Lay Chua Con La Nguoi Ngoai Dao

One of the best lyric tenors in the world in the second half of the twentieth century is the Spanish Alfredo Kraus (1927-1999), also considered the greatest in bel canto of his generation. The great master and lyric teacher was no friend to make concessions out of the musical repertoire that was more suited to his voice and style, but this album, recorded and released in 1965 and reissued in the 90s, is one of those rare samples. Kraus is accompanied by Tuna of Fray Luis de León College of Madrid and plays a total of 12 items of typical rondallas.

The "laude" of the Renaissance Italian city-states have survived in just two manuscripts; until recently they constituted one of the last major genres of Early Music to be reconstructed and performed. Essentially, they were the music commissioned by the guild-like confraternities (with members from the middle and lower economic classes of the cities) for performance by the members and by well-paid professional soloists, at festivals and in the side-chapels of the cathedrals where most lay people attended to their religious devotions. In short, the music of the people rather than the priests.