Customer Reviews

España: Anthology of Spanish Music

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Two complaints: no liner notes so any potential educational value is lost (I have a number of reference books around the house and some of these composers don't show up anywhere in them) and there is at least one extremely jarring organ work that blasts out of nowhere. A more listener friendly compilation would've sequenced the disc differently or left it out alltogether. That said, this is a wonderful collection of music that I have (mostly) never heard before. I'm glad Naive Astree saw fit to put a lot of obscure and out-of-print recordings together to form this audio introduction to an underappreciated canon.

Highlights include:

Track 8 - Jordi Savall (gamba), Ton Koopman (harpsichord), and Rolf Lislevand (lute) turn in a brief but jaunty chamber performance of Ortiz. Left me wanting more.

Track 11 - Hesperion XX give a haunting vocal performance of Morales' Pie Jesu Domine. I'm not one to ususally appreciate this sort of music (so consider me uninformed) but I found this truly beautiful.

Track 15 - features Hopkinson Smith on the baroque guitar performing a fascinating Guerau work. Descending arpeggios like gentle, trickling waterfalls. Smith is a stunning performer. I wish he was better known in the U.S.

Track 22 - from Haydn's original orchestral version of "The Seven Last Words Of Christ On The Cross," this is the one tempestuous movement from a work of mostly subdued music. Deep, powerful string sound from Savall's Le Concert Des Nations. Very well recorded.

While I'd like to know more about the works and the composers behind them there is so much here to be enjoyed on a purely aesthetic level that I can't whine too much. If you have any interest, by all means pick up this bargain. You will be introduced to a number of great performers and works.

This is a truly inspirational disc that features several different artists. I came across this disc years ago because of my interest in time period music performed by Jordi Savall and the lovely voice of Monteserrat Figueras in the group Hesperion XX. Both are featured on this disc extensively. Listening to this music is almost like a religious experience, it elevates your senses beyond the mundane for a richly rewarding experience; it is an auditory time warp. Essentially this is a compilation of time period music with compositions mostly from the 1500's. Besides the fabulous work by Hesperion XX the disc also includes some interesting work by Hopkinson Smith on Vihuela while Figueras sings in her lovely soprano voice. There are also some nice orchestra pieces most notably by Issac Ibeniz on "Iberia, El Puerto" which is a lush theme that would sit well in a movie about Spain's Golden Age, Manuel de Falla's beautiful compostion of "El Sombrero De Tres Picos" as performed by Joven Orchestra Nacional de Espana and Roberto Gerhard's "Don Quijote Albada Danza" as performed by the Orchestra Sinfonica de Tenerife. Also of note is the work of Francisco Guerau and the magical baroque guitar of Hopkinson Smith as performed on "Treze diferencias de Canario." Listening to this music reminds one of the grandeur of Spains's past in the Age of Discovery. This is classical album for people like me, who really don't know that much about classical music but realizes good music when he hears it. Recommended for people who like to listen to time period music and the interpretations of Hesperion XX.

I did'nt really like classical music till i bought España - Anthology of Spanish Music CD. I really, really love this CD. If your an artist and sometimes lack inspiration, I recommend this CD! It will get you in the mood to paint!