Vasquez / Ensemble Vandalia - Vasquez: Soledad tengo de ti - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

On this 1995 recording previously released on Accent, the vocal ensemble La Colombina presents a varied selection of mainly 16th-century Spanish vocal secular pieces. Starting with Juan del Encina, probably the greatest Spanish song composer of the late Renaissance, the programme also includes important works by Francisco Guerrero, Juan Vasquez, Mateo Romero and anonymous composers, in a journey that takes the listener well into the early Baroque. La Colombina is a vocal ensemble specializing in music from the Renaissance and the early Baroque eras. The group was founded in 1990 by four vocalists who also boast extraordinary solo careers- coprano Maria Cristina Kiehr, alto Claudio Cavina, tenor Josep Benet, and baritone Josep Cabre. The group's repertoire largely consists of music by Spanish composers, with the occasional foray into Italian or French music. The name of the group comes from the manuscript InchCancionero de la ColombinaInch that is kept in the Cathedral of Seville in the Biblioteca de la Colombina.

Along with the Canto del Caballero (GCD C80101), a vihuela disc also in the care of José Miguel Moreno, this was the first recording of the Glossa tag to be released, back in 1993. In a vivacious and colourful tour of music for the stage, tonos humanos and instrumental pieces from 17th-century Spain, the Ensemble La Romanesca (with the soprano Marta Almajano, the gambist Paolo Pandolfo and José Miguel Moreno, playing the guitar, as it's principal contributors) conjured up a legendary disc which continues being an unsurpassed recommendation and, we would even go as far to say, an unsurpassable one.

Donald Thibodeaux - Fred's Hot Step [COMPACT DISCS] date 10/21/1997