Pure Gold: Golden Age Sacred Music in the Iberian World: A Homage to Bruno Turner. Ed. by Tess Knighton and Bernadette Nelson.

Abstract

All the gold on earth originated in supernova explosions untold billions of years ago. Most terrestrial gold resides in the earth’s core, where it descended along with molten iron during the planet’s formation. The gold we have mined over the millennia was probably deposited by asteroids and meteors on or near the earth’s surface. Gold’s atomic characteristics prevent it from oxidizing and thus maintain its attractive yellow lustre. The quest for gold has motivated some of the largest and culturally most transformative migrations in human history. Its untarnished appearance also makes it a potent metaphor for things of enduring quality and significance, and for the people and cultural epochs that produce, preserve, and promote works of great beauty. One such epoch was the Iberian golden age of the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries, and one such promoter is Bruno Turner. Indeed, as interesting as the story is of gold’s journey from meteor to metaphor, it is musical gold that propelled Turner’s career, and his personal journey is the subject of a fascinating interview with Luis Gago at the conclusion of this remarkable book. Turner is renowned for his achievements as an editor and publisher of early music. For many years he was a radio personality on BBC’s Third Programme, researching, performing, and talking about Spanish music in particular. Using personal wealth acquired through a successful wall-covering business, in 1977 he founded Mapa Mundi, a company devoted to the publication of Renaissance music in performing editions. Not content merely to publish music, he also founded and conducted the group Pro Cantione Antiqua in London, which recorded its landmark performances of Renaissance masterpieces on the Deutsche Grammophon label. Among Turner’s seminal recordings with this ensemble and on that label are the complete motets of Francisco de Peñalosa.