Emanuele d'Astorga (1680-1757)
Cantate "Filis, que abrigas"
Cantate "Respirad, mas sea quedito"
Cantate "Sean, Filis, de mi llanto"

Juan de Serqueira (1655-1726)
Cantate "Oh, corazon amante"

José de Torres (?1670-1738)
Cantate "La picarilla mas bella"
Cantate "Por el Tenaro monte"

Cristina Bayon Alvarez, soprano
Noelia Reverte Reche, viole de gambe
Diego Leveric, archiluth
Federico Del Sordo, clavecin

Ce disque de musique baroque espagnole regroupe trois compositeurs du dix-huitième siècle pour un programme de cantates profanes. Il s'agit plutôt d'extraits de cantates dont les manuscrits ont été découverts çà et là en Allemagne, en Espagne et au Portugal. Une collection d'arias précédés de leurs récitatifs expurgés de leur source. De José de Torres (1670-1738), théoricien et auteur de nombreuses cantates, "La Picarilla mas bella" décrit le désir d'une femme de s'émanciper plutôt que de céder à un amour sans lendemain. Le style italien prédomine. Le texte est d'ailleurs noté sur les manuscrits dans les deux langues. Thème pastoral, arias guillerettes, accompagnées au clavecin. D'influence italienne aussi "Oh corazon amante" de Juan de Serquera (1655-1726), soutenu par un subtil continuo instrumental évoque irrésistiblement les œuvres similaires d'Alessandro Scarlatti. Emanuele Rincon d'Astorga (1680-1775), issu d'une famille de nobles espagnols, émigrés en Sicile, eut l'occasion de rencontrer Domenico Scarlatti à l'occasion de ses nombreux voyages dans toute l'Europe. Son seul manuscrit connu publié en 1726 est un recueil de cantates pour voix soliste qui évoque bien plus la musique italienne qu'une quelconque inspiration ibérique. Programme défendu avec brio par la soprano Cristina Bayon Alvarez. (Jérôme Angouillant)

Songs of love and loss by a trio of early 18th century Spanish composers, showcasing the vocal art of a distinguished early-music soprano. Cristina Bayón Álvarez has sung with early-music luminaries such as Christophe Coin, Diego Fasolis and Carlos Mena. She has also recorded a pair of warmly received albums for Brilliant Classics, reviving the sacred music of Juan Francés de Iribarren (95859) and Romantic-era songs by female composers (‘Boulevard des femmes’, 96729). For her latest album, Cristina Bayón Álvarez turns to 18th-century Spain, presenting for the first time on record a sequence of newly edited secular cantatas. These are all brief pieces, taking amorous and pastoral themes for their subjects, alternating recitative and aria, conveying the pain of a lover separated from the object of their affections, or rejected by them. One piece stands out for its relative modernity of sentiment: La picarilla más bella by José de Torres y Martínez Bravo (ca. 1670-1738), highlighting the contempt for love on the part of a woman who prefers freedom of spirit to the suffering caused by sentimental passion. The least unfamiliar of the three composers featured on the album is Emanuele Rincón d’Astorga (1680-1775), best known for a Stabat mater of plangent expressive quality. The affecting, Italianate vocal lines of this sacred work also colour the three cantatas recorded here: Filis, que abrigas, Respirad, mas sea quedito and Sean, Filis, de mi llanto. Astorga made his name outside Spain, though eventually settled and died in Madrid; Juan de Serquiera (ca. 1655-ca. 1726) was likely also active in the Spanish capital, though of Portuguese origin. Almost nothing survives of his life and work, which makes the survival of Oh, corazón amante all the more precious, especially since it demonstrates Serquiera’s skill at affective word setting. José de Torres y Martínez Bravo is recorded as master of music at the Royal Chapel in Madrid from 1697 until his death in 1707. Not least thanks to this distinction, much more is known of his activity, including a keyboard-instruction manual and a set of Masses dedicated to Philip V of Spain. As recorded here, La picarilla más bella and Por el Tenaro monte share the expressive flair and rhythmic energy of his vernacular villancicos. Taken together, the works here make an exciting addition to the catalogue of Spanish Baroque vocal repertoire, especially in such accomplished and stylish performances.