El Nuevo Mundo-Folias Criollas [Hybrid SACD - DSD, Import]

Montserrat Figueras (Artist), Anonymous (Composer), Jordi Savall (Conductor), Tembembe Ensamble Continuo (Orchestra), La Capella Reial de Catalunya (Orchestra), Hesperion XXI (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Tembembe Ensamble Continuo, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Hesperion XXI
• Conductor: Jordi Savall
• Composer: Anonymous
• Audio CD (August 10, 2010)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD, Import
• Label: Alia Vox
• ASIN: B003AKEQWU
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,210 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A fearless performer who is fascinated with facilitating musical dialogues between Eastern and Western traditions. --National Public Radio

Product Description

El Nuevo Mundo, Jordi Savall s latest fascinating project, is an exploration of the music of the Americas that illuminates the extraordinary blending of musical cultures that occurred with the arrival of European explorers and conquerors. The album s goal is to introduce the listener to extraordinary music that has been kept alive for centuries, often in regions remote from major towns and cities. Jordi Savall and his groups Hespèrion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya are your guides on this musical journey from Spain to Peru to Mexico, joined by special guest artists Tembembe Ensamble Continuo.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent, if not always 'Criollas'..., May 18, 2010

By 

Maddy Evil (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: El Nuevo Mundo-Folias Criollas (Audio CD)

Given the surge in interest which Spanish New World Baroque music has enjoyed in recent years, it seemed almost inevitable that Jordi Savall and his excellent team of musicians would return to this fascinating repertoire at some point. As always with CDs produced on his own 'Alia Vox' label, the production is sumptuous, both in terms of the recorded sound and the presentation, and it includes a lavish booklet of 169 pages (complete with full texts/translations and numerous illustrations).

In many respects, this recording forms a direct link with Savall's 2004 release entitled Villancicos y Danzas Criollas, although there are also some significant differences. Firstly, whilst repertory taken from Spanish colonial cathedral sources is still present here (e.g. tracks 11, 16 and 20), much greater emphasis is placed on indigenous/Creole music, both regarding that which still forms part of today's Latin American oral tradition (notably 'son jarocho') as well as repertoire preserved in collections, such as for tracks 2 and 18, like the Codex Martínez Compañón (an invaluable 9-volume work compiled c.1783-5 by the Bishop of Trujillo, which, alongside recording the ceremonies and customs of N. Peru, contains 20 songs/dances and 38 watercolour illustrations relating to music). In addition, like some of Savall's other recent releases, this recording is the fruit of a collaboration with invited musicians - here, the group Tembembe Ensamble Continuo, whose musicians come from Argentina, Columbia and Venezuela (and who also, incidentally, featured on Los Otros's recording La Hacha). Taken together, the combination of all these factors results in a compelling and highly evocative recording, irrespective of any concerns one might voice about the juxtaposition of two traditions within the same track - i.e. one which is very much alive today, the other 'frozen in time' in sources which are frequently intended for solo guitar (like Santiago de Murcia [Saldívar Codex no.4, 1732] and Gaspar Sanz [Instrucción de música sobre la guitarra española, 1674], etc.).

Technically speaking, however, the title 'El Nuevo Mundo: Folias Criollas' is a bit misleading, given that the programme includes several pieces which both originated in and also reflect European (rather than Latin American) culture. Such is the case with the seguidillas 'De tu vista celoso' (track 9): not only is its source of Spanish provenance - it comes from the Cancionero Musical de Sablonara, compiled in c.1625 by the court copyist to Philip III (r.1598-1621) at the request of Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count of Neoburg and Duke of Bavaria (r.1614-53) - but even the 'seguidillas' dance itself originated in Spain before becoming 'creolised' in 18th century Latin America. Similarly, the two 'tonos humanos' (tracks 7 and 14) are inextricably connected with the Spanish court: Juan Hidalgo's 'Trompicávalas Amor', for example, comes from the finale of the zarzuela 'Los celos hacen estrellas' which was staged there in 1672. Yet perhaps the most curious addition to the programme is the improvisation based on 'Gagliarda [n.b. not as here 'Gallarda'] Napolitana' (track 1), a distinctly Italianate piece which comes from Antonio Valente's 'Intavolatura di cimbalo' (1576). Although its inclusion has been justified on the basis of its bass line, which resembles 3 traditional songs recorded here ('El Jarabe Loco' [track 1], 'Guabina de Vélez' [track 13] and 'Pan de Jarabe' [track 19]), this supposed link is probably no more significant than the melodic similarity of the 15th-century villancico 'Tres morillas m'enamoran' (no.24 in the Cancionero Musical de Palacio) and the opening of the second movement of Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony (No. 4 in A major, Op. 90). Incidentally, the interpretation of the Valente 'Gagliarda' also seems most unlikely, historically speaking, and some of the other tracks seem problematic from this perspective (e.g. the use of cornett and viols instead of violins in the Codex Martínez Compañón pieces, percussion in the 'tonos humanos', etc.).

Nevertheless, in spite of these grumbles, this really is a magnificent release - even by Savall's standards. As a side point, if you are a newcomer to this music, there are several other excellent recordings of this repertoire which would be well worth investigating alongside this one -

1. Any of the recent recordings by Florilegium (from their 'Bolivian Baroque' series), featuring the Arakaendar Bolivia Choir, made up entirely of Bolivian singers - Bolivian Baroque Vol. 2 [Hybrid SACD] is particularly good, in my view.

2. Two CDs by Ensemble Elyma - Fiesta Criolla (Bonus Dvd) and Juan de Araujo: L'Or et l'Argent du Haut-Pérou. (Sadly, recordings by this group are increasingly becoming like gold dust, but they are certainly worth purchasing if you get a chance...!)

3. Música en Tiempos de Velázquez by Ensemble La Romanesca (with Marta Almajano, soprano), a fine recording of Spanish music from the reigns of Philip III to Charles II, which includes numerous 'tonos humanos'.

4. Lastly, for a very different take on pieces from the Codex Martínez Compañón, but again interpreted within the context of Latin American oral traditions, the recording Son de los Diablos (Afro-Latin Tonadas from Peru) by Sapukái is incredibly infectious: it features 5 songs from this manuscript, set alongside other Afro-Hispanic tonadas from the Peruvian oral tradition, performed on numerous indigenous instruments (such as the zampoña zanca, quena, tiple and cajón, etc.).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This music is transporting, March 16, 2011

By 

Joy Seidler "Joy" - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: El Nuevo Mundo-Folias Criollas (Audio CD)

Once in a while you take a chance and it pays off in spades! I ordered El Nuevo Mundo-Folias Criollas after hearing it reviewed on NPR. This is a stellar production from start to finish. it has not left my player since it arrived months ago. The quality of the musicianship, arrangements and recording are superb. I feel when I listen as if I've been transported to another era when life was simpler and yet somehow grander.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Folias Criollas by Jordy Savall, January 8, 2011

By 

Luz Stella Mejia - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: El Nuevo Mundo-Folias Criollas (Audio CD)

It is an excellent work by Jordi Savall and his ensamble. Tembembe ensamble is very good and as always, Montserrat Figueras is great.