Maria Cristina Nardone

The vihuelist Ariel Abramovich teams up with the legendary soprano María Cristina Kiehr and the rising star, tenor Jonatan Alvarado, in producing a very special view on Josquin Desprez, with transcriptions of some of the composer’s most significant works. Their procedure follows the tradition of the 16th-century authors that built up the vihuela repertoire (Fuenllana, Narváez,Pisador, etc.), often based on adaptations of the great polyphonic works of their time, in a unique approach that puts Josquin in an Iberian light. Finely recorded in Spain’s Tui Cathedral and containing a new essay by scholar John Griffiths, this production adds an exquisite jewel to the already rich treasure trove of Desprez recordings produced in 2021, the 5th centenary of his death, by various great labels – not the least Glossa’s two other contributions, by the ensembles Graindelavoix and Cantica Symphonia…

In a very specific sense in 16th- and 17th-century Spain and again in today’s Mexico (and elsewhere in Latin America) the Spanish term son denotes a particular genre of music with certain common traits including a close association with dance, text composed of several verses (coplas) and a fundamental harmonic pattern unique to each son.

Tutto è iniziato con una gita scolastica, poi è arrivato altro. Fino a costruirsi quasi da sola la scrittura del mio andare, come una trama invisibile popolata di personaggi umanissimi. Così ho raccontato il mio viaggio nei luoghi della vita e della letteratura di Antonio Tabucchi e il mio incontro con persone a lui care. Pisa, Firenze, Lisbona, Parigi, le Azzorre, Creta: ogni tappa, un pezzo di mondo in più che ho provato a comprendere…

The artistic cooperation of Federico Longhi (an internationally famous baritone) and Cristina Pantaleoni (a refined pianist and teacher of score analysis) has lasted for more than thirty years and originated, for both, in their first years as Conservatory students.