Music of the Spanish Renaissance – Shirley Rumsey, Naxos Early Music (CD)

Vadonatúj! Gyári csomagolásban! Fóliázott! Mint a képen! Vásároljon bizalommal! Foliaban! Brand new! Factory packaged! As pictured! Buy with confidence!

Product Details

• UPC: 4891030506145
• Catalogue Number: 8.550614
• Series: Naxos Early Music / Alte Musik
• Composers: Various (Estavan Daza, Luis de Narváez, Miguel de Fuenllana, Luis Milán, Diego Pisador, Alonso Mudarra, Enríquez de Valderrábano, and anonymous works)
• Performer: Shirley Rumsey (voice, vihuelas, lute, Renaissance guitar)
• Release Year: 1993 (recorded 1–3 December 1991)
• Genre: Classical – Early Music/Renaissance
• Country of Producing: Germany

Product Features

• Format: Audio CD, DDD (fully digital recording)
• Total playing time: 56:41
• Instrumentation: voice with vihuelas, lute, and Renaissance guitar
• Cover artwork: portrait of Shirley Rumsey by Jonathan Rose

Overview

The vihuela is one of early music's great might-have-beens — a guitar-shaped Spanish relative of the lute that produced a genuinely rich solo and song repertoire in the 16th century, then largely vanished from history as the guitar took over. This disc is a real showcase for that repertoire, drawing on the great vihuelista composers — Narváez, Milán, Mudarra, Fuenllana, Valderrábano — whose printed collections preserve some of the most sophisticated instrumental writing of the Spanish Renaissance. Shirley Rumsey plays and sings this material herself, moving between vihuela, lute, and Renaissance guitar as the pieces demand, with a light, unaffected vocal delivery well suited to music that was often intimate, courtly entertainment rather than grand performance. The mix of anonymous folk-adjacent songs (several drawn from the Uppsala songbook) alongside more elaborate courtly fantasias gives a genuinely broad picture of the era rather than a narrow specialist's selection. Recorded at St. Andrew's Church in Toddington, this is a rewarding entry point into a repertoire most classical listeners never encounter outside dedicated early-music circles.

Interesting Facts

• The vihuela was a guitar-shaped, lute-tuned instrument unique to Renaissance Spain and Portugal, distinct from both the lute and the modern guitar.
• Several songs on this disc are drawn from the Uppsala Songbook (Cancionero de Uppsala), a rare surviving printed collection of Spanish villancicos now held in Sweden.
• Luis de Narváez, Luis Milán, and Alonso Mudarra were among the first composers anywhere to publish printed music specifically for a plucked string instrument, helping establish the vihuela repertoire in print.
• Shirley Rumsey performs both the vocal and instrumental parts herself across the disc, a demanding combination given the era's intricate accompaniment style.
• The cover is itself a portrait of the performer, painted by Jonathan Rose, rather than a historical artwork — an unusual choice for this Naxos series.

Track Listing

1. Fa-la-la-lan-le-ra (Anon./Uppsala) – 2:48
2. Quien te hizo, Juan Pastor (Estavan Daza) – 3:33
3. Fantasia (Luis de Narváez) – 1:53
4. Yo me soy la morenica (Anon./Uppsala) – 1:54
5. Soy serranica (Anon./Uppsala) – 2:23
6. Guardame las vacas (Anon.) – 2:19
7. De Antequera sale el moro (Miguel de Fuenllana) – 3:13
8. Fantasia – 1:43
9. Fantasia – 1:56
10. Ay luna que reluces (Anon.) – 1:58
11. Duo de contrapunto (Miguel de Fuenllana) – 3:09
12. Pavanilla (Anon., Simancas M.S.) – 0:46
13. La moreda (Anon., Simancas M.S.) – 1:04
14. Vos me matastes (Miguel de Fuenllana) – 1:53
15. Fantasia VIII (Luis Milán) – 2:44
16. La mañana de San Juan (Diego Pisador) – 4:55
17. Morenica, dame un beso (Miguel de Fuenllana) – 2:00
18. Conde Claros (Anon./Morlaye) – 3:37
19. Gritos dava la morenica so el olivar (Estavan Daza) – 1:32
20. Con que la lavare (Miguel de Fuenllana) – 2:53
21. Tiento (Alonso Mudarra) – 1:46
22. Soneto I (Enríquez de Valderrábano) – 2:02
23. Soneto II (Enríquez de Valderrábano) – 1:29
24. Si la noche haze escura (Diego Pisador) – 3:11

Publishers

Naxos, part of the Naxos Music Group, recorded at St. Andrew's Church, Toddington, Gloucestershire (producer Christopher Wilson, engineer John Taylor, music notes Antonio Corona-Alcalde and Shirley Rumsey).

Enjoyed it? A quick review helps other early-music collectors decide.