Les Traversees Baroques - Prima Le Parole - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The Sepolcro is a piece of Good Friday music that was only performed in this form by the court chapel at the Habsburg imperial court in Vienna. In order to have splendid music on the festive days despite the ban on opera during Holy Week, oratorios were staged in front of the Holy Sepulchre that dealt theologically and poetically with the Passion of Christ without depicting the Passion itself. In 1706, it was the court kapellmeister Marc'Antonio Ziani who wrote magnificent InchoperaInch music for Good Friday with his Sepolcro InchLa morte vinta sul CalvarioInch. It features various allegorical figures such as InchFaithInch, InchHuman NatureInch and InchThe Soul of AdamInch, who enter into a rhetorical dispute with the InchDevilInch, who rejoices in the death of Christ. Ziani's two-part work alternates between expressive recitatives and arias. The text is of great poetic power, underlined by Ziani's magnificent music, which is very colourful and rich in contrast with five-part string sections accompanied by cornetts, trombones and bassoons, with obligatory instrumental parts and sometimes sophisticated counterpoint.

Situated on the very western edge of Europe, Santiago de Compostela has been a spiritual and artistic center since the Middle Ages. In the seventeenth century, it's cathedral enjoyed a golden age that led to the transformation of it's Romanesque structure into a Baroque landmark. There, a polychoral style was abundantly cultivated, giving both solemnity and grandeur to religious ceremonies. Among the maestros that served the Compostela cathedral, José de Baquedano stands out. A Navarran composer who perfected his artform with Matías Ruiz at the Royal Monastery of the Incarnation in Madrid, he left a notable vocal legacy in Spanish and Latin after three decades of practice. Therein, his pieces written for Holy Week are especially remarkable. This recording offers a novel anthology of Baquedano's Latin work, with a selection of motets, psalms and lamentations written for two and three choirs, revealing the magnificent talent of this composer from Finisterre.

Produced by M. Ward - Owls, Omens, and Oracles is a transformative record featuring vocals from The Blind Boys of Alabama, and an excerpt from Valerie's book, Maps for the Modern World. This album is a full-circle moment, revisiting her indie roots while still pushing forward with an evolved sound. It centers on a joyful and spiritual outlook, celebrating growth and resilience - an album that is meant to inspire, heal, and unite people through shared emotions.