Juan Anchieta

This superb disc of music by one of Spain's most talented early 16th century composers is exactly the sort of boost that the less well-known repertoire needs in its search for a place in today's CD collection. It is in every way a model of what a recording of Renaissance polyphony ought to be… The all male vocal ensemble sings with enormous conviction as well as firm control of rhythm and phrasing. Combining the voices with energetically played sackbuts produces a rich and dark-hued sound that feels authentically Spanish, and does full justice to this very fine music.

This internationally renowned early music group specializes in the powerfully gripping music of the Sephardic romances passed on by an oral tradition, as well as the court and sacred music of the early sixteenth century (Juan del Encina, Juan de Anchieta, Antonio de Cabezón, etc.) and the more complex polyphony belonging to the later part of that same period. The Accentus Ensemble itself was founded in Vienna in 1988.

This internationally renowned early music group specializes in the powerfully gripping music of the Sephardic romances passed on by an oral tradition, as well as the court and sacred music of the early sixteenth century (Juan del Encina, Juan de Anchieta, Antonio de Cabezón, etc.) and the more complex polyphony belonging to the later part of that same period. The Accentus Ensemble itself was founded in Vienna in 1988.

The ensemble Mare Nostrum (dir. Andrea De Carlo) and Nora Tabbush (a worthy heir to Montserrat Figueras) here revive some pure treasures of Spanish music. Combining early instruments (viola da gamba, cornetto, etc.) with traditional ones, they bring out all the colours of these songs and dances that were to be heard in New Spain. New Spain, the Spanish viceroyalty (1535-1821), stretched from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah (United States) to Costa Rica in Central America, with Mexico City as its capital.