1492: Music in Age of Discovery

Juan de Anchieta (Composer), Anonymous (Composer), Johannes Cornago (Composer), Juan del Encina (Composer), Diego Fernandez (Composer), Francisco de la Torre (Composer), Johannes Urrede (Composer), Waverly Consort (Performer), Rosamund Morley (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Waverly Consort, Rosamund Morley
• Composer: Juan de Anchieta, Anonymous, Johannes Cornago, Juan del Encina, Diego Fernandez, et al.
• Audio CD (June 9, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Angel Records
• ASIN: B000002SK1
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,629 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #58 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Partsongs

Track Listings

1. Ayo visto lo mappamundi

2. Viva el gran Re Don Fernando

3. Una sanosa porfia

4. Improvs on Tres moricas m'enamoran: Tres moricas m'enamoran

5. B'tayhi-M'sadar

6. Nunca fue pena mayor

7. Ay santa Maria

8. Virgen bendita sin par

9. El Cervel

10. En Memoria d'Alixandre

11. La Alta ('La Spagna')

12. Pase el agoa, ma julieta

13. Oy comamos y bebamos

14. El paso del Mar Rojo

15. Ah, el novio no quere dinero!

16. Kyrie: Ayo visto lo mappamundo

17. Ayo visto lo mappammundi

18. Improvs on Ayo visto lo mappamundi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stands Alone in My Collection, May 20, 2002

By 

mattgb1 "mattgb1" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1492: Music in Age of Discovery (Audio CD)

I own hundreds of albums, but nothing else like this one. Of all the albums I own, I particularly want to write about this little-known gem.

The premise of this album is to capture and present the mentality and mood throughout Europe during that time as shown through its music. And it succeeds!

This album is fantastic. I've owned it for years, and yet I still listen to it often. Together with a well written insert that tells the stories behind each piece, and the political backdrop behind each one, it takes you through the sense of wonder, fear and hope, that people felt at a time when the strange new world beyond the European continent was suddenly opening up to them, both foreboding and alluring.

It touches also upon several of the age-of-discovery issues, including religious conflicts with other cultures, the quest for wealth, the joy of expansion and the sorrow of loss. A once-provincial mentality was suddenly being replaced by an awareness of that mysterious "other-ness" out there, and this was being expressed in the music, brought so successfully through in this album.

The opening piece of this album is also its theme: Ayo visto lo mappamundi (I have seen the maps of the world). And this sets the stage for the rest of your voyage.

One favorite example I want to single out is a piece of Andalusian music that was written during (or shortly after) the time when Spain went from Moorish to Christian: in this amazing piece, we hear what at first sounds like Arabic music; after a few times you start to hear the new influence on Arabic music by the Medieval Europeans... and then finally, you realize that what you're hearing is that missing link which will soon become the phenomenon called "Flamenco!" And you'll feel a sense of discovery all your own.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ebullient and multi-cultural!, November 16, 2002

By 

Brianna Neal (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1492: Music in Age of Discovery (Audio CD)

A terrific recording by the Waverly Consort! Framed by differing arrangements of the Italian song "Ayo visto lo mappamundi" (I have seen the world map), the selections on this CD take the listener through Italy, Moorish Spain, the court of Ferdinand and Isabella, the harsh reality of the expelled Spanish Jews, and finally to the new world, where the thrill of discovery for the Spaniards was countered by the sorrow of the subjugated and slaughtered natives. The Moorish and Sephardic numbers are full of exotic eastern flair, enhanced by George Mgrdichian's sultry oud playing. Other instruments used include viol, recorder, lute, harp, gemshorn, organetto, citole, vihuela, hurdy-gurdy, saz, vielle, kemence, sacbut, shawm, flute, panpipes, cornamuse, dumbek and claves. The fine instrumentalists are complimented by a sextet of clear-voiced vocalists--two sopranos, countertenor, two tenors and bass, performing both as soloists and together. This richly varied program, arranged and selected by Kay and Michael Jaffee, has something for everyone, and all of it well done! For more music of early Spain, check out also the releases of Hesperion XX, Ensemble Accentus, and the CD "Los Ministriles: Spanish Renaissance Music" by Piffaro, the Renaissance Band.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing, December 26, 2007

By 

A Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1492: Music in Age of Discovery (Audio CD)

This is one of my very favorite early music discs. The performances are enthralling, and the mix is marvelous. Stirring pieces and ethereal vocal works are blended together in a kind of aural gestalt that is rarely achieved on one disc. It stands alone as a work of art. Bravo to the Waverly Consort!