Cancioneros and vihuelas

Abstract

The impetus created by 'Columbus year' for the production of recordings of early Iberian music has been quite extraordinary. On the one hand, groups from northern Europe and America-and, perhaps more tellingly, their recording companies-have shown increased interest in the repertory since 1992; on the other, a number of indigenous performers have also found increased outlets, and consolidated their position at the forefront of the European historically aware performance movement. The ongoing series of recordings being funded by the Junta de Andalucia and issued under the heading of 'Documentos sonoros del Patrimonio Nacional de Andalucia' has brought this kind of venture-the historical anthology with state support-up to a new level; while the Glossa label, based in El Escorial, is steadily producing extremely high-quality CDs of both Iberian and non-Iberian repertory with indigenous and foreign artists. At the same time, Hespbrion XX, those pioneers in the field, continue to make an enriching contribution, always imaginative and of the highest standards, maintaining their pre-eminent position, despite some fierce competition. All these bodies and individuals are protagonists in the recordings of secular music from the Iberian peninsula reviewed here. Much of this repertory will now be familiar from previous recordings, but the element of 'discovery' is also there, notably on the new disc from La Colombina entitled Canciones, romances, sonetos ... from Juan del Encina to Lope de Vega (Accent ACC 95111 D, rec 1995). The bestknown items are those by Juan del Encina; I have never counted up the recorded versions of Triste Espahia sin ventura, but double figures must have been reached some time ago. However, it is far less common to hear Encina's songs performed a cappella with one voice to a part, as I believe (see Early music, xx (1992), pp.560-81) was probably the mode of performance most commonly heard/ expected in his own day. For this alone, La Colombina's recording is of interest, and all the more so because the performances are very fine indeed: a clear but warm sound, well balanced and blended. Undoubtedly one of the reasons why the secular repertory has tagged along behind the sacred output of this undisputed Golden Age of Iberian music is the language: Italian madrigals and French chansons have consistently fared better till now, but the emergence of a new generation of Spanish-speaking early music singers will undoubtedly help restore the balance. The singers of La Colombina have this advantage, and their sound and approach-as is the case with, say, Concerto Italiano and the Italian madrigal repertory-is coloured by their linguistic background. La Colombina's survey of over a hundred years of Castilian-texted song is well chosen and features a good selection of pieces by that superb songster Juan Vasquez, as well as four items by Francisco Guerrero (whose Canciones y villanescas espirituales of 1589 is still relatively neglected) and five more by Mateo Romero ('Maestro Capitain'). While there is a clear move in the direction of a more overtly madrigalian idiom as the 16th century progresses, with Guerrero's 'spiritual songs' (mostly sacred contrafacta of secular pieces written substantially earlier in his career) representing in many ways the culmination of that process, the popular elements that feature so strongly in Encina's output retain an easily audible impact, especial y in the quite exquisitely lyrical songs by Vasquez. In order to consider the differences of approach to mod n performance of this rich song repertory, one need only compare the different versions of another of Vaisquez's best loved pieces: iCon que la lavare?, a love song of simple but intense poignancy. Readers of Early music hardly need to be reminded that no instrumentation is indicated in original sources such as Visquez's Recopilaci6n de sonetos y villancicos (printed in Seville in 1560), and that modern interpretations have tended to use such material as carte blanche for whatever suits their ensemble. The ex-