BELLA DE VOS SOM AMORÓS
Music at the courts of the Catholic Monarchs and Charles 1 of Spain
Capella Virelai
Directed by Jordi Reguant
la mà de guido LMG
2035 [61.46]
This disc can be purchased from the importer:
Silver Service CDs, 14 Balmoral Avenue, Shepshed, Loughborough, Leicestershire,
LE12 9PX
Tel +44(0) 1509 829301 Fax +44(0) 1509 829302
e-mail
sales@red-hedgehog.co.uk
This is a highly entertaining CD of popular music from Spain at the turn
of the 15th century into the 16th. The union of the
kingdoms of Castile and Aragon by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella
had brought about a growth in political and social stability which promoted
a considerable musical outpouring, and the Spanish Chapel Royal positively
discriminated in favour of Spanish musicians and composers, whose development
was rapid. Upon the coronation of Charles 1, later Charles V of the Holy
Roman Empire, foreign influences reasserted themselves and composers of the
standing of Gombert and Crecquillon were to make a great impression on Spanish
musicians such as Cabezón, Narváez and Ortiz (all three featured
on this disc). Music from both of these royal periods was collected in songbooks
- cancioneros - and they give a particularly good impression of musical
life at court and in the noble households.
The Spanish group of singers and instrumentalists Capella Virelai (not to
be confused with the British ensemble Virelai who have recorded for Virgin)
sing and play with considerable flair and sense of style. Viola da gamba,
flute, vihuela, keyboards and percussion accompany the four singers who supply
tremendous energy to the often bawdy subject matter of many of the songs.
More's the pity, then, that the booklet note's promise of songs describing
'the physical pleasure of love', 'loss of virginity in the garden', 'the
devilry of the married girl awaiting her lover' and 'coarse and unashamed
indulgence of the senses - including comic pornographic content' can only
be guessed at rather than understood. I think I hear all of these enticing
emotions and activities in these performances but the complete lack of
translations of the Spanish song-texts does tend to dampen one's ardour.
When so much effort has been put into other aspects of this production, not
the least the sheer acting skill of the vocalists, this is something of a
disaster.
If your 16th century Spanish is up to it, buy this CD. It is certainly
well recorded in a rather reverberant but suitably palatial acoustic.
Reviewer
Simon Foster
Performance
Sound
