lunes, 27 de agosto de 2012

The Choir Project al día [27-VIII-2012]

Josquin Desprez (c.1450-1521): Missa L'homme armé sexti toni a 4.
The Tallis Scholars - Peter Phillips.
One of the best masses of the history.


    Peter Phillips say about Josquin, his L'homme armé masses and this mass:
"There were at least 31 Mass-settings based on the L'homme armé melody in the Renaissance period. The two by Josquin des Prés were written about half-way through the spectrum, between those of Dufay and Ockeghem on the one hand and the two each by Morales and Palestrina on the other. It is especially valuable to hear the Josquin settings together, since it is assumed that while writing the earlier of them, Super voces musicales, he conceived new compositional challenges which he confronted in Sexti toni. There is an extra merit in having a performance of Super voces musicales on disc, since I believe that, on account of its length and the tessitura of its voice parts, a concert performance of it complete would be virtually impossible.

    The earliest reliable source of the L'homme armé melody is a late 15th century manuscript in Naples, which contains six anonymous Masses based on the song. The text may be translated 'Fear the armed man; word has gone out that everyone should arm himself with a haubregon (1) of iron', which may refer to a crusade against the Turks (see Lewis Lockwood in the New Grove). This Neapolitan version of L'homme armé poses two unsolved problems: whether it was originally a monophonic song or the tenor of a lost three-voice chanson; and whether it originally had any more verses, as the refrain structure rather suggests. Apart from the composers already mentioned, there were Mass-settings founded on L'homme armé by Busnois (who was said, by Pietro Aaron in 1523, to have been the original composer of the song), Regis, Tinctoris, Obrecht, Brumel, Mouton, de Silva, Carver and several others. The series was finally closed in the 17th century by Carissimi, who crowned the tradition with a 12-voice work.

    At first hearing the two Josquin L'homme armé Masses are worlds apart. One might guess, quite simply, that Super voces musicales was a medieval composition, and Sexti toni a mature Renaissance one. In fact the manuscript evidence is that they were probably both from Josquin's so-called middle period which ended about the year 1500, though it is assumed that Super voces musicales was written first. They were both printed by Petrucci in 1502.

    Josquin's Mass Sexti toni (in the sixth mode) is so called because he has transposed the melody to make F its final (as opposed to the more normal G), giving it a major key tonality. This element of transposition is one of the features borrowed from Super voces musicales, though there, as we have seen, it was turned into a constructional principle. The idea of stating the melody in retrograde has also been transferred from the other Mass, though instead of giving the direct and retrograde forms in consecutive statements as he did before, here in the third Agnus Dei Josquin states them both at the same time. These form the lowest parts in a movement where the number of voice-parts has been increased from four to six, and the upper voices are in two paired canons at the unison. While this shows exceptional compositional virtuosity, the actual sound in this final Agnus is most unfamiliar, suggesting, if anything, the methods of such modern minimalist composers as Philip Glass.

    The remainder of the setting seems more relaxed, though in fact Josquin can be heard constantly to be trying out new speeds, new rhythms and new scorings for the L'homme armé tune, now complete, now with a few notes used as the basis for an ostinato pattern or a canon. The wide overall range of the four voice-parts brings to the writing the kind of sonority which is associated with Palestrina, and Josquin constantly used this to imaginative effect, nowhere more memorably than at Et resurrexit in the Credo. For showing all these different aspects of his extraordinary technique, this Mass must rank as one of the most accomplished productions of a composer long held to be the greatest writer of his time."

    I think this mass is one of the best of history. The "Kyrie" and "Agnus Dei" are simply incredible. Music that lifts the soul.

    For me, the performance of The Tallis Scholars is the best fort these pieces. This album is simply indispensable, a "classic" recording of Josquin music.
Pure "Tallis Scholars" sound: brilliant, perfect pitch, balance and phrasing. A real lesson in how to perform Renaissance polyphony.


miércoles, 22 de agosto de 2012

Mertens, ese bajo

   Escuchando hace unos pocos días el primer disco del volumen 16 de la integral de las cantatas bachianas, que Ton Koopman grabara en varios años, con el concurso de los sellos Erato y luego el suyo propio -Antoine Marchand- bajo el auspicio de Challenge Records, caí una vez más en la cuenta de lo unido que ha estado el bajo alemán Klaus Mertens a la figura omnipresente de BACH. Y esta unión es tan absolutamente sólida, que uno se da cuenta de que este bajo, para muchos el bajo bachiano por excelencia, que diría es el único bajo de la historia que ha interpretado todas las partes compuestas por el Kantor para esta voz, es decir, que Mertens ha cantado todas las líneas de las piezas bachianas, incluyendo la integral de las cantatas, las pasiones, oratorios, motetes, la misa en latín...


   Esto convierte a Mertens, además, en el único cantante, incluyendo cualquier tesitura, que ha logrado tan impresionante logro. Debemos recordar, porque parece lo justo, que la figura de este bajo va unida indefectiblemente a la de Ton Koopman y su conjunto barroco, con el que ha grabado prácticamente la totalidad -si no todas- de esas piezas.

   Si uno se siente ínfimo, minúsculo e insignificante ante la inmenso e infinita figura de BACH, creo que Mertens ha logrado algo que encumbra su figura y que le hace estar más cerca del que ha sido su inspiración y al que le ha dedicado toda su vida y su voz. Salve, pues, Klaus Mertens.

lunes, 20 de agosto de 2012

The Choir Project al día [20-VIII-2012]

Josquin Desprez (c.1450/55-1521): De profundis clamavi a 4.
The Binchois Consort - Andrew Kirkman.
Semper Josquin.


   Andrew Kirkman says about this piece:
"The four-voice De profundis has conflicting attributions to Josquin and ‘Champion’, presumably one of the brothers Jacques and Nicolas Champion who were employed in the Hapsburg Imperial Chapel in the first third of the sixteenth century. For Glarean, though, there were no doubts either about the authorship of this piece or its quality; for him it was the quintessence of Josquin, in both its beauty of expression and its novelty: ‘Here indeed I should like everyone to observe carefully how the beginning of this song is composed, with how much expression and how much dignity he has brought the phrase De profundis … nor is he alone [in the modal practice of this piece] in a clearly immoderate love of novelty and excessive zeal to snatch a little glory by being unusual, a failing with which the more talented professors of disciplines are almost always afflicted …’ Original and unprecedented though the modal flexibility of this piece may be, in Glarean’s opinion Josquin ‘… has accomplished it learnedly and without giving the slightest offense to the ears’".

   In my opinion, this performance, only with male voices, is intimate with a very delicate and careful sonority. The lines intersect with great clarity and the phrasing is very good. The sound of the bass is absolutely fantastic, the best of the ensemble.


lunes, 13 de agosto de 2012

Bartoli ya no tiene "Mission" secreta

   Aún con la mitad de las pistas por descubrir en ese juego lanzado a través de las redes sociales por el cual Cecilia Bartoli daba los detalles de su próximo disco -y del que se dio buena cuenta ya en una entrada en este blog-, ya se han desvelado todos los detalles de ese futuro lanzamiento, pues Bartoli, a través de un correo electrónico a los miembros de su comunidad virtual, ha presentado ya el contenido del disco y los diversos formatos del mismo, además de poder pedirse ya en una serie de tiendas de venta online de las más habituales para los discófilos. Concretamente, esta es la info proporcionada.

   Una suerte de gran lanzamiento, con diversos formatos digitales, físicos -con una edición en LP de vinilo, otra edición en CD deluxe-, publicación de una novela relacionada con el tema del disco, escrita por la siempre cercana al mundo de la música barroca Donna Leon...

   Para todos los ansiosos, aún queda por esperar un poquito, concreatamente hasta el 24 de septiembre, fecha en la que anuncia el lanzamiento a nivel mundial, aunque ya puede hacerse el pre order en estas tiendas, si es que así consigue calmarse un tanto la ansiedad de algunos. Esperaremos, pues.


sábado, 11 de agosto de 2012

The Choir Project al día [11-VIII-2012]

William Byrd (1540-1623): Quomodo cantabimus a 8 / Piilippe de Monte (1521-1603): Super flumina Babylonis a 8.
The Cardinall's Musick - Andrew Carwood (David Skinner) / The Sixteen - Harry Christophers.
Two minds, two motets, two forms, two ideas... but only one thing: music.

   In words of David Skinner:
Philippe de Monte, a Flemish composer who spent much of his early life in ltaly. came to England in 1554 when he served in the houseband chapel choir of Prince of Spain (later to boecome Philip II), husband of Mary Tudor. On Christmas Day of that year a geat festal Mass was celebrated in St. Paul's Cathedral with musicians from Philip's Capilla FLamenca and Mary's Chapel Royal, and it is thought that this was one of the earliest occasions when Philippe de Monte, then 33, met the young Wiiliam Byrd. While it was reponed that de Monte was unhappy in England (he len in 1555). he seems to have maintained same son of contact with William Byrd well into the 1580s when the two composers are known to have exchanged compositions.

   Lbl, Add. Ms 23624, is a collection of motets asembled by the 18th-century musical antiquarian John Aicock, from a set of partbooks of which only two have survived (Ob, Tenbury MS 389 and the Jarnes Ms). Alcock also cooped certain glosses from the some of the now lost books which tell the story. The following appears before de Monte's Super flumlna Babylonls: 'This Piece of Musick was compose'd by Sig': Phillipo de Monte, master of ye Children of ye Emperor Maximillan the 2ds Chapel, & sent by
him, to Mr: Bird - 1583', while at the head of Byrd's Quomodo cantablmus are the words 'This Piece, was made by Mr: Wm: Byrd, to send unto Mr: Phiilip de Monte, 1584'.
   De Monte set the four verses of Psalm 136, while Bvrd set verses four to seven. Super flumina Babylonis, aeemingly harmless biblical text, was a notorius psalms of captivity to the recusant community of Elizabethan England. De Monte pointedly rearranged the verses in order to drive home a political statement to Byrd: 'How shall we [ie. you, the English] sing the Lord song in a strange land?' De Monte suggestion could be construed as a request to Byrd not to waste his talents in a fettered country, but escape to a more religiously tolerant society. In this context 'We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof' seems more to be a suggestion on noncompliance than any call of defeat. Byrd's reply begins with a three-part canon (one of the parts by inversion) within the eight-part texture. His polyphony is dense and structurally sound, as if to show de Monte that his faith still stands strong: 'Remember the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem', says the psalmist. At the destruction of Jerusalem (587 BC), the neighbouring nation of the Edomites joined forces with the besieging army. The prophets denounce them far more bitterly than they denounce the Chaldean invaders. How did Byrd sing the Lord's song in a strange land? With cunning, artfulness and ingenuity.

   For me the performances of these piece are really different: The Cardinall's Musick opt for a more intimate in sound, but more dramatically in the realization, however, The Sixteen perform de Montes' motet with more choral sound but a more relaxed and calm reading.
In two cases, the music is really good and the performance is too fantastic. Franco-flemish-English connection.




martes, 7 de agosto de 2012

Novedades discográficas: agosto 2012

   Como venía haciendo en mi perfil de Facebook -el personal, que aparece en el panel de la derecha del blog junto al perfil de doblebarra- cada principio de mes, me gusta dar cuenta de algunos lanzamientos en el mercado del disco que me parecen considerablemente interesantes, siempre en el ámbito de mi mayor interés. He decidido comenzar a dar cuenta de estas novedades a través de una entrada cada principio de mes, en la que señalaré y comentaré cuáles son esas novedades que me merecen mayor interés. Comienzo, pues, con las de este mes de agosto, que no por veraniego está exento de salidas al mercado de sumo interés:

Jean Richafort (c.1480-c.1547).
Hyperion CDA67959.

   Cinquecento, uno de los conjuntos vocales más en boga en los últimos años, graba la que supone la tercera lectura discográfica de esta obra, una de las piezas capitales del Renacimiento europeo -se completa el disco con piezas de Josquin Desprez, Benedictus Appenzeller, Nicolas Gombert y Jheronimus Vinders-, tras las dos primeras del conjunto británico Chapelle du Roi, que dirigió Alistair Dixon, y la del Huelgas Ensemble y el gran Paul Van Nevel, que para mí sigue resultando insuperable, a la espera de la conveniente escucha del registro que se anuncia en estas líneas. Ivan Moody dice de esta grabación que es la mejor que ha escuchado, pero supongo que mi pasión por el conjunto belga sigue aún sin asimilar dichas palabras, al menos hasta que mis oídos escuchen, y escucharán.


Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758).
Tempesta di Mare (Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra) - Gwyn Roberts & Richard Stone
Chandos (Chaconne) CHAND 0791


   Esta orquesta barroca estadounidense continúa con su afán de grabar la obra orquestal de este gran maestro que desgraciadamente no esté tan valorado como merece. Una serie que hay que celebrar y esperar que continúe.


In Festo Angelorum (obras de compositores italianos, españoles y portugueses del Barroco).
Monica Piccinini y Mauel Vilas.
Brilliant Classics 94428.


   Manuel Vilas sigue descubriendo repertorio que tiene el arpa barroca como protagonista. En esta ocasión viene acompañado de la soprano italiana para resgistrar obras poco conocidas y que seguro harán las delicias de todo aquel que guste del Barroco más intimista. Además, el precio del sello Brilliant siempre lo hace más apetitoso si cabe.


Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750).
Brilliant Classics 94359.


   Brilliant reedita ahora este disco grabado para el sello Arts ya en 1997. Fasolis muestra aquí su visión tan personal de la inmensa obra en latín de BACH, que para mí es probablemente su obra cumbre. Se acompaña de un elenco vocal de gran talla, con Roberta Invernizzi, Lynne Dawson, Gloria Banditelli, Christoph Prégardien y Klaus Mertens. Un disco que no puede faltar en cualquier discoteca que se precie bachiana.


Francesco Mancini (1672-1737).
Corina Marti & Capella Tibertina - Alexandra Nigito.
Brilliant Classics 94324.



   Estos intérpretes italianos nos traen la obra para flauta de pico de este compositor napolitano no demasiado transitado por los intérpretes actuales. Promete ser un gran descubrimiento.


Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) y Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643).
Il Pegaso - Maurizio Croci.
Brilliant Classics 94286.


   Este disco, que tiene como doble atractivo: la recuperación de unas obras hasta ahora inéditas de Monteverdi y Frescobaldi, sobre todo tres antífonas marianas del cremonés, que se hallaban escondidas en la Biblioteka Uniwersytecka de Wroclaw (Polonia) esperando a ser descubiertas, sería el primero y más jugoso de ellos; el segundo, sería el debut de este conjunto italiano, que deja las partes vocales a los tenores Mirko Guadagnini y Makoto Sakurada y al bajo Christian Immler.


Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741).
Concerti da Camera (Complete).
Collegium Pro Musica - Stefano Bagliano.
Brilliant Classics 94332.


   Otro conjunto italiano nos trae, en un triple álbum, la integral de los Concierti da Camera vivaldianos, la cual ya es una buena razón para acercarse a este disco. Cuenta, además, con el concurso de destacados instrumentistas italianos.

   Dicho queda: ¡a disfrutar!

sábado, 4 de agosto de 2012

The Choir Project [04-VIII-2012]

Cristóbal de Morales (c.1500-1553): Zai. Candidiores -First Lamentation on Holy Saturday- a 5.
The Brabant Ensemble - Stephen Rice.
Jeremiae dixit.


    In words of the conductor and musicologist Stephen Rice:
"Polyphonic settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah enjoyed considerable popularity in the sixteenth century, with a publication by the printer Ottaviano Petrucci (Venice, 1506) gathering together most of the earliest known examples. By the 1530s, Morales was following in a well-established tradition in composing Lamentations: along with his Sistine Chapel colleague Costanzo Festa he produced large numbers of settings, though these were not published until 1564, eleven years after Morales’s death. It is not known whether these settings entered the Sistine Chapel repertory, since an earlier version, composed by Carpentras (Elzéar Genet) appears to have been sung until the 1580s, being eventually replaced by that composed by Palestrina. The significance of the texts lies in their liturgical use as lessons in Matins of the Triduum Sacrum (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday): whereas lessons would normally be intoned on a simple recitation formula, these are supplied with more elaborate plainsong. These ‘lamentation tones’ are often reflected in the polyphonic settings, including those of Morales.
Another unusual feature of Lamentation settings is the retention of the Hebrew initial letters to each verse. The Lamentations formed an acrostic poem, and the practice of Renaissance composers was to introduce each section with an extended, melismatic setting of the Hebrew letter. Together with the refrain 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, turn to the Lord your God’ which ends each setting, these elements produce a highly meditative musical atmosphere, as the harrowing texts of Jeremiah’s poem are transformed into polyphony that alternates simple homophony with great elaboration. The three sections presented here are the third lesson on Good Friday (Coph. Vocavi), and the first and second on Holy Saturday (Zai. Candidiores and Nun. Vigilavit respectively); these liturgical designations ceased to apply after the promulgation of the Tridentine service books later in the century, however."

    The sensitivity with which the five voices crosses is really fascinating. Music that add you in a state of peace and quiet fascinating.
This performance is so sober and so British.
Anyway, for me this album, although it's good, is not one of the best recordings of this ensemble.
Anyway is a good way to get into the wonderful work of Cristóbal de Morales, "light of Spain in music".



viernes, 3 de agosto de 2012

The Choir Project al día [28-VII-2012]

Leonel Power (c.13770/1385-1445): Beata progenies a 3.
New York Polyphony.

Calm complexity.


    This piece reflects a country, a way to make and dawn of Renaissance polyphony. The sumptuous lines move with a fascinating fluidity creating a t
houghtful but forceful piece.

    This performance is clear, transparent, delicate and introspective.

 

The Choir Project al día [24-VII-2012]

Felice Anerio (c.1560-1614): Salve regina a 8.
The Cardinall's Musick - Andrew Carwood.
Roman polyphony.


    This piece, performed here with double chorus (SSAT/ATTB) is a fantastic example of the Roman school of composers.
Dense sonority and opulence in the number of performers required are two of its main features.

    In words of Andrew Carwood: "[...]Anerio’s setting of the Salve regina contrasts a high choir with a low one, something unusual in Roman double-choir music and more reminiscent of Venetian compositions of the period. The restrained setting matches well the imploring mood of the text while Anerio relies for expression on the sharpening of thirds and the juxtaposition of major and minor harmonies, something which underlines the poignancy of the words.[...]".

    Carwood and his singers performed this piece with a certain sobriety, but with the grandeur demanded by the Roman school.
A fantastic piece in an album that is highly recommended.



The Choir Project al día [14-VII-2012]

Josquin Desprez (c.1450-1521): Missa D'ung aultre amer a 4.
Alamire
- David Skinner.
Master of masters.


   The mass -published in 1505- is based on a chanson by Johannes Ockeghem, Josquin's teacher. Its attribution to Josquin has been quest
ioned but seems as reliable as we can expect; the New Josquin Edition regards it as Josquin's work, at any rate. It is notable for a couple of things: its brevity –the longest movement takes no more than five minutes, and the whole mass can be performed in fifteen– and the substitution of the motet Tu solus qui facis mirabilia for the Benedictus.

    This piece is a paragon of the expressive power of Josquin in just four parts.
   Alamire, with their usual fantastic British sound, delivers a energic performance, but they leave the music breathe, and great clarity of lines.
This work is part of an excellent album dedicated to the Franco-Flemish genius.

   Edition notes -by CPDL-: This is taken from the Petrucci edition of 1505, Liber Missarum Josquin. It is not transposed; the meter of the original score is interpreted so that measure numbers match up with the New Josquin Edition. Suggested musica ficta alterations have been added following Renaissance practices described in Anthony Newcomb's article "Unnotated Accidentals in the Music of the Post-Josquin Generation," Toft's Aural Images of Lost Traditions, and others.


   

The Choir Project al día [11-VII-2012]

Jacobus de Kerle (1531/32-1591): Media vita a 6.
Huelgas Ensemble - Paul Van Nevel.
Forgotten master.

    This absolutely wonderful motet, published in Selectae quaedam cantiones sacrae, compositae per Jacobus de Kerle, Nüremberg, Gerlach, 1571 is a perfect example of the mastery of this Franco-Flemish composer, which today is almost forgotten.
In words of Van Nevel: "[...]Even more impressive, if that were possible, is the six-voice motet Media vita, which he composed in the same year (1571). Around a cantvs firmvs repeat tenfold in long note values on the text te rogamus audi nos, de Kerle develops a rich contrapuntal texture which exhaust all the possibilities of melodic and harmonic sensibility, from the contemplative beginning in the Dorian mode, through the tense repetition on irasceris at the end of the first part, to the resigned conclusion[...]".

    The Huelgas-Ensemble performance is really incredible. Their sound is very earthly and surround. The character of unrest that this piece requires is perfectly played by the 16 voices of the ensemble.
Especially male voices are fantastic, with a special merit for the basses with their exquisite sound.

    This album is really, really amazing. One more time, Paul and his singers show us how wonderful is the world of Franco-Flemish polyphony.

 

The Choir Project al día [30-VI-2012]

Henry Purcell (1659-1695): Now that the sun hath veiled his light (An Evening Hymn).
Chanticleer & Capriccio Stravagante (Skip Sempé).
Calm and quiet.
  
   This piece is actually a work for solo voice and bass continuo, but in this really wonderful chora
l arrangement set, the ensemble Chanticleer is absolutely fantastic. The delicate line is played masterfully by these singers, with a wonderful sound and fascinating clarity and elegance. Special mention to Capriccio Stravagante, conducted by Skip Sempé, for its refining use the viola da gamba, triple harp and organ.
Music that invites reflection and introspection.


The Choir Project al día [16-VI-2012]

Heinrich Isaac (c.1450-1517): Missa Paschale a 4.
The Tallis Scholars - Peter Phillips.
Wonderful document.


   Magnificent four parts mass by Heinrich Isaac, one of the best franco-flemish Renaissance composers.
The "tutti" parts are interspersed with plainchant and soloists lines in a fantastic polyphonic mass setting.
Amazing performance by The Tallis Scholars in a "classic" recording.




The Choir Project al día [09-VI-2012]

John Sheppard (c.1515-1558): Verbum caro a 6.
Stile Antico.
Glorious English polyphony.


   This piece is simply wonderful.
On the same theme, Sheppard displays the six lines in an elegant and delicate form that it's incredible. The svperivs lines are of a beauty so pure, ethereal. The Stile Antico's job with this piece is simply masterful.




The Choir Project al día [04-VI-2012]

Orlandus Lassus (1532-1594): Missa Tous les regretz a 6.
Huelgas Ensemble - Paul Van Nevel.
Forever "Huelgas".

   Simply wonderful mass, ensemble, conductor and disc.
This wonderful disc contains three masses: Lassus, Ashewell and Palestrina. Three masters, three styles and three genius. Simply superb.
This is the last album recorded for Harmonia Mundi.



 

The Choir Project al día [28-V-2012]

William Byrd (c.1540-1623): Agnus dei, from Mass for four parts.
The Sixteen.
The "simplicity" of genius.

   Only a mass, only four parts, only four singers, only muic, only polyphony, only a genius...
This is pure music... "simply".
I like a lot this performance: delicacy, clarity of lines and elegance of voices.
Great job!



The Choir Project al día

   Como mucho sabríes por mis anteriores publicaciones en doblebarra, desde el 2011 soy guest administrator en temas de música antigua en la página de Facebook de The Choir Project, una comunidad que se dedica a la difusión de la música coral por todo el mundo. Fue elegido por su directora Marian Dolan en un principio para difundir la obra de Victoria en su efeméride de dicho año, pero posteriormenete se me propuso alargar mi participación en la página para publicar y comentar un vídeo de música coral de la Edad Media al Barroco, aunque sobre todo me he centrado en el Renacimiento. Para mí es un orgullo poder realizar esta labor, por lo que creo que debo traer aquí las publicaciones que haga en la página de Facebook que pueden no estar al alcance todos vosotros.

   Comenzaré echando un tanto la vista atrás y traeré una serie de publicaciones desde dos meses hasta hoy, además de ir publicando en la sucesivo cada publicación semanal ya en teimpo real. Traré las publicaciones tal cual son realizadas en la página, para ser lo más riguroso posible. Están hechas en inglés, pero creo que su comprensión es sencilla para todos.

   El primer vídeo que publicaré será el que tiene por fecha el 22 de mayo:

Christopher Tye (c.1505-c.1572): In pace in idipsum a 4.
New York Polyphony.
Pax, tranquillitas, somnus, dulcis...

  Fantastic english polyphony. Wonderful example of quiet and elegant contrapvnctvs in sixteenth-century England.
This piece is really incredible because this peace is almost unparalleled.

  The performance is absolutely amazing: elegant, delicate, sweet, bright, with a beautiful sound, exceptional driving lines, perfect tactvs.



miércoles, 1 de agosto de 2012

La "mission" de Bartoli

   Tras su increíble éxito con el disco y posteriormente DVD de Sacrificium, que además llevó de gira por todo el mundo con arrollador triunfo -uno de los conciertos fue comentado en este blog-, la mezzosoprano romana Cecilia Bartoli regresa al mundo de las grabaciones discográficas de la mano del repertorio barroco, al que mejor se adapta y al que está prestando la mayoría de su tiempo desde hace años, con un lanzamiento que llevará por título Mission.

   En esta ocasión vendrá acompañada de la formación suiza I Barocchisti, que dirige el enérgico y carismático Diego Fasolis, que juntos están dejando para la historia algunas grabaciones legendarias.

   Aún no sabe mucho de la grabación, cuyo contenido está siendo recelosamente custodiado por intérpretes y discográfica, aunque está empezando a ser desvelado con cuantagotas mediante un juego que tiene a la red y las redes sociales como protagonistas. Sí, mediante una aplicación que fue descubierta por correo electrónico para aquellos que estamos registrados en la página de la cantante, a la que se puede acceder a través de esa cuenta de correo electrónico y los perfiles de Facebook o Twitter, se puede ir accediendo a distinto material del disco, visionado previo de un vídeo en Youtube en el que un periodista incómodo intenta enterarse de los entresijos de la grabación, ante la molesta actitud de la cantante, que se cansa de tal agobiante persecución, y en cuyo final de cada uno de estos episodios se nos entrega una palabra clave que nos desvela un nuevo aspecto del próximo lanzamiento de la italiana.

   Hasta el momento se nos han desvelado cuatro pistas, entre la que hemos podido acceder a la trangresora portada del disco -no dejará indiferente a nadie-, a un pequeño ejemplo sonoro de un minuto y medio -con una pieza bellísima, que nos pone los dientes bien largos, pues suena realmente fantástico- y a el nombre de dos personajes que parece tendrán su relevancia en el registro, como son el del compositor italiano y polifacética figura de Agostino Steffani, y el de una de las rutilantes figuras del canto barroco a nivel mundial, como es la del contratenor francés Philippe Jaroussky.

   Se puede acceder a la aplicación para seguir el juego a través de este enlace.

   Creo que no es necesario decir lo ansiosos que estamos todos los acérrimos seguidores de la que para muchos es la mejor cantante del mundo por este nuevo lanzamiento, al que añado, el concurso de una de las orquestas barrocas que en mejor momento se encuentran.