Spanish music history is largely determined by the eccentric location of the Iberian peninsula. Because the Pyrenees were a formidable barrier, Spain had relatively little contact with France and the European hinterland. The most direct foreign contacts were established via the Mediterranean sea routes and mainly concerned Italian cities and kingdoms. With Spain's economic and military decline in
… the 17th and 18th centuries, the country not only diminished its status as a European superpower, but its cultural ties also diminished. It was not attempted to restore it until the 19th century. Hilarion Eslava (1807-1878) was active in this field; this clergyman traveled all over Europe to learn about the latest musical developments. In fact, his music was a translation of European Caecilianism to Spain. Eslava is represented with two works on this remarkable CD of 19th century Spanish church music. Eslava's enthusiasm was clearly not shared by all Spanish composers of his time: in Nicolás de Ledesma's Salve Regina, unmistakable operatic traits can still be heard. The curious textual portrayal that Jesús de Monasterio (1836-1903) uses in his Qui manducat meam carnem is not an example of modesty either. In general, however, the music is quite calm here. A nice thing is that all kinds of church music is found from composers whose reputation is usually based on other music. This is how an O Crux by Fernando Sor (1778-1839), known for his guitar music, and an O salutaris by Juan Arriaga (1806-1826), of whom especially chamber music has gained fame. Just as nice are the contributions of Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909), Enrique Granados (1867-1916), of whom a surprising Salve Regina sounds, and Manuel de Falla, whose atmospheric Salve en el mar (Atlántida) concludes this CD. The repertoire recorded here is not spectacular, but the above-mentioned remarkable pieces and the good performance of the Coro Cervantes conducted by Carlos Aransay make this a very nice CD. (JvG) but the above-mentioned remarkable pieces and the good performance of the Coro Cervantes conducted by Carlos Aransay make this a very nice CD. (JvG) but the above remarkable pieces and the good performance of the Coro Cervantes conducted by Carlos Aransay make this a very nice CD. (JvG)more
