Thirteen of the 28 tracks on this broad survey of El Siglo de Oro feature the voice of Guillemette Laurens, familiar from other early-music ensembles, typically alternating with the instrumental works. She is accompanied on organ, harp, vihuela, and percussion, the organ an instrument at Lorris-en-Gâtinais dating to 1501, rebuilt a century later, and restored in 1974. The disc takes its title from an anonymous song that comes, like the rest of the program, from 16th-century Spain. The cover art is El Greco’s only portrait of a woman, currently located in Glasgow.
The liturgy of the Dead – including the Requiem Mass, the Burial Service and the Office of the dead, properly speaking – was granted considerable importance by the Spanish ecclesiastical authorities and by the local church composers from very early times. Throughout the Middle Ages, according to the extant documentary descriptions, the death of a great Lord, such as the Count of Barcelona or the sovereign of any of the Spanish kingdoms of León, Castile, Aragon or Navarre, was usually mourned with impressive ceremonies in which the solemnity of the liturgy was often enhanced by the addition of the planctus, a kind of lengthy optional lament that was sung monophonically and of which several examples have survived.
Harmonie Universelle II illustrates the great historical diversity and range of repertory (from the 15th century to the beginning of the 21st century, in both thematic albums and recordings of works from the great repertory) as well as the wide range of musical formations (solo viol, small instrumental ensemble, solo vocalist, solo orchestra, orchestra and choir, opera) to be found on Alia Vox, an artists’ label created in 1998 by the two great early music exponents: Jordi Savall and Montserrat Figueras. Also featured in this new portrait is an extract from an opera by Vicente Martín y Soler on a libretto by Da Ponte, Il Burbero di buon cuore, recorded in Montpellier in 1995 – a rare opportunity to hear a performance not available on disc.