Secular Music from Christian and Jewish Spain

Bartomeu Carceres (Composer), Juan del Encina (Composer), Garcimunos (Composer), Luis de Milan (Composer), Diego Ortiz (Composer), Cancionero de Palacio (Composer), Sephardic Traditional (Composer), Hesperion XX (Performer), Jordi Savall (Performer), Montserrat Figueras (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Hesperion XX, Jordi Savall, Montserrat Figueras
• Composer: Bartomeu Carceres, Juan del Encina, Garcimunos, Luis de Milan, Diego Ortiz, et al.
• Audio CD (June 8, 1999)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00000J2QD
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,060 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #41 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Partsongs
  • #79 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Songs & Lieder > General

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Before their expulsion in 1492, the Jews of medieval Spain developed a rich and lively culture, including an exquisite repertory of songs called romanceros--and they kept that repertory alive as they settled in places as diverse as Morocco, Bosnia, Turkey, and Bulgaria. Lovely as the romanceros are, they would have languished as the objects of ethnomusicological studies and might have disappeared altogether, were it not for the efforts of gifted musicians like Hespèrion XX. Jordi Savall and his ensemble, fronted by the unique soprano Montserrat Figueras, just about single-handedly brought those songs to the attention of the modern public with this 1976 recording (now reissued at a bargain price). Disc 1 features a selection of secular music from "Christian" Spain--that is, the courts of Ferdinand and Isabella and the Catholic nobility. The music is elegant and occasionally austere, but Figueras, Savall, and colleagues give the livelier pieces a flavorful swing. Yet disc 2, which features the Sephardic songs, is the real drawing card here. It was in Moorish Spain that Jewish culture flourished, so Hespèrion XX performs the romanceros with Arabic instruments, such as the 'ud (the ancestor of the European lute) and hand drums. These musicians, rechristened Hespèrion XXI in honor of the new century, perform this repertory with more polish now than they did in 1976, but--just as A Feather on the Breath of God did for Hildegard von Bingen--this recording made its own little bit of musical history. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Historical re-release, July 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Secular Music from Christian and Jewish Spain (Audio CD)

Hesperion XX were pioneers in reviving this music, and collectors will value these recordings which first came out in 1976. However most listeners may prefer more recent recordings by Wimmer on Naxos, and Alia Musica on Harmonia Mundi which have digital sound and include Spanish, and occasionally Hebrew, texts and translations.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A balm for any soul, January 2, 2001

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Secular Music from Christian and Jewish Spain (Audio CD)

Attempting to review a Savall/Figueras CD is a frustrating task. The arsenal of superlatives is so quickly depleted. Terms like 'matchless' and 'unique' might be used, but lack strict definition. After all, a 'matchless' voice needn't be a good one. Terms like 'divine' or 'angelic' tend to remove Montserrat's singing from the real and human. She's nothing if not human. Having been blessed with watching as well as hearing her perform, vouching for her vitality on a stage is easy. But the superior quality of her voice and presentation is so far above the mundane or common as to become nearly indescribable. Anything less than adulation for her seems to indicate shortcomings in the disk or performer. Neither performance nor disk quality falls short here. That she performs religious songs here simply adds to the power of her impact on the listener. You necessarily hesitate, cease other activity, and, if moved enough, drop to your knees in respect and admiration. Tough to do in a crowded concert hall, but the motivation is there. And this from someone who shunned listening to vocal performances for many years. Dame Kiri was one exception and Argenta another, but the discovery of Figueras was the discovery of a voice without flaw.

Anyone visiting this page must certainly know of Jordi Savall and Hesperion XX. You may, however, have missed the glory of Montserrat Figueras' voice. Make up for that lack right away. The selections available here are pitifully limited, but this CD is as good an introduction as any. Don't hesitate to sit and enjoy this music. The sounds received will be a reward to whatever spiritual sense you possess.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars Despite the Lack of Documentation (and the Cheap Fragile Plastic CD Tray), December 18, 2007

By 

Leslie Richford (Selsingen, Lower Saxony) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secular Music from Christian and Jewish Spain (Audio CD)

Music from Christian and Jewish Spain. CD 1: Court Music and Songs from the Age of Discovery 1492 - 1553. (Songs and instrumental pieces from the Cancionera de Colombina, the Canconiero de Palacio and the Cancionero de Uppsala plus three Recercadas by Ortiz). CD 2: Sephardic Romances from the Age before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain 1492. Performed by Hespèrion XX (= Montserrat Figueras, soprano; Jordi Savall, violas da gamba and bowed Saracen chitarra; Hopkinson Smith, lute and Saracen chitarra; Lorenzo Alpert, recorder and percussion; Arianne Maurette and Pere Ros, violas da gamba; Pilar Figueras, bagpipes; Gabriel Garrido, percussion). Recorded in November 1975 at the Münstermuseum in Basel, Switzerland. Total playing time: 1 hr 48 mins 25 secs. Re-released in 1999 as Virgin Veritas 561 591 2.

Montserrat Figueras has been described by a professional German music critic as the "Maria Callas of Early Music" because of the intensity and expressiveness of her interpretations. She has developed over the years a specifically Spanish way of performing early Iberian repertoire, and even on this comparatively early analogue recording from 1975 (now quite carefully digitally re-mastered with only a minimum of extraneous noise) what you get to hear is absolutely unmistakeably Spanish, including the Moorish influences that even a layman probably associates with this period. Figueras does not only sing here, she declaims, she shouts, she rejoices, she dances with her voice, negotiating, particularly on the second of the two CDs (the Sephardic Song), some incredibly difficult rhythms and what sound to me like semi- and quarter-tones, giving the whole an amazingly Oriental feeling without ever seeming to be forced. This is re-inforced by the instrumental accompaniments, which, I assume, were worked out by the group as the notation of this music is presumably very sparse (as is the case with most very early music). At any rate, whether it is the slightly more European sounding "Christian" Spanish music of the Age of Columbus or the passionate world of Sephardic song, the whole performance breathes dedication, identification with the music, absolute musicality and the spirit of discovery which has brought the early music or HIPP scene to the fore over the past decades. The music here is so wonderful that, in combination with EMI's excellent recordings, it balances out somewhat the complete lack of documentation (no texts and an introduction which is hardly worth the name and is beggared even by the average Naxos folded card) and the fact that Virgin use cheap plastic CD trays which break at the first opportunity. After listening to this I went on to buy Montserrat Figueras's recording of Marin's "Tonos Humanos" on Alia Vox (Jordi Savall's own label).