Esta Dulzura Amable - Sacred cantatas by Al Ayre Español

Al Ayre Español

Esta Dulzura Amable - Sacred cantatas

Price: € 12.95
Format: SACD hybrid
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917250923
Catnr: CC 72509
Release date: 01 April 2011
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917250923

Catalogue number
CC 72509

Release date
01 April 2011

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

"In Guatemala City I discovered, among the hundreds of forgotten musical scores that make up the rich musical archive of its cathedral, the four cantatas that are included in this recording. But how had these pieces written by a Saragossan from Calatayud who, as far as we know, never left his homeland, end up here in the overseas Guatemala?

Roll back to the second decade of the eighteenth century: Nebra, already working at the time as organist and composer in the royal court of Madrid, was only twenty years old! He had acquired great fame as an author of stage music and wrote numerous songs for the royal chapel's religious celebrations. These pieces, characteristic of solemn sacred palatine ceremonies, travelled to America. But how?

In Guatemala, among the many documents that I had scrutinised, I read the story of a journey that an eighteenth-century clergyman of the Cathedral made to Europe: among others, in order to compile modern music that would later be played by musicians of the primary Guatemalan temple. In the trunks of that very canon, in all likelihood, these songs that I now present, travelled to America. Those, as well as other compositions by Nebra and some of the most famous masters of that era.

Our Nebra was, this explains everything, a prestigious composer. His persona stands out amongst an ancient dynasty of musicians: the Nebras, who worked primarily in the province of Zaragoza. But José (Calatayud 6-1-1702, Madrid 11-7-1768) reached even more fame and prestige. His music could be described as Italianised with a Spanish air, arises at a time when the Italian style conquered the European courts; a process that began around 1700 that would mark the future of western music. As far as Spain is concerned, the Italian fashion found its primary and most exalted ambassador in the very same Queen consort Elizabeth Farnese, second wife of Philip V. Throughout his reign, music was dominated by Italian masters: the most relevant being Domenico Scarlatti who arrived in Spain in 1729." (source: linernotes of this CD by Eduardo López Banzo)

Wereldberoemde cantates uitgevoerd door een wereldberoemd ensemble
Dit album bevat vier geestelijke cantates van Jose de Nebra, uitgevoerd door het beroemde Spaanse ensemble Al Ayre Espanol.

Al Ayre Espanol is in 1988 opgericht door zijn dirigent Eduardo Lopez Banzo. Het vocale en instrumentale ensemble specialiseert zich in oude muziek, uitsluitend uitgevoerd op originele of nagebouwde historische instrumenten. Al Ayre Espanol heeft inmiddels over de hele wereld opgetreden en opnames gemaakt voor onder andere de Almaviva, Fidelio en Deutsche Harmonia Mundi. Critici prijzen het ensemble om hun kleurrijke, energieke en ritmische interpretatie van oude muziek. Bovendien heeft het Spaanse ministerie van cultuur in 2004 de ‘Premio Nacional de Musica’ aan het ensemble uitgereikt!

Jose de Nebra staat bekend als een van de belangrijkste componisten van de Spaanse Barok. Toen hij twintig jaar oud was werkte hij al als organist en componist aan het hof van Madrid. In de achttiende eeuw vonden enkele van zijn werken hun weg naar de Spaanse kolonies. De partituren van de cantates op dit album werden ontdekt in een kathedraal in Guatemala!

Uit het cd boekje wat Englse tekst door de artistiek leider van het ensemble:
"In Guatemala City I discovered, among the hundreds of forgotten musical scores that make up the rich musical archive of its cathedral, the four cantatas that are included in this recording. But how had these pieces written by a Saragossan from Calatayud who, as far as we know, never left his homeland, end up here in the overseas Guatemala?

Roll back to the second decade of the eighteenth century: Nebra, already working at the time as organist and composer in the royal court of Madrid, was only twenty years old! He had acquired great fame as an author of stage music and wrote numerous songs for the royal chapel's religious celebrations. These pieces, characteristic of solemn sacred palatine ceremonies, travelled to America. But how?

In Guatemala, among the many documents that I had scrutinised, I read the story of a journey that an eighteenth-century clergyman of the Cathedral made to Europe: among others, in order to compile modern music that would later be played by musicians of the primary Guatemalan temple. In the trunks of that very canon, in all likelihood, these songs that I now present, travelled to America. Those, as well as other compositions by Nebra and some of the most famous masters of that era.

Our Nebra was, this explains everything, a prestigious composer. His persona stands out amongst an ancient dynasty of musicians: the Nebras, who worked primarily in the province of Zaragoza. But José (Calatayud 6-1-1702, Madrid 11-7-1768) reached even more fame and prestige. His music could be described as Italianised with a Spanish air, arises at a time when the Italian style conquered the European courts; a process that began around 1700 that would mark the future of western music. As far as Spain is concerned, the Italian fashion found its primary and most exalted ambassador in the very same Queen consort Elizabeth Farnese, second wife of Philip V. Throughout his reign, music was dominated by Italian masters: the most relevant being Domenico Scarlatti who arrived in Spain in 1729." (source: linernotes of this album by Eduardo López Banzo)

Diese Aufnahme enthält eine bezaubernde Auswahl an geistlichen Kantaten - mit deutlich opernhaften Zügen - von José de Nebra, dem bedeutendsten Komponisten des spanischen Barock und ist der Beginn einer langfristigen Zusammenarbeit zwischen Al Ayre Español und Challenge Classics. Al Ayre Español ist ein Vokal- und Instrumentalensemble, das 1988 vom Dirigenten Eduardo López Banzo gegründet wurde und sich auf Alte und Barockmusik spezialisiert hat, ausschließlich auf Originalinstrumenten der Entstehungszeit oder Nachbauten historischer Instrumente musiziert. Von der Musikkritik werden Al Ayre Español und Eduardo López Banzo vor allem für ihre energiegeladenen, farbenreichen und rhythmisch vibrierenden Interpretationen geschätzt. Konzerte in Deutschland: 22. April 2011, Baden Baden/Festspielhaus & 16. Juni 2011, Bachfest Leipzig/Nikolaikirche: J.S. Bach: Johannes-Passion, BWV 245

Artist(s)

Juan Carlos de Mulder

Eduardo López Banzo, born in Zaragoza in 1961, is one of the European conductors who has convincingly made Historicism his own musical philosophy with the objective of making his musicians face the source and spirit of each composition. The result being that the music, after so many of centuries, appears new and fresh to contemporary audiences.

He studied harpsichord, and translates the subtlety and ductility of this instrument in his performances. He conducts his musicians as if he were moving his hands, and they react as if his brain was giving orders, as an organic whole. This manner of conducting has spectacular results, making him a very attractive guest conductor for brilliant and energetic orchestras: he has conducted the Tenerife, Galicia, Madrid and Comunitat de Valencia orchestras, and period instruments ensembles such as New York Collegium, San Francisco's Philarmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Belgian B'Rock and the Polish Arte dei Suonatori.

Eduardo López Banzo has conducted in Vienna's Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Berlin Konzerthaus, Düsseldorf's Tonhalle, Paris' Opéra Comique, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Cité de la Musique, Hamburg's Leiszhalle, Madrid's Teatro Real and Auditorio Nacional, Barcelona's Palau de la Música Catalana and Gran Teatre del Liceu, Valencia's Palau de les Arts and Palau de la Música, Bilbao's Palau Euskalduna, Brussels' Palais des Beaux Arts, Lisbon's Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Rome's Teatro Olimpico, amongst others.

In the operatic field, Eduardo Lopez Banzo is one of the most important specialists in Handel's music for theatre. He has conducted from the pit for Bibao's ABAO/OLBE with Al Ayre Español, in Valencia's Palau de les Arts with the Orquestra de la Comunitat de Valencia and in Kiel Opera with the Philarmonisches Orchester Kiel.

His next engagements will take him on to debut in Asia (Singapore and Hong Kong), Baden Baden Easter Festival, Leipzig's Bachfestspiele, the Berlin Philarmonie, the Ibermusica Season (Madrid) and Krakow's Misteria Paschalia Festival.

Eduardo López Banzo founded Al Ayre Español in 1988, and was awarded the Spanish National Music Prize in 2004, thanks to more than twenty years of musicological rigueur and performance excellence; that which has made Al Ayre Español a referent all across Europe.

AL AYRE ESPAÑOL
Al Ayre Español was founded in 1988 by Eduardo López Banzo with the objective of avoiding the mistaken clichés that often surrounded the performance of Spanish baroque music. The spirit of the ensemble made this possible thanks to musicological rigor, performance excellence and with the main purpose of giving new breath to music from the past, making them appear as recent compositions, and then offering them to the contemporary audience.

The name of the ensemble was inspired by the title for a guitar Fugue of the Calanda (Aragón) composer, Gaspar Sanz. In this Fugue he indicated the musician to play with "ayre español" (in the Spanish way). Unfortunately, precisely what that meant has remained in the 17th Century.

With the passing of the time, Al Ayre Español has become not only a prestigious ensemble, but moreover a performance philosophy, finally giving meaning to the Gaspar Sanz's indication. This has been achieved through lot of reflection, performance and mastery. Al Ayre Español is now a way of performing and enjoying music that Eduardo López Banzo has being creating as a work-inprogress, recognisable, requested and acclaimed all over the world, and for all these reasons was awarded the 2004 Spanish National Music Prize.

The fact that Al Ayre Español is more than a specialised early music ensemble, that represents the musical philosophy "al ayre español", has allowed the project to be flexible. This has made it possible to adapt itself to different formats, as a baroque orchestra -acknowledged by its performances of Handel and Bach- and lately as a classical-romantic orchestra -with opera and concert performances of Haydn and Mozart.

Al Ayre Español has performed on the most prestigious stages: Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Vienna's Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Düsseldorf's Tonhalle, Berlin's Konzerthaus, Paris' Théatre des Champs Elysées and Cite de la Musique de París, Madrid's Teatro Real and Auditorio Nacional, Barelona's Palau de la Musica Catalana and Gran Teatre del Liceu ,Valencia's Palau de la Música, Hamburg's Leiszhalle, Washington's Library of Congress, Brussels' Palais des Beaux Arts, Metz's Arsenal, Lisbon's Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Bilbao's Palacio Euskalduna, Rome's Teatro Olimpico, etc.

Al Ayre Español has also been invited to some of the most important festivals: Baden Baden Easter Festival, Bachstpiele Leipzig, Oude Muziek Utrecht, Internationale Festtage Alter Musik Stuttgart, Scheleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Dresdner Musikfestpiele, Toulouse les Orgues, Festival de Música Religiosa de Cuenca, Festival de Música Antigua de Aranjuez, Festival d'Ambronay, Handel Festspiele Halle, Festival Internationa d'Opera Baroque de Beaune, Festival de Saintes, Festival Internacional Cervantino (México), Festival Monteverdi de Cremona, Israel's Authentical, Festival Via Stellae de Santiago de Compostela, Moscow's Antiquarium Festival, etc.

Al Ayre Español has recorded for the labels Almaviva, Fidelio, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Harmonia Mundi, Naïve-Ambroisie and Challenge. Al Ayre Español's recordings have been awarded the Choq anual de Le Monde de la Musique, Diapason d'Or, 10 Répertoire and Telerama (France); Editor's Choice (Gramophone, London), CD Compact (Barcelona) and Fono Forum (Germany).

Upcoming events of Al Ayre Español are its debut in Asia (Singapore and Hong-Kong) in 2011, its debut in the Berlin Philarmonie, Ibermusica Season (Madrid's Auditorio Nacional) and Krakow's Mistheria Paschalia Festival (Poland).

Al Ayre Español is sponsored by Government of Aragon and is in residence in Zaragoza's Concert Hall.

María Espada was born in Mérida (Spain), where she studied singing with Mariana You-Chi. Later she completed her graduate studies in singing at the Conservatory in Madrid and did post-graduate studies with Alfredo Kraus at the “Reina Sofia” Academy of Music.

She has worked with conductors such as Frans Brüggen, Andrea Marcon, Diego Fasolis, Howard Griffiths, Carlos Kalmar, Giovanni Antonini, Jesús López Cobos, Frühbeck de Burgos, Juanjo Mena, Aldo Ceccato, Christophe Coin, Adrian Leaper, Emil Simon, Alberto Zedda, Antoni Ros Marbà, Josep Pons, Víctor Pablo Pérez, etc, with orchestras such as Venice Baroque Orchestra, Il Giardino Armonico, Orchestra of the 18th Century, L’Orfeo Baroque Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, “Ricercar Consort”, “Al Ayre Español”, “La Risonanza”, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, Nacional Orchestra of Catalunya, Madrid Symphony Orchestra, Hungarian Radio Orchestra, Seville Baroque Orchestra, etc.

She has sung in halls such as Konzerthaus in Vienna, Philharmonie in Berlin, Théâtre des Champs Élysées in Paris, Teatro Real in Madrid, Concertgebow in Amsterdam, Vredenburg in Utrecht, Santa Cecilia in Rome, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, L’Auditori in Barcelona, Maestranza in Seville, Kursaal in San Sebastián, Euskalduna in Bilbao, etc.

In her chamber music concerts she has performed a wide repertoire (for voice and piano or small ensembles) from the baroque up to the 20th century.

She has recorded for Harmonia Mundi, Naxos, Glossa and Challenge among others.