Customer Reviews

Sephardische Romanzen

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This is the oldest available CD featuring Michael Posch and Thomas Wimmer. They go on to become members of Accentus/Oni Wytars/Unicorn, easily the most formidable early music instrumental ensemble in existence. Here, their skills certainly aren't what they'll become. But even amid their slightly hesitant and unrefined playing, their phenomenal musical spirit shines through. Thomas Wimmer is the only early musician I've heard who can sound so compelling with so little technique! I wouldn't recommend this CD as authentic Sephardic music (which isn't verifiably medieval), but it's a welcome addition to any collection solely on the basis of its engaged arrangements and presentation. The earliest tender shoot of a grand tree...

As my wife is a descendant of the Jews that were forced to leave Spain in 1492, we like to collect such music. This is the favorite from our collection - because it is the most fun to listen to. It also includes a good selection of songs. The music is presented in renaissance style, which is unusual. However, this seems logical - the immigrants from Spain and their descendants did their best to preserve their previous culture, but the changes through time in the musical scene (both in instruments used and in the slow but steady increase of local influences) made this preservation more difficult than in the cases of language or daily life practices. For this reason, most current performances of Sephardic Jewish songs do not resemble renaissance music. The renaissance sound in this recording keeps the songs easy to recognize, yet turns them more lively.