Customer Reviews

Nueva Espana : Close Encounters in the New World, 1590 -1690

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We all know about the horrors of the Age of Exploration in the New World. However, Joel Cohen's goal with this recording is to call attention to "the meeting places of light and beauty that did indeed exist in those terrible, hard centuries." He shows us the fruitful intercultural exchange that transpired between the indigenous American cultures, the Spanish, and the Africans.

And indeed, this is beautiful music. It is lively and driven at times by the sunny strumming of the baroque guitar and the maracas, tambourine, and claves, and at other times stately with the contemplative musings of Iberian harp or the majestic organs in Mexican cathedrals. The lovely, baroque/Latin voices (most of the time a quartet of two sopranos, a counter-tenor, and a tenor) soar throughout, sometimes sobbing, sometimes creating the impression of frantic dancing. But the real revelation is the inclusion of the black women's choir "Les Amis de la Sagesse," who add their Afro-Caribben stylizations (sometimes ambiguously Indian) to hymns and chants, culminating in an exuberant and majestic religious guaracha with the entire ensemble. A true gem.

This is a great recording by the Boston Camerata. Music from the new world perfomed on period instruments.This recording includes music by Spanish and native composers.This was inspired and influenced by the different cultures of the new world from a vailete to a cumba,from music of Spain to a chant in honor of the virgin Mary in Quechua(The language of the Incas)This is a great recording of the music of colonial Latin-America.

A very well chosen selection of music from Latin America in the 16th and 17th centuries. This music was produced by a very powerful mixture of African, European, and Indian elements. You get to hear music in Galician, Castillian, Quechua, Nahuatl, and Latin (sometimes even mixed) all sounding European but always with a very distinct New World falvor.

For those with a taste for baroque music, this recording provides a very alternative and refreshing sound. My personal recommendations: Hanacpachap cussicuinin, A este sol peregrino, tarará and Guaracha: Convidando esta la noche. Remember to hear the last two pieces together... the contrast provided by the different styles makes the last piece even more exciting.