Customer Reviews

La Folia, 1490-1701

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jordi Savall's special talent for reviving lost or obscure music is no better illustrated than by this album. The "Folia" are country dances, sometimes frenetic in their rendition, other times sedate and even-paced. The full range of those characteristics are presented in this collection of interpreters of the "folia" idiom. From Roderigo Martinez in the last years of the 15th Century to the Versailles Court musician Marin Marais two centuries later, Savall provides a glorious musical tour of time and place. He seems almost to transport himself away from the present as he plays. Time and space are compressed to an environment limited only by the music's expressiveness. With the roots in peasant dances, that's a wide space which Savall fills with delightful playing. The broad spectrum of styles in the pieces grant this CD an equally expansive audience.

Savall's group, whose renditions of these pieces can only be described as exquisite, is the core of later ensembles. Each member brings a strong sense of the professional to the music. Even given such a background team, it is Savall's rich, precise and meaningful use of the da gamba that rightly predominates. He is an undisputed master of evoking the fullest expression the instrument can produce. The music leaves the listener breathless even when but seated as an audience. What must it be like for a professional dance troupe to perform to these sometimes frantic tones? The entire performance is dazzling and inspiring. This CD could be considered the acme of his performances - a judgment tempered only by knowledge of later and even more glorious releases.

Alia Vox has taken the lead in producing the most superior of recording techniques for Savall's musical skills. Savall is more than just the leading viola da gambist in the world. He could be elevated to the finest musician without overreaching his abilities. The sounds are crisp and elevating. It's easy to see why "La Folia" is considered a "desert island" CD choice by many. Listen to it for yourself, with one you love, and endear yourself to someone by offering it as a gift. In all cases, the rewards are valuable. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

This collection contains dances and variations written on an old Spanish dance pattern. While the entire disc can be said to include only a handful of different harmonies, the endless sets of variations are anything but boring. Instead, they constitue a musical journey that takes you through three countries and over two hundred years of music-making.

The journey begins in Spain, around the time Columbus made his famous voyages. The first variations are filled with spirit and joy and are both wild in nature and yet refined and exquisite under Savall's fingertips. After a set of five wonderful pieces, there next comes a later Spanish piece for gamba, continuo, and...castanets! This piece concludes with a rousing col legno section that needs to be heard to be believed.

Next is a great rendition of Corelli's Follias, also known as his 12th violin sonata. The volin part is played in a period arrangement for gamba, and Savall uses the treble instead of the bass viol for the part, which sounds great and offers a good opportunity to comapre the treble viol to the violin. Under Savall's touch, the viol gives the violin a run for the money! Great fun.

Lastly, we have Marais' masterful Follias d'Espangne, and after hearing them performed like they are here, what more can be said? This CD would make a wonderful purchase for yourself or a friend, and would be a great way to introduce someone to early music. This disc is yet another reminder of why Jordi Savall, as the previous reviewer so well put it, deserves to be considered among the top musicians of our day. Alia Vox does a great job of presenting these discs in great packages and with wonderful sound quality. The days of second-rate period instrument performances are coming to a close.

This CD contains a selection of Folia variations from Spain (mostly), Italy and France over a period of about 200 years. Savall and his ensemble are among the best -- their playing has a great richness to it. A very good anthology -- if you love "La Folia", you can't go wrong with this CD.

This compilation of Spanish-insprired dance music is often in the player. It's tuneful and accessible. A similar collection by the Purcell Quartet feels more stilted and less joyful.

I would also recommend Savall's Elizabethan Consort Music, and Espanoleta by Chatham Baroque.

I am not given to overstatement. I don't say that such and such a thing is the best ______ ever all the time, but THIS IS. The first version of La Folia alone is worth much more than the price of admission. And the rest is pure excellence. I'd recommend this to Classical music fans, dance lovers, folk musicians, rock and rollers. Anyone. Listen and reconsider the shape of the world... the 21st Century does not define reality. But this gets much closer.

I have long been an ancient music aficionado, and I cannot believe the quality of playing and the sheer magnificence of the sound on this CD. Jordi Savall has produced a true masterpiece.

I love music, especially classical of all periods.
This is among the best CDs I have ever heard !
listening it is pure pleasure

Wow, one just can't get tired of this CD. Crank it up, and bask in it.

Wonderful CD that features La Folia as it progresses through the ages, from 1490 to the late 17th century. The first piece, composed in 1490, is undoubtably "fleshed out" by Jordi Savall, but nonetheless his interpretation seems authentic. It is a tremendously exciting piece. The later folias composed by Corelli and Marin are more stately and were no doubt composed for the court. They too are beautiful pieces. La Folia is one of the most remarkable musical phrases to have ever emerged from Western music and this CD is a wondrous exploration of that theme.

I heard a piece from this album while streaming music on my computer. I liked it - and bought it. I also bought a copy for my brother for Christmas. I was very happy with the entire collection.