Search - Guillaume Dufay, Johannes Cornago, Anonymous :: Cancionero De Montecassino

Amazing Religious and Profane music from the 15th Century

ewomack | MN USA | 02/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The works on this 2-CD set all come from a single source: a document called "Cancionero de Montecassino" which is believed to contain works composed between 1430 and 1480. Somehow the document has survived down through the centuries; it was almost lost when the Abbey where it was stored was bombed in 1944. Luckily the document survived so that this amazing CD set could be recorded by the - also amazing - Le Capella Reial de Catalunya.This CD is the second in a series entitled "Musicas Reales", the first of which being "Carlos V" containing works mainly from the 16th century. If you enjoyed that one, then "Alfons V el Magnanim" will be a welcome addition to your CD spinner.There is beautiful polyphony, harmony, pieces for single and multiple voices, trumpets, violins, and much much more all packed into 2 CDs that run over an hour each (CD1 is over 71 minutes long, CD2 is over 74 minutes long, so you get plenty of music for the price). The musicians and choir are stunning, and the music will stick with you long after the CDs stop rotating. The first CD focuses on the Religious music contained in the Cancionero de Montecassino, and is thus more subdued and ethereal than the second CD which contains profane music from the same source. The second CD has some uppidty tunes and the mood is drastically different from the relatively more subdued first CD. The CDs together represent a wide range of the music of the 15th century. Alfons V made Naples his homebase, and from this city he attracted musicians from all over - what was then known as - "the world". Thus, this collection is really an amalgam of many styles and contains music sung in many languages. The CD booklet contains much information about Alfons V, the Cancionero de Montecassino, and the music on these CDs (in 6 languages, which is typical for Alia Vox). This collection is well worth the price and will reward many listenings for any fan of early Renaissance music."