I have been awaiting
this CD keenly ever since, almost exactly
a year ago, I reviewed
the concert on which it is based and
which included all the music on this
disc – and more besides.
As will be seen from
the title of the collection, this is
Ex Cathedra’s third voyage of discovery
across the Atlantic to bring us another
revelatory selection of music from the
lands of the conquistadores. Previously
they have given us New World Symphonies
(see review),
followed by Moon, sun and all things
(see review).
I’m happy to report that this latest
cache of hitherto buried treasure is
every bit as welcome and fascinating
as its predecessors have been.
This latest collection
differs from its predecessors in several
important respects, however. The first
two volumes were performed by the larger
Ex Cathedra choir whereas here the elite
fourteen-voice Consort does the honours.
Another important distinction is that
the two previous releases featured music
by a variety of composers but on this
occasion almost all the music is by
one man, Juan de Araujo. Furthermore,
whereas the previous collections featured
repertoire that was, almost without
exception, sacred, this time we are
given a judicious blend of sacred and
secular. Indeed, according to Jeffrey
Skidmore’s informative and lively notes,
despite the fact that he was a cathedral
musician, much of Araujo’s output was
secular.
Juan de Araujo was
born in Spain but his family emigrated
to Latin America while he was still
a child, Skidmore tells us. He served
as organist at Lima cathedral for a
time and subsequently lived in Panama
and Cuzco before he settled in the Bolivian
city of La Plata (now Sucre) in 1680,
remaining there for the rest of his
life. Araujo moved to La Plata to become
organist at the city’s cathedral and
I assume that most of his sacred music
was composed for use there. As is the
case with much of the other music that
Ex Cathedra have brought to life in
their previous two CDs, Araujo’s music
is a heady fusion of Iberian polyphony
and native American influences. This
mix is emphasised all the more through
the colourful and imaginative way in
which the music is performed here. According
to Jeffrey Skidmore, the manuscripts
that he has studied in the library at
Sucre specify only organ harp and violin
in the accompaniment. However, it is
known that Araujo had other instruments
available to him and so I assume that
Skidmore’s decisions regarding instrumentation
are based on very well informed conjecture.
It seems to me that the scoring works
splendidly throughout the programme.
The music has been
shrewdly chosen so as to present a rounded
and varied picture of Araujo and he
stands revealed as a composer of no
little substance. Some of the music
is gentle, such as the exquisite lullaby
Silencio and the delectable love
song Dime, amor, which
is sensuously sung. Incidentally, it’s
a line from this piece that gives the
disc its title. But Araujo’s music is
certainly not all gentle. ĦA, de
la region de luces! is a lively
celebration of love, though the two
verses of this piece are in a more courtly
vein. A little later on we hear ĦA,
del cielo!, which is infectiously
vivacious. This is "popular"
music, conveying a real sense of the
fiesta, and Ex Cathedra deliver it with
great verve.
At the other end of
the spectrum is Araujo’s very fine setting
of Dixit Dominus. This is scored
for three choirs and it’s not to be
confused with another setting by the
same composer, which was included on
the Moon, sun and all things programme.
It’s a substantial setting and would
have graced any European cathedral.
Skidmore spices up some of the livelier
stretches of music through the addition
of some judicious but highly effective
percussion. This happens, for example
at the words "Tecum principium
in die virtutis tuae" (‘Authority
will be yours on the day of your strength’)
and again, after a majestic, expansive
doxology, at "Sicut erat in principium".
In both cases, the percussion nicely
emphasises Araujo’s dancing rhythms.
Before leaving Araujo’s music I should
also mention ĦA, del tiempo!,
a piece that celebrates the birth of
the Virgin in music that is as colourful
as, in a fairly short span of time,
it is varied. When I attended the concert
that preceded this recording I wondered
if it might have been a good idea to
intersperse Araujo’s with more pieces
by others. However, prospective purchasers
of this CD should not be concerned about
a preponderance of his music. It is
sufficiently varied and interesting
to merit some fifty minutes of listening.
We also hear a piece
by Diego José de Salazar. His
ĦSalga el torillo hosquillo!,
inspired by bull fighting,
was included on the Moon, sun and
all things CD. However, collectors
need not fear duplication. This is a
different version, albeit the music
is substantially the same. The version
given here sets a different text, one
in honour of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
On this occasion the verses are sung
by an alto soloist, the sultry-sounding
Lucy Ballard, who sings most impressively.
The verses are realitively gentle but
the rest of the piece is earthy, exuberant
and very exciting. I must say I find
the version on Moon, sun and all
things, which employs larger forces,
even more thrilling but I can’t see
anyone being disappointed by the performance
here, which has plenty of panache.
The remainder of the
programme is given over to the processional
Hanacpachap cussicuinin. This
piece has the distinction of being the
first printed piece of Latin American
polyphony, the source being a 1631 collection.
It’s also notable for being in the vernacular,
for it is in Quechua, the language of
the Incas. It will be familiar to anyone
who has invested in the earlier volumes.
However, on previous occasions Ex Cathedra
have offered only a selection of the
twenty verses that comprise this haunting
and impressive piece. Now they present
what is believed to be the first-ever
complete recording of the piece. It
might be objected that twenty verses
of the same music is a bit much. However,
Skidmore and his team get away with
it in two ways. In the first place they
vary the scoring most imaginatively,
so that every verse sounds different.
Secondly, and crucially, they break
up the piece into four sections, interspersed
throughout the programme. Though I could
detect no attempt to record it as a
processional it’s still mightily impressive
and the music exerts a cumulative power.
The very last stanza is particularly
richly scored in this realisation and
it makes for an imposing conclusion.
This is a splendid
disc and a very worthy successor to
the preceding volumes. The standard
of performance is unfailingly excellent.
Ensemble work, both vocal and instrumental,
is tight and the many vocal solos are
all taken extremely well. The performances
display flair and finesse on the part
of all concerned Jeffrey Skidmore’s
direction is perceptive, lively and,
above all, persuasive.
It’s quite astonishing
to think of this music being composed
and performed in a remote colonial outpost
in seventeenth century Latin America
and the survival of the music and its
revival today is something for which
we should be grateful. Juan de Araujo
was a fine composer and he has been
exceptionally well served here by Jeffrey
Skidmore and Ex Cathedra. This is a
CD that commands attention.
John Quinn