The Guerra Manuscript, which dates from the second half of the 17th century, is a collection of 100 secular Spanish songs with a vocal part and basso continuo. Naxos has undertaken recording all the songs in this important document, and its second volume in the series includes 17 songs performed by tenor Juan Sancho and the ensemble Ars Atlántica, which is made up of its founder and director Manuel Vilas, playing Spanish Baroque harp, and Eligio Luis Quinteiro, playing Baroque guitars. It's an exceptionally attractive group ...
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The Guerra Manuscript, which dates from the second half of the 17th century, is a collection of 100 secular Spanish songs with a vocal part and basso continuo. Naxos has undertaken recording all the songs in this important document, and its second volume in the series includes 17 songs performed by tenor Juan Sancho and the ensemble Ars Atlántica, which is made up of its founder and director Manuel Vilas, playing Spanish Baroque harp, and Eligio Luis Quinteiro, playing Baroque guitars. It's an exceptionally attractive group of songs that are richly melodic, harmonically direct, and unabashedly emotional. The songs avoid the florid vocal writing characteristic of middle Baroque Italian vocal writing in favor of a simpler style more typical of French songs of the period. Most of them are anonymous but a few are by composers like Juan Hidalgo and Juan de Navas. The majority have an earthy, folk-like character, and many have a rhythmic drive that identifies them as distinctly Spanish, such as Hidalgo's...
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