Alfonso X El Sabio: Cantigas De Murcia – Musica Antigua

Choir & Organ (Nov, 2017)
A clutch of medieval releases are crying out for recognition, as well as some celebrations of the 450th anniversary of Monteverdi‘s birth. I’ll begin with Eduardo Paniuga and his vivid band of singers and players continuing their exhaustive exploration of the time of Alfonso X ‘el sabio’ in Cantigas de Murcia and the double CD Cantigas de Ultramar. With spoken word as well as sung story-telling, their invariably engaging approach reveals depths of knowledge about this repertoire and its historical context. Cantigas de Ultramar with its oriental emphasis is particularly intriguing and evocative despite a rather boxy recording. …