Calendas,El Tiempo En Las Catedrles

Jerónimo de Carrión: Calendas - El tiempo en las Catedrales
Verso
(VRS 2008)

There was a time in Europe-and in Spain, in particular-where the cathedral dominated both civic and cultural life. An enormous quantity of music was performed in the Church, from stylized liturgical material to adapted popular forms of songs and dances. This disc is such a collection by composer Jerónimo de Carrión, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Segovia in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Calendas collection draws from three major holidays in the liturgical calendar: Easter, Corpus Christi, and Christmas. Even within these limits, it has enormous variety, from merry dances and cheerful celebratory songs to mournful, passionate laments. While the material is not strictly renaissance, listeners familiar with period religious music will hear much that is familiar here in the rhythmic structures, polyphonic vocal lines, and subject matter. (Note that English is not the first language of compiler Alicia Lázaro, so the lyric translations are, at times, somewhat difficult to follow. However, they are clear enough to indicate what each song is about.)

The instrumental accompaniments to these pieces is especially rich. According to the liner notes, Carrión was fond of instrumental music and included instrumental accompaniment to his songs as a matter of course. This is somewhat unusual for liturgical music, where the emphasis was traditionally on the chorus, but Carrión was an instrumentalist as well as a singer, and his affection for the accompaniment is evident. The Christmas selections are especially cheery and accessible, and would make a welcome change from the usual round of Christmas carols.
Overall, this CD offers a lovely exemplar of the sacred music of the age.

--Genevieve Williams