A generation ago, Baroque music of Latin America was mostly the province of specialists. Various musicians, notably the great Jordi Savall, have opened up the trove of manuscripts held in the region's cathedrals and libraries, but there is still much to discover. This collection of music from the Guatemala City Cathedral Archive, for example, includes many world premieres, and for this reason alone, it's worthwhile. It's also delightful, with many of the revelatory qualities found in earlier recordings of music from Mexico, ...
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A generation ago, Baroque music of Latin America was mostly the province of specialists. Various musicians, notably the great Jordi Savall, have opened up the trove of manuscripts held in the region's cathedrals and libraries, but there is still much to discover. This collection of music from the Guatemala City Cathedral Archive, for example, includes many world premieres, and for this reason alone, it's worthwhile. It's also delightful, with many of the revelatory qualities found in earlier recordings of music from Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, and so on. The pieces are both sacred and secular, and some of them inhabit a fascinating in-between space; indeed, one would hate to have to classify Rafael Antonio Castellanos' Vaya de jácara amigos either way. Dance rhythms run through the whole collection, and director Richard Savino, leading the ensemble El Mundo, builds things up to a truly foot-tapping finale. The African element is not as strong here as in some of Savall's examples from Mexico, but it is...
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