The repertory of the Spanish vihuela from the 16th century remains little investigated, partly because few original instruments exist; when vihuela works appear on recordings they are often played on the lute or guitar. This is a shame, for the instrument has its own sound and a repertory (albeit one that often claimed playability on various instruments) that exploited that sound. The vihuela is large, with six pairs of strings running up a large body and long neck, and the music on this album exploits the instrument's rich sonority and capability for ornamentation rather than the rapid runs, called redobles in Spanish, that are characteristic of music for other plucked stringed instruments. This album was issued in 1992 on the Glossa label; beautifully recorded, it still had little competition when reissued in 2010. Six composers are represented, most of them quite obscure: Luys Venegas de Henestrosa, Miguel de Fuenllana,
Diego Pisador, Antonio de Cabezón, Enríquez de Valderrábano, and Luys Milán, and there is one anonymous set of diferencias (variations). The genre situation is fluid in this repertory (for instance, there's some evidence that any work not based on a preexisting vocal model might be considered a "fantasía"), but generally speaking there are three basic types: intabulations of vocal pieces, which might involve elaboration and be called a "glosa" or gloss; diferencias; and dance pieces, often on Italian lute models. The glosas are fancier and more ornamented than you might think; sample Fuenllana's Glosa sobre Tan que vivray (Claudin de Sermisy's Tant que vivray, track 5, for a piece based on a familiar Renaissance song). The diferencias, on the other hand, are reflective and subtle rather than fiery, except for the Cabezón pieces, which were keyboard works, and, though theoretically suited to the vihuela, too, take some doing to play this way. For the casual listener it's a lot of vihuela, but ornamentation and the occasional pungent harmonic detail provide variety. The engineering remains a major strong point; recorded in the Villa Consuelo in the Spanish town of San Lorenzo del Escorial, the vihuela is in an environment close to the ones where the music was originally heard, and it is clear and immdiate without being overbearing. A worthwhile release, especially for those with an interest in this and similar repertories.