This is essentially an "appendix" or alternate album suggestion here, with the program largely duplicated already by the big harpsichord set from Naxos. Although I mention a fondness for harpsichord there, more recently, I'm finding these harp readings to be idiomatic & especially illuminating....
And I completely missed this album when it first appeared, also around the same time as Wilson's survey (as it happens?), but was subsequently pointed at it elsewhere in another conversation.... I'd always thought of the "arpa" designation on the Cabezón collections as simply an addition to allow for more possibilities, i.e. to sell more (& not because the composer had it in mind), but this program & interpretation argues for the centrality of the harp to Spanish music at that time. I find it at least partially convincing, and would now like to hear more of Cabezón on harp....
Prior to this, I'd included a trio performance with flute here for a number of years, and I think somehow that prepared me for the harp recital, with its less vertically stacked articulation.... (And maybe I should remark that this album was not well received at the time, quickly going out of print.... So sorry I missed it then!)
Todd M. McComb Updated: 16 April 2024