cathedral of Puebla at Christmas.
The motet Joseph fili David is a most attractive a cappella setting for two choirs. The Mass also deploys two choirs, though the disposition is unequal: the second choir is the conventional SATB formation, but the first choir is SSAT. Most of the instruments are also involved and their presence enriches the textures, making the music sound pleasingly warm in the Kyrie. The Gloria opens with an unusually confident intonation which sets the tone for plenty of jubilant music. Padilla makes particularly effective use of his two-choir division in the slower middle section (‘Qui tollis’) before the musical celebrations resume. The Credo has a thrilling opening section: the two choirs are used to great effect while the instruments add lots of colour. As is usual, there’s a slower, more reflective central section (‘Et incarnatus est’); what is a little surprising, though, is that the music becomes quite buoyant at ‘Crucifixus’. From this point on the rest of the music is exuberant. I think this is a terrific festal setting of the Credo. There’s also a short setting of the Sanctus but Padilla set neither the Benedictus nor the Agnus Dei. Patrick Allies says that this appears to have been a local tradition. Instead we hear a plainchant Benedictus sung by three male voices and the Agnus Dei is taken from Palestrina’s
Missa O admirabile commercium. At first sight, this may seem to sit oddly in this programme. However, Patrick Allies explains that quite a lot of Palestrina’s music resides in the Puebla cathedral archive, including the Mass in question. Since Palestrina’s setting is for Christmas its inclusion seems entirely logical to me. When so much of the programme consists of vibrant colourful music the serenity and refinement of Palestrina’s piece offers a delightful contrast.
The rest of the programme is discerningly chosen. Convidando esta la noche by Juan Garcia de Zéspedes is a super start to our liturgy. I can’t better Patrick Allies’ description of it: “a joyful entreaty to sing, dance and celebrate the birth of the Christ Child”. I think that perhaps Ex Cathedra offer a more unbuttoned performance on their recording but the present version is exhilarating,
if less earthy. Francisco de Vidales deserves special mention because unlike several of the other composers on this disc, he was Mexican by birth. After working in the cathedral in Mexico City he made his way to Puebla in 1655, where he served as principal organist. His
Los que fueren de buen gusto is a fascinating affair, scored for three female soloists and instruments. It’s a vivacious piece – performed marvellously here – and though the text contains a serious message, I feel sure that the music itself would have brought smiles to the faces of the Puebla congregation, not least on account of the persistently catchy rhythms. There’s also lots of rhythmic vitality in
Tleycantimo choquiliya by Gaspar Fernandes. This piece is worthy of note on two counts – apart from the inerest of the music
per se. In the first place Fernandes was Padilla’s boss when he first entered the service of the cathedral at Puebla; Padilla succeeded Fernandes as
maestro de capilla. Secondly, this item is an excellent example of the musical fusion of Old World and New for the text mixes Spanish and Nahuatl, an indigenous language spoken by the Aztecs.
In a rather different vein is Serafin que, con dulce harmonía by Joan Cererols. This composer stands apart from most of the other composers featured here because he never ventured to the New World. A Catalan, he is believed to have spent most of his life in the monastery at Montserrat. This particular piece is in the style of a Spanish dance known as a marizápalos. Scored for two choirs with instrumental support, the music is stately and attractive.
Two further pieces by Padilla demand a mention. He composed no less than nine volumes of Christmas villancicos, of which A la xácara xacarilla is an example. The piece is bookended by a lively chorus, here sung by 8 singers. In between come no less than 12 verses, each sung by one of six solo voices. If that sounds a bit repetitive, it isn’t. For one thing, the use of different voices brings variety, and furthermore the instrumental accompaniment to each verse is intelligently varied. Since his music forms the core of this programme it’s fitting that the last word should be given to Padilla in the form of his setting of
Deus in adiutorium meum intende. This text is more often heard to open a liturgy (as in Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers, for example) rather than as a closing item. However, I don’t think it matters in the slightest that Patrick Allies here uses it to close the proceedings. As he puts it, the piece is “a vibrant and direct call to prayer….straight out of the Venetian playbook”. Scored for eight voices plus instruments, in this context it sends the Puebla congregation out into the Christmas night with a spring in their step and a smile on their faces.
This is a cracker of a disc. The music is varied, vibrant and full of interest and the performances are superb. The singers and instrumentalists enter right into the spirit of the music and turn in highly skilled performances that are full of life. They have been recorded by engineer Mathew Swan and producer Paul Baxter in splendid sound that brings out all the colour and incisiveness in the music. As ever, Delphian’s documentation is comprehensive, with Patrick Allies’ notes offering a lively and knowledgeable introduction to the music and its background.
I thoroughly enjoyed this splendid disc which will lighten up these challenging times for anyone who buys it. ‘Felix Navidad’ from Puebla!
John Quinn
Previous reviews: Johan van Veen ~ Mike Parr
Contents
Juan García DE ZÉSPEDES (c1619-1678)
Convidando está la noche [04:03]
plainchant
Introit: Hodie scietis [02:09]
Juan Gutiérrez DE PADILLA (1590-1664)
Joseph fili David [04:51]
Missa Joseph fili David: Kyrie - Gloria [07:07]
Francisco DE VIDALES (1632-1702)
Los que fueren de buen gusto [05:54]
plainchant
Alleluia: Crastina die [01:31]
Juan Gutiérrez DE PADILLA
A la xácara xacarilla [09:39]
Missa Joseph fili David: Credo [06:50]
Joan CEREROLS (1618-1680)
Serafin, que con dulce harmonía, Marizápalos a lo Divino [07:42]
Juan Gutiérrez DE PADILLA
Missa Joseph fili David: Sanctus [01:41]
plainchant
Benedictus (7. modi) [00:30]
Francisco López CAPILLAS (1614-1674)
Cui luna, sol et omnia [02:58]
Giovanni Pierluigi DA PALESTRINA (c1525-1594)
Missa O admirabile commercium: Agnus Dei [05:00]
Juan Gutiérrez DE PADILLA
Christus natus est [01:56]
Gaspar FERNANDES (1566-1629)
Tleycantimo choquiliya [02:16]
Juan Gutiérrez DE PADILLA
Deus in adiutorium meum intende [02:21]
