What is it that makes music from Spain so special? A certain "no sé quien," perhaps? The strumming of a Spanish guitar or the exciting rhythms of folk dance? Or is Spain's unique musical history more complex?
Some of the earliest Spanish music manuscripts come from two very important destinations in northern Spaint: the shrine to Mary at the Benedictine monastery at Montserrat, and the assumed burial place of the apostle James at Compostela. The monastery at Montserrat, built in the 9th century, produced an early 15th century collection of music entitled the "Llibre Vermell."
For examples of the pieces contained in the Llibre Vermaell, check out ensemble Gothart's CD, Optimi de..., and the Unicorn Ensemble's release entitled The Black Madonna.
Watch a video of ensemble Gothart performing a track off of their latest album of Balkan music, Rakioactive:
Until they were driven out by Queen Isabella in 1492, Sephardic Jews were an important component of Spanish society. Echoes of their culture continue to ring in Spanish musical traditions. Moroccan vocalist Françoise Atlan performs on the CD release from Buda Musique, Sephardic Songs: Noches.
The shrine of Santiago de Compostela is set in Galicia, whose culture was heavily influenced by the Celts. Listen for the fusion of these two cultures on the CD release from the Galician band Milladoiro entitled Castellum Honesti: Celtic Music from Spain.
The guitar and its native Spanish relative, the vihuela, were important instruments in the Renaissance and Baroque. Composer and performer Alonso Mudarra was known for combining the Spanish musical idea of the "fantasía" with the Portuguese "folia." Nigel North and Maggie Cole perform music by Mudarra on the recording from Amon Ra records, Renaissance, Baroque and Classical Guitars.
While guitar may be the first instrument to come to mind when thinking of Spanish music, the harp was also a prominent instrument, both in solo repertoire and as a part of the basso continuo. Andrew Lawrence-King directs the Harp Consort on the CD entitled El Arte de Fantasía.
Thirteenth century King Alfonso of Spain proved he devotion to the Virgin Mary by commissioning serveral manuscripts of songs in her honor. Many of these songs alternate between duple and triple meters, a common compositional characteristic of the time. German ensemble Oni Wytars demonstrates this characteristic on their release entitled Amar e Trobar.
An important form in early Spanish music was the variation set, known to Spanish composers as tientos, differencias, or gloasas. It was particularly popular in Spin to use a psalm-tone as the theme. The Accentus Ensemble performs on the Naxos release, Cabezon: Tientos y Glosados.
Perhaps the most charming of Spanish forms is the villancico, a rustic verse-and-refrain song. Ensemble Zorgina performs some of these catchy tunes on their release entitled Polyphonics.
Finally, the chromaticism that figures prominently in much Spanish music may have come from either Sephardic or Muslim musical influence. Few composers elsewhere in Europe embraced chromaticism with quite the enthusiasm of Spaniard Antonio Soler. Gilbert Rowland performs a selection of Soler's flirtatious sonatas on the CD from Naxos records, Soler: Sonatas for Harpsichord.
