The archives of the great cathedrals of Mexico, and in other parts of New Spain, have only recently begun to yield their treasures, and this release by the small vocal group The Queen's Six covers not only familiar composers of the Spanish Counter-Reformation like Victoria and Guerrero but also some names that will be unfamiliar to many listeners, like Miguel Mateo de Dallo y Lana, composer of the stirring Laudate Dominum with which this album of Journeys to the New World concludes. The Queen's Six do not venture into some ...
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The archives of the great cathedrals of Mexico, and in other parts of New Spain, have only recently begun to yield their treasures, and this release by the small vocal group The Queen's Six covers not only familiar composers of the Spanish Counter-Reformation like Victoria and Guerrero but also some names that will be unfamiliar to many listeners, like Miguel Mateo de Dallo y Lana, composer of the stirring Laudate Dominum with which this album of Journeys to the New World concludes. The Queen's Six do not venture into some of the more colorful aspects of the repertory, such as the African-influenced pieces recorded by Jordi Savall and company, instead, sticking to sacred cathedral music. Some of the music was composed in Spain, some in Mexico; while the entire New World is referenced in the title, it is Mexican music that is performed here. Much of the program has the dark hue and deliberate pace characteristic of the Spanish repertory, and there are some very powerful examples: try the stark, riveting...
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