Glosa

The repertory of the Spanish vihuela from the 16th century remains little investigated, partly because few original instruments exist; when vihuela works appear on recordings they are often played on the lute or guitar. This is a shame, for the instrument has its own sound and a repertory (albeit one that often claimed playability on various instruments) that exploited that sound. The vihuela is large, with six pairs of strings running up a large body and long neck, and the music on this album exploits the instrument's rich sonority and capability for ornamentation rather than the rapid runs, called redobles in Spanish, that are characteristic of music for other plucked stringed instruments.

The second son of Martín García de Anchieta and Urtayzaga de Loyola, who was a great-aunt of the future saint, Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, members of a leading family in the Basque country, Juan de Anchieta was born in 1462 near Azpeitia in Guipúzcoa in the Iraurgui valley. Although there is no information about his formative years, it is possible that he served as a chorister in the chapel of Henry IV of Castile and perhaps studied at Salamanca University, where Diego de Fermoselle, an elder brother of Juan del Encina, taught. In 1489 he was appointed as a singer in the Court Chapel of Queen Isabella the Catholic, with a salary of 20,000 maravedís, increased in 1493 to 30,000 maravedís. In 1495 he was appointed maestro di capilla to the Prince Don Juan. After the death of the Prince in 1497 he returned to the service of the Queen, to be ……
From Naxos

The acclaimed conductor and composer Salvador Brotons is renowned for his music for symphonic band. It was Rebroll (Rebirth), a symphonic poem in one movement inspired by contemporary events, which first earned him international recognition, and is performed worldwide. Symphony No. 6 ‘Concise’ charts a dramatic course between rhythmic dynamism, ceremonial grandeur and lyrical intimacy. Glosa de l’Emigrant is a nostalgic song cast as a sardana, the national dance of Catalonia, and features the beautiful sound of the tenora, a Catalan folk instrument. Brotons’ Symphony No. 5 and his Oboe Concerto can be heard on 8573163.

Two decades following his first album of lute intabulations by the renaissance composer Josquin des Prez (the first album of its kind), celebrated lutenist Jacob Heringman returns to this rich but largely neglected part of the repertoire to present a new recording of intabulations for lute and vihuela.

Under the label Alia Vox Diversa , Jordi Savall invites the ensemble Tasto Solo, founded in 2006, whose first albums were critically acclaimed : Diapason d’or, Amadeus “CD du Mois”, Ritmo & Audio Clásica “Excellent”, Pizzicato “Supersonic”, Scherzo “Exception- Nel”, France Musique “Coup de Coeur”… It brings us back to the Europe of the XVIIth Century , which experienced an unparalleled development of treatises about the art of instru- mental and vocal performance. Italy was the epic enter of a new style derived from the world of dance. This album revolves mainly around the work of composer Vincenzo Ruffo and his contemporaries. The instruments used in the present recording are typical of the Italian culture of the early Renaissance in chamber music : a small harpsichord without damper in the upper register, a simple harp, a viola da gamba and a lute.