Rober Traver

Jordi Savall & Hesperion XX - Elizabethan Consort Music, 1558 - 1603 (1998) {Alia Vox AV 9804}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 343 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 153 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 158 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1998 Alia Vox | AV 9804
Classical / Renaissance / Baroque / Chamber Music

Although the first full consort of viols did not arrive in England until 1540, there were actually several intriguing examples of what are now called "consort" music from before that time. Of course, the homogenous viol consort became supreme, and the present program (also featuring some 2-lute arrangements) focuses on the first part of that repertory. This developed at Elizabeth's court in the 1570s & 1580s, among professional musicians, but based on relatively restrictive models. Some pieces in the present program are composed freely, heralding the next step in consort development which, along with the small output of Byrd, allowed the English consort idiom to fully flower. Of course that was followed closely by the even larger and more famous repertory of consort music by composers such as Gibbons which was eventually geared more toward amateur players.

Feeling Good is well named: the feelgood vibe is strong and the love of music that reaches out from this album is pretty much guaranteed to leave listeners with a similarly good feeling. It's the second album from Joan Chamorro - bassist, saxophonist and director of Barcelona's Sant Andreu Jazz Band - and the band's star member, the teenage singer and instrumentalist Andrea Motis. Chamorro's name may come first, but it's Motis' personality that shines through most strongly on Feeling Good. Chamorro can take much of the credit for this - he's mentored Motis and other members of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band for some years, creating a band with the talent and maturity that belies the ages of its members (who are between 9 and 20 years old)…