Appréciation (s) / Review(s) 06/1993 # 387 (11/1992) # 494 (07-08/2002 16:3 (01-02/1993)

Gramophone-  (06/1993)		Subscription Abonnement
Reviewer: Tess Knighton A devastating review. Worth reading in the original version. Here are a few excerpts: "As always, the standard of instrumental playing is very high and the execution very imaginative. What I object to—and it is really not just an academic nicety—is that most of the songs, of whatever style, are performed with one or more voices with these being consistently doubled by the instruments, whether wind or bowed or both and usually plus a frenetically active (in Leppardesque continuo style) vihuela. This weightiness of sound cannot but muddy the textures, very often of subtle degree of intricacy, and, worse still, mar the expressivity of the music".  "There are two notable exceptions to this, both of which to my mind serve the music so much better. Montserrat Figueras sings the version of Claros y frescos rios by Alonso Mudarra (which differs in many respects from that found in the songbook) with vihuela accompaniment. Her vocal idiosyncracies will never appeal to everyone, but at least here the text gets some sort of look in. The last song on the disc, Francisco Guerrero's magical Ojos claros y serenos, is performed a cappella—no instruments at all. This should have made me happy—and to an extent it did, because, all of a sudden, both text and texture were clear and the subtle expressiveness of the music could be discerned. This was a taste of something altogether different: a fusion of words and music of immense and, despite the language, universal appeal. (Of course, it is one of the finest pieces in the collection, which is perhaps why Hesperion singled it out for such special treatment.) Other reservations about the manner of performance quickly made themselves felt, however. Without instrumental support the singers seemed lost, with little sense of overall blend or how to phrase: such matters were present but largely concealed in the tutti items".

Diapason- # 494 07-08/2002)		Appréciation  Evaluation	Abonnement Subscription
Analyste: Roger Tellart Texte intégral: Cet analyste tarit rarement d'éloges quant aux enregistrements réalisés par Jordi Savall et ses ensembles au cours des 25 dernières années. Voici ce qu'il a à dire au sujet de celui-ci: "C'est d'abord dans le jardin bigarré des Cancioneros que Jordi Savall et les siens ont fait valoir leur hispanité naturelle. Témoin de cette formidable aventure, la collection "Musica Iberica" réédite ... l'un des plus beaux fleurons de la discographie d'Hespèrion XX : le chansonnier conservé à la bibliothèque des ducs de Medinaceli contemporain du règne de Philippe II. Soit, le seul domaine profane, une centaine de pièces partagées entre villancicos de style populaire, pages savantes et italianisantes marquées par l'empreinte du madrigal, fantaisies instrumentales, scènes galantes et coquines, allégories parareligieuses, etc." "Porté par l'instinct de la terre, de la langue, de l'histoire (même si, dans le concert vocal et instrumental, Italiens, Norvégiens, Français et quelques autres se mêlent aux Espagnols de souche), Hespèrion XX a signé là l'un de ses disques cultes, jouant de tous les ressorts, de tous les contrastes (expressifs, métriques, dynamiques, chromatiques,) que permet le large bouquet d'humeurs du recueil, proche parent du fameux Cancionero de Palacio, compilé un demi-siècle plus tôt".
16:3 (01-02/1993)		Subscription Abonnement
Reviewer: Jerome F. Weber A fair number of quincentenary issues have been devoted to single manuscripts of sixteenth-century Spain. This songbook, named after the family that now owns it, was the source of several selections on an earlier disc (Fanfare 12:6, p. 300), only one of which is duplicated here, but it's not as well known on records as other collections, although an edition prepared by Miquel Querol in 1949 makes it a known quantity, and some of the composers represented in it are not at all obscure. The songbook contains both liturgical and secular works, but apart from five instrumental selections these pieces are secular songs, although some of them convey religious sentiments. Notable is a lament for Don Manrique de Lara, who died in Barcelona in 1493, an anonymous setting of the only surviving poem by Juan de Leyva. In this and seven other pieces, Montserrat Figueras contributes her distinctive brand of singing. The romanesque church in Cardona used for Savall's sessions is again the recording site, furnishing a warm ambience for the ensemble. The notes are detailed and informative, and texts are printed with translations. The oversize booklet is enclosed with the jewelbox in a slipcase. This ranks with some of the more interesting anniversary issues.