The cover of O Crux suggests a programme of Spanish choral music from the age of Victoria. But no, it's actually a series of a cappella sacred music written in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Albeniz, Granados, Manuel de Falla and Fernando Sor as we have never heard them before: caught up in the mystery of religion and drawing imaginatively, and often very audibly, on the styles of their illustrious ancestors. The first piece on the CD, a psalm from the "Office for the Dead" by Albeniz, is slow, predominantly chordal and sombre and sets the mood beautifully. One of the best pieces on the disc is the "Salve" by Ledesma, an organist from Aragon. The "Salutaris by Vives" and is almost operatic; after a soprano solo the full choir enters for the repetition of the text. The setting by Arriaga, who died aged only 20 in 1826, is much gentler - one can only wonder what the boy may have produced had he lived longer. Sor's "O Crux" has a finely melodic soprano line, and the two pieces by Eslava are simple and effective, "Bone Pastor" being a rare work here in triple time. The two pieces by Barbieri both have some highly dramatic word-painting, here rendered with precision by the choir. "L'herba de l'amor" by Granados has a nicely intonated soprano solo, (the text is sung in Catalan), leading to a gradual build up of voices. In similar vein is the build up in "Qui manducat" by de Monasterio. Vicente Goicoechea's "Christe Factus" est is highly chromatic. |
