El Cant De La Sibil-La [Import]

Figueras (Artist), Savall (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 11, 1999)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Alia Vox Spain
• ASIN: B000026BTH
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,729 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. La Mallorquina: Un Rey Vendra Perpetual - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

2. La Mallorquina: Ans Del Judici Tot Anant - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

3. La Mallorquina: Apres Se Badara Molt Fort - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

4. La Mallorquina: Del Cel Gran Foc Devallara - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

5. La Mallorquina: Llos Puygs E.ls Plans - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

6. La Mallorquina: Hanc Hom Non Feu Res - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

7. La Mallorquina: Ladonchs No Haura Hom Talent - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

8. La Mallorquina: Del Morir Sera Tot Lur Talens - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

9. La Mallorquina: Cascun Cos S'alma Cobrara - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

10. La Mallorquina: Los Infants Qui Nats No Seran - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

11. La Mallorquina: E Dira Cascu Axi - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

12. La Mallorquina: Deus Dexendra Del Celsa Ius - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

13. La Mallorquina: So Es Aquest Que Nos Panges - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

14. La Mallorquina: Deus Dira Aycels Dulcement - La Capella Reial De Catalunya/Jordi Savall

15. La Valenciana: Fanfares - Xavier Diaz/Luca Guglielmi/La Capella Reial De Catalunya

16. La Valenciana: Gloria Tibi Domine - Xavier Diaz/Luca Guglielmi/La Capella Reial De Catalunya

17. La Valenciana: Al Jorn Del Judici - Xavier Diaz/Luca Guglielmi/La Capella Reial De Catalunya

18. La Valenciana: D'una Verge Naixera - Xavier Diaz/Luca Guglielmi/La Capella Reial De Catalunya

19. La Valenciana: Mostrar-s'han Quinze Senyals - Xavier Diaz/Luca Guglielmi/La Capella Reial De Catalunya

20. La Valenciana: D'alt Dels Cels Devallara - Xavier Diaz/Luca Guglielmi/La Capella Reial De Catalunya

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Apocalyptic beauty...., September 2, 2004

By 

ewomack "ewomack" (MN USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: El Cant De La Sibil-La (Audio CD)

Horror, destruction, flames, judgement, and terror. A listener would never guess from the slow beautiful music that "The Song of the Sibyl" shouts out a warning to the people about the earth's last days:

From heaven a great fire shall descend

with a sulphorous stench,

the earth shall burn with fury

and the people with terror blench.

The singing that accompanies these lines pours passionately off the vocal cords of Montserrat Figueras. The melody bursts with longing and pain, but never terror. Perhaps a plea for mercy or forgiveness inspired these melodies, and explains the meditative, painfully sorrowful mood that pervades the music. The minimalistic accompaniment (by Jordi Savall and crew) heightens the feeling by punctuating voila riffs between the vocal passages. A stunning effect results that stands up to listen after listen. Repeated listenings actually bring out nuances buried in the notes. Knowing the meaning of what Figueras sings adds yet another dimension and also provides this piece some historical context.

Christianity shed certain parts of its pagan past slowly. The character of the Sibyl provides only one of many examples. A mainstay of Christmas Mass for centuries, the church banned the act in the 16th century, as the CD booklet explains, because of "the problems arising from the performances of the Sibyl, which are offensive to our Lord God." Somehow the song survived in parts of Mallorca (a Spanish island south of Barcelona) and to the present day the Sibyl sings there during Midnight Mass on Christmas.

The character of the Sibyl traces back at least to Greek mythology. Often playing the role of a prophetess, as Heraclitus said in the 5th Century BCE, she "...reaches to a thousand years with her voice by the aid of the god." She sometimes took the form of a mermaid or a fish. Even Norse mythology has a "Song of the Sibyl". Under Christianity the Sibyl became the prophetess of judgement day. The CD book exposes the pagan roots of the song when describing the Sibyl costume worn in the 15th or 16th century by a young boy: "...his costume included a pair of gloves, a suit, a wig and a hairy tail which gave him the appearance of a mermaid." Like many early performances, young boys played the female parts (Savall and Company help to correct this by having a woman sing the part of the Sibyl on this CD).

This Cd contains two versions of the Apocalyptic song. One from Mallorca and one from Valencia (the CD book explains the separate but similar origins). The Mallorcan version beats along slowly and meditatively with Montserrat Figueras' amazing voice and vocal technique. A few sparse instrumental accompaniments follow along, and a small chorus joins in now and then for the imporant lyrical leitmotif. The Valencian version picks up the pace a little by starting and ending with horn fanfares. Male voices provide the chorus in this version, and Figueras sings just as beautifully.

Together these pieces give the listener a good idea of what the Song of the Sibyl was all about. Both are amazing works, likely made more amazing for modern listeners by the always incredible La Capella Reial De Catalunya. This CD somehow reaches incredible musical, religious, and historical depths all at once. Definitely not an accomplishment to sniff at.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take this to a desert island and you'll never be alone., June 3, 1999

By 

G. Sanders "mediaevalman" (LONDON) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Two realisations of the chant, of which the first is worth the price of admission by itself. Whether or not the purists would approve, this is a stunningly beautiful record. I took it down to our old stone cottage in Northern Cyprus (all stone archways and cool terraces) and nothing could have been more appropriate. I bought it after hearing a two minute extract on Radio 3 (and, BTW, the presenter was enthusing - good 'Gramophone' review too). You should buy it also.One of the finds of the year. If, for instance, you like Anonymous4, you'll love it. And, like all the Allia Vox titles, it is superbly packaged.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars incredible cd, April 2, 2002

By 

new music guy (NY, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This is one of the most beautiful CDs I've ever heard. These are two long, somber pieces, both based on the same basic melody and text. Montserrat Figueras has the perfect voice for this music - clear, pure, but impassioned and powerful. Both obbligato instrumentalists are at their best, in particular Jordi Savall, who is always a treat to listen to. The choir is extremely fine as well, in particular the basses, whose voices soar during a recurring section of the Valencian Sibyl. This might not be a particularly historically accurate version of these two works, and the extent to which they were written by Jordi Savall and not Anonymous Monk is not clear from the detailed though sometimes difficult program notes. Regardless, this is a CD that has spent more time in my player than perhaps any other.