The time around 1600
in Spain is known as the 'Golden Era'.
But in the middle of the 17th century
it had lost its lustre. The musical
style in Spain had always been rather
conservative. When elsewhere in Europe
the 'seconda prattica' became predominant,
Spanish composers were still holding
to the 'prima prattica' of the renaissance.
And the influence of the 'new' Italian
music, which was noticeable in many
European countries, was almost non-existent
in Spain.
It lasted until the
1660s when Italian singers and players
made their appearance in Spain. It was
the head of the government, Juan José
of Austria, half-brother of King Charles
II, who was mainly responsible for that.
In the following decades
composers integrated elements of Italian
music into their works. As a result
we see recitatives and da-capo arias,
a stronger relationship between text
and music and the use of baroque 'affetti'.
Another phenomenon was the introduction
of the oboe.
In this recording two
key figures of the new development in
Spanish music are represented with extracts
from some of their works. These are
so-called 'zarzuelas', a mixture of
speech and singing, which usually contained
some comic aspects. The zarzuelas by
Sebastián Durón and Antonio
de Literes reflect the influence of
Italian music, but upheld the traditional
elements of the zarzuela, like the sequences
of 'estribillo y coplas' (chorus and
verses).
The Italian influence
manifests itself in the relationship
between text and music, like the imitation
of trumpets by voice and violins in
the aria 'Suenen los clarinos' from
De Literes's zarzuela Los Elementos:
"Let the trumpets sound", followed by
strong contrasting 'affetti' on the
lines "and in tender clauses and smooth
voices may the sweet violins send their
echos". A strong tenderness is also
reached in the aria 'Ay amor' from the
same piece.
The aria 'Yo no puedo'
from Durón's zarzuela 'El impossible
mayor' has a lamento character with
chromatic descending chords.
Another fine example
of Durón's elaboration of the
Italian style is the 'aria patético'
'Ondas, riscos' from 'Veneno es de amor
la envidia', which ends with the lines
"I was born to beauty and to destruction",
in which the violins are playing with
'sordino'.
In between are some
instrumental pieces, which all come
from the five books of instrumental
works which were collected and sometimes
transcribed by Martín y Coll,
organist in Madrid in the early 18th
century. The four items on this disc
have all been adapted to be played by
an instrumental ensemble. That Spanish
music life also had become acquainted
with French music is demonstrated by
the inclusion of the Cancion Franzesa,
which comes from Lully's ballet 'L'Impatience'.
This recording was
made in 1994, and some of the pieces
of which extracts are performed here,
have been recorded in complete form
later on. But this disc is still worth
having, in particular for those who
are not familiar with this kind of music
and don't know whether they are going
to like it. A reissue at budget price,
this an excellent opportunity to get
acquainted with the repertoire. It will
be difficult to find a better ensemble
than Al Ayre Español to perform
this kind of music. Marta Almajano is
perhaps the best interpreter of Spanish
baroque music ever, and her singing
is stylish and lively, dramatic but
also sweet whenever that is needed.
The playing of the ensemble is brilliant,
energetic with good contrasts in tempo
and dynamics.
In short, this is a
superb recording, which I wholeheartedly
recommend. But beware, if you listen
to this there is a good chance you will
want to have much more. So watch your
wallet.
Johan van Veen
Marta Almajano (soprano), Jordi Ricart (baritone),
Barry Sargent, Gerold Klaus (violin), Paolo Grazzi
(oboe), Richte van der Meer (cello), Richard Myron
(double bass), Juan Carlos Rivera (theorbo, guitar),
Mike Fentross (chitarrone, guitar), Eduardo Lopez
Banzo (harpsichord), Tino di Geraldo (percussion),
Luz Martín León-Tello (castanets)
