If "Mexican Baroque" has caught your ear, this wide-ranging anthology of choral music from Mexico, Central and South America is a must; it's got Latin American Renaissance, Baroque, Classic, Romantic and folk-originate works in a rich array of textures, styles and sonorities, from chorus-orchestra down to voice-and-guitar, all performed to the nines by the nation's premiere ensemble dedicated to this repertory: Coro Hispano de San Francisco. Brilliant vocal solos and on-target instrumental work by some of the West Coast's leading names in early music combine with foot-stomping Veracruz zapateados and robust, ranchera-style singing in this sampler from a half-dozen different concert programs. Latin America's choral music is a little-known treasure that's been quietly awaiting rediscovery for decades (or centuries- depending on how far back you want to go). Leading the way in its interpretation is the Coro Hispano de San Francisco, which has been exploring and performing this repertory exclusively since its first concert in 1975. On this disc-its third CD release- the nation's premiere Hispanic chorus turns in an amazingly varied sampling of music for voices and instruments from the cathedrals of Puebla, Lima and Sevilla, the ranchos of Early California, the plazas of Veracruz, all the way to the rain-forest missions of Paraguay and the mountain villages of Nigeria. |
