Santiago de Murcia : Cifras Selectas de guitarra

   in Early Music Today (Mar, 2014)
This is a selection of pieces from the recently discovered manuscript ‘Cifras selectas de guitarra’ (1722). All are sets of variations on Spanish dances including the jacaras, cumbe, folias, canarios and passacalles. In the past, the ‘Spanishness’ of Murcia’s music has often been emphasised with added percussion and other effects; happily all the music here is played solo, as it was intended to be. Gutierrez adheres closely to Murcia’s tablature, although he incorporates into the pieces the matching strummed versions of the dances from the later manuscript known as the ‘Codice Saldivar’, and adds a few flamenco-like touches here and there. His unfussy approach to the music highlights the originality …