This recording, on one of a family of labels supported by a private-public partnership in Spain's semi-autonomous Catalonia region, is scholarly in nature, with the booklet notes bristling with phrases like "codicological evidence." It is nevertheless of interest beyond academic circles for the intriguing qualities of the repertoire it covers, in straightforward performances by Barcelona's 12-member
Cor de Cambra Dyapason, local vocal soloists, and a small group of instrumentalists. The music is drawn from the titular Cançoner de Barcelona (or Barcelona Songbook), which dates from the early sixteenth century. At first it seems to be misnamed; most of its contents are sacred pieces rather than secular songs. But listen for awhile and you realize that much of the music occupies a unique space between sacred and secular realms. There are simple pieces of a cappella Flemish-style polyphony, like the two pieces by Pere Cubells (track 27 and 28) toward the end of the program. There are zippy secular dances and songs. But many of the pieces are sacred works designed for amateur use, some by a small single-gender choir. They are simple and colorful, using what may have been popular melodies and joining the sacred and secular musical worlds by means of the rhetorical device of the shepherd, common to both worlds. The most frequently represented composer is Mateu (or Mateo) Flecha, who turns up in the priceless collections of African-influenced music from Mexico that have been heavily recorded. This disc gives listeners an idea of the ground from which that music emerged, and anyone fascinated by discs like
Jordi Savall's Villancicos y danzas criollas will enjoy this music even if it's not on the same technical level. The booklet notes are in Catalan, Spanish, and English, but the texts are only in their original languges -- Spanish (the most frequent), Catalan, and Latin. The track list is in Catalan only, but even those not conversant with that unusual language will be able to figure out such awkward-looking words as "sacabutxs" (sackbuts) and "xirimia" (shawm).