Playing time: 66' 05"
Performers:
Hespèrion XX:
Jordi Savall (viol), Sophie Watillon (viol), Eunice Brandao (viol),
Sergi Cadademunt (viol), Lorenz Duftschmid (viol), Juan Manuel
Quintana (viol), Philippe Pierlot (viol), Guido Ballestracci (viol),
Rolf Lislevand (lute), Xavier Diaz (lute), Michael Behringer (organ,
harpsichord), Pedro Estevan (drum, trad. tambourines)
Jordi Savall, dir.
Recording site and date:
Colegiata del Castillo de Cardona (Cataluña), Spain
[06/1997];
Rel.: 09/1998, 10/1998 (AV).
Excerpts:
[2], [18] Alia Vox AV 9853 Ludi Musici:
The Spirit of Dance - L'Esprit de la Danse - El Espíritu de
la Danza: 1450-1650
[5] Alia Vox AV 9811 [CD] La Barcha
D'Amore. 1563-1685
[8] Alia Vox AV 9810 [CD] Harmonie
universelle
Reviewed in:
Diapason (#-p.):
Early Music America (Vol./#-p.):
Fanfare (Vol./#-p.):
Goldberg (#-p.):
Gramophone (Vol./#-p.):
Comments:
Information from CD.
Although the first full consort of viols did not arrive in England until 1540, there were actually several intriguing examples of what are now called "consort" music from before that time. Of course, the homogenous viol consort became supreme, and the present program (also featuring some 2-lute arrangements) focuses on the first part of that repertory. This developed at Elizabeth's court in the 1570s & 1580s, among professional musicians, but based on relatively restrictive models.
Some pieces in the present program are composed freely, heralding the next step in consort development which, along with the small output of Byrd, allowed the English consort idiom to fully flower. Of course that was followed closely by the even larger and more famous repertory of consort music by composers such as Gibbons which was eventually geared more toward amateur players.
The next volume in Savall's new Elizabethan Consort series:
A couple of other good surveys devoted to the early end of the English consort repertory:
To purchasing information for this disc.
To FAQ references to this recording.
To FAQ CD index page.
Todd M. McComb