Mudarra

Yasunori Imamura - Spanish Music for Vihuela from the Time of Charles V (2014) {Querstand VKJK 1318}
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© 2014 Querstand | VKJK 1318
Classical / Renaissance / Chamber Music / Vihuela

The vihuela, a small guitar-like instrument with six or seven courses of double strings, is less familiar than other members of the Renaissance lute family. Only four original examples exist, and modern players who have mastered the instrument's intricacies and the breadth of its repertoire are few. This release by Japanese player Yasunori Imamura should introduce many listeners to the vihuela's riches. The music here was mostly or all written between 1536 and 1557, during (and just after) the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in Spain. The music includes some by the first composer to write down music for the vihuela, Luys Milán (ca. 1500-1561), and what's even more interesting is how the music stands at the beginning of a progressive trend that would last a century and a half: the use of ground basses to structure a larger composition.

Frank Wallace - ¡Ay de Mí! - Music of 16th Century Spain for Vihuela and Voice (1991) {Centaur CRC 2112}
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© 1991 Centaur Records | CRC 2112
Classical / Renaissance / Early Music / Vihuela

Frank Wallace’s skill at performing self-accompanied songs is unusual and unsurpassed in the classical world. The Spanish repertoire he presents on this recording ranges from earthy to suave and sophisticated…one of the best vihuelists working today…Wallace also sings…no mean feat when one considers the polyphonic nature of the vihuela accompaniments…His renditions of fantasías by Narváez, other instrumental works, and song accompaniments are exemplary, bringing the kind of polish to the music that must have been prized in the Spanish noble houses.

Salvatore Foderà is a Neapolitan-born guitarist who completed his studies in 2011 and embarked on a professional career performing across Asia, Europe and the Americas, including a tour of Chile sponsored by the Swiss government. His interest in Flamenco music led him to visit the Fundación Cristina Heeren in Seville and study with flamenco guitarist Pedro Sierra.

This performance can be labeled Portuguese only loosely, since many of the pieces are sung in Spanish, or taken from Spanish manuscripts, or more properly Galician than Lusitanian. But hey! Who cares? Really artful recordings of any Iberian music of the 'Golden Age' are not sprouting from the cork trees even today. Male alto Gerard Lesne has seldom recorded pre-Baroque chansons, and it's a thrill to hear what he can do with them. Track 9, for instance, the Latin cantiga "Clamabat autem mulier" by Mudarra, takes Lesne from his usual alto register down seamlessly into his tenor chest voice. Wow! Not every counter-tenor can do that and still sound musical!

A unique collector's edition is a "climbing on the history of music" for 20 centuries from ancient times (Greece) to the present day. "History of Music", the 20-disc collection. Starting with the ancient music, music of the Middle Ages continued, Renaissance and Baroque music and ending the era of romanticism and modernity.