Savall Hesperion Xxi,

Jordi Savall examines 500 years of history in this portrait of a city that symbolises like no other the fruitful, and at the same time, conflictual encounter of the three monotheistic religions. The succession of the Zirid, Almoravid, Almohad and Nasrid dynasties, their relationship with the neighbouring Christian kingdoms and the often precarious situation of the Jews (the first inhabitants of this area) are reflected in this wide musical fresco, in which each culture displays its most advanced refinement.

Listening to this selection of music from East and West so ingeniously put together by Jordi Savall is no ordinary experience. In addition to the aesthetic emotion, we feel another that is even more intense – a sense of magical communion with reconciled humanity.
One can’t help feeling that, with the simultaneous demise of both Sepharad and Al-Andalus in the second half of the 15th century, only forty years after the fall of Byzantium, some part of the human soul was also lost. Those events led to the destruction of intellectual and spiritual bridges between East and West that have never since been repaired. Once the fertile hub of our cultural universe, the Mediterranean became a battlefield and a barrier between peoples.

Although Lawes died relatively young–43–he achieved a mature compositional stature, evidenced in every one of the "sets" on display here. He's particularly good at taking a melody and subjecting it to all manner of variation and imitative treatment, often developing wonderfully complex textures that somehow always maintain an ingratiating tunefulness. The Pavans are especially touching–notably the five-part C minor, inspired by Dowland's famous Lachrimae. The influence of the madrigalian Monteverdi is noticeable everywhere, in dancing rhythms and vividly expressive effects of bow articulation and colorful, sometimes unexpected harmonies. This is an exceptional collection–in rich, full-bodied, perfectly balanced sound that gives realistic presence to the instruments while allowing plenty of breathing room for strings and wood to properly resonate.

The twenty pieces comprising the musical collection in the Codex Trujillo del Perú are an exceptional case in the history of the indigenous music of the New World. This collection of tonadas, cachuas, tonadillas, bayles, cachuytas and lanchas offers a glimpse of the repertory native to the traditions of the country, as indicated by the text of one of the cachuas sung “al uso de nuestra tierra” (“according to the customs of our land”) and in particular the songs and dances favoured by the popular classes who lived in the “Viceroyalty of Peru” at the end of the 18th century.

In his very favorable review of the Musical Offering, colleague Dan Davis noted how Savall's unique arrangement of the movements augments the performance's overall impact by forming a structurally sound symmetrical "arch" from beginning to end. Here Savall similarly rethinks the structural possibilities of the work, though his organizational choices function primarily as a means to enrich the impression of the fugues' varied sonorities and contrapuntal textures. Tempos also are generally very reserved, reminiscent of Davis' description of those in the Musical Offering as "startling in their slowness".

Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI - Le Royaume Oublie - La Tragedie Cathare (2009) {3CD Set Alia Vox AVSA 9873}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.10 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 537 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 485 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2009 Alia Vox | AVSA 9873
Classical / Medieval

Catharism was the name given to a Christian religious sect that appeared in the Languedoc region of what is now southern France and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Cathars saw matter as intrinsically evil. They denied that Jesus could become incarnate and still be the son of God and thus, the Catholic Church regarded the sect as dangerously heretical. Faced with what they saw as a rapidly spreading cancer, the Church called for a crusade, which was carried out by knights from Northern France and Germany and was known as the Albigensian Crusade. This campaign, and the inquisition that followed it, eradicated the Cathars completely. It also had the effect of weakening the semi- independent southern principalities in the area, ultimately bringing them under direct control of the King of France.

Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI - William Lawes - Consort Sets in Five & Six Parts (2002) {2CD Alia Vox AV9823 A+B}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 604 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 276 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 414 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2002 Alia Vox | AV9823 A+B
Classical / Baroque / Chamber Music / Viola da Gamba

Lawes's "sets" are actually suites for five or six viols with an organ playing "underneath" them. Each shortish set is broken into even shorter parts: Fantazy, Aire, Paven, etc.–and while the formula remains essentially the same, the textures and harmonies are constantly changing, with dissonances and conversations between and among the various strings giving the works great variety. On these two beautiful CDs (the first devoted to Five parts, the second to Six), Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI play on a pair of violins, four viols, and organ, offering great contrast and flavor and making us aware of just how energetic and fascinating counterpoint can be. The colors the six (or seven) musicians get from their instruments and the interplay among them is fantastic; the playing is superb. Fans of any type of chamber music will want to hear what this underrecorded composer who died too young (43) added to the genre. It's as if he created a new language, one that seems to have been waiting to be heard. A lovely, thoughtful couple of hours of music-making.

Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI - Dinastia Borgia - Chiesa e potere nel Rinascimento (2010) [3CD+DVD] {Alia Vox}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.11 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 534 Mb
DVD5 -> 3.73 Gb | All Regions | PAL 4:3 | Dolby AC3, 2 ch | ~ 81m | ISO Image | Subs: Catala, French, English
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 927 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2010 Alia Vox | AVSA 9875
Classical / Renaissance

Coinciding with the 500th anniversary of the birth of Saint Francis Borgia, Fourth Duke of Gandia, Jordi Savall and Alia Vox offer a visually lavish and artistically comprehensive new release entitled Dinastia Borgia. Savall’s latest musicological/historical quest focuses on music from the time of the Borgia dynasty, including works by composers such as Isaac, Dufay and Morales, from Pope Alexander VI/6 and two of his children, Cesare and Lucrezia, through to Francis Borgia, Jesuit priest and, perhaps, composer. For five centuries, scholars have studied and debated the role of the Borgias in Renaissance history. Although their name is synonymous with Papal corruption and they were undoubtedly malevolent and immoral, as patrons of the arts, the Borgias were also instrumental in the period’s explosive growth of culture.