Search - Furio Zanasi, Jordi Ricart, Jordi Savall :: Christophorus Columbus: Paraísos Perdidos [Hybrid SACD]

A Fantastic Musical Journey

J. Poss | Pahrump, Nevada | 12/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jordi Savall is truly an artist fantastique. Everything he touches turns to gold. Here he gives us a musical journey through the 15th century Hesperia before and during the time of Christopher Columbus where peoples of diverse backgrounds lived together, Muslims, Jews and Christians. You see how slowly over that century a potential Paradise was lost to racial hatred and cruelty which was lamented in music and text. By selection of both text, secular and sacred, and music of that time, he paints a vivid picture of our past. He even includes pieces from South America using a Columbian Flute (Track 14 & 16 of Disc 2) and Quena and Amerindian Drums in Track 15 of Disc 2). Perhaps this was the music that Christopher Columbus heard when he first walked on the shores of South America. That reading is from an Aztec text,



"Do we truly live upon this earth?

Not for ever on this earth, only a short time here.

All things, even jade will crack,

all things, even gold, will break,

even the quetzal's plumage fades;

not for ever on this earth, only a short time here."



It's as if I were transported by time machine back to that time, I really felt that I had experienced the 15th century Spain and Christopher Columbus's advanture after listening to these 2 SACDs.



The music was so beautifully executed and recorded it took my breath away. The music includes pieces by Juan del Enzina, Johannes Corgago, Heinrich Isaac, Guillaume Dufay and original Hebrew, Muslim and Christian themes of the time. I listened to this Super Audio CD on my Denon DVD-2200 player in multi channel mode and it sounded as if I was in a huge basilica, in fact it was recorded in the Benedictine monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes in the Borough of Port de la Selva in the province of Gerona in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia (Spain) [...]



I highly recommend this SACD. It is absolutely a must have SACD. It teaches us that there is beauty in all religions and peoples. It also comes with a book with complete English translations of the spoken and song texts and several essays, and one by Jordi Savall himself.

"

Beautiful performances, BUT...

Maddy Evil | London, UK | 02/15/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This exquisitely presented 2-CD compilation aims to recapture something of the Iberian Peninsula's cultural diversity during the 15th century (with its Christian, Jewish and Moorish communities) and the ensuing impact of the discovery of the New World. The accompanying 271-page book - complete with detailed liner notes, song texts and translations, and several facsimile reproductions - is a veritable feast for the eyes. Lastly, the performances themselves are both varied and excellent, as one is accustomed to from Savall and his outstanding group.



So why 3 stars...?



For once, my gripe does not relate to musicological inaccuracies (although there are certainly enough of them on this release). Rather, my grievance concerns the significant volume of reissued material from previous Savall discs. Across the 2 CDs, this actually equates to a sizeable 51 minutes of music: 7 tracks taken from Alfons V el Magnànim: El Cancionero de Montecassino (AV9816 A + B), 2 tracks from Isabel I: Reina de Castilla (AVSA9838), and one track from each of the following CDs - Diáspora Sefardí (AV9809 A + B), Lux Feminae (AVSA9847), Carlos V (AVSA9814) and lastly Villancicos y Danzas Criollas (AV9834). Incidentally, this list does not include several other pieces which have also appeared before (albeit in different performances), sometimes in near identical interpretations (such as CD 1 track 22 - c.f. with track 15 on Isabel I: Reina de Castilla). Then take into account that, from the remaining material, a further 29 minutes is devoted to narrative/recitation - atmospheric and historically interesting perhaps, but probably of lesser interest to most listeners (who will presumably buy this recording for the music) - and you begin to see my point...



Wouldn't it have been better to make a programme which fitted onto a single CD (omitting a few of the improvisations and narrative tracks if necessary) rather than create a 2-CD set which reissues so much material...?



In all, whilst this would make an excellent introductory "portrait" CD [set] for newcomers to Savall, for those who already own most of his recordings (particularly Alfons V el Magnànim: El Cancionero de Montecassino), you might want to think again...

"

Exceptional collection. Words. Music. Performance

Bach Forever | Northern California | 04/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As with others in this series (Francis Xavier and Don Quixote), this is an exceptional collection. Several hundred pages of multi-lingual commentary (the English language version was extremely well done). An eclectic collection of period music and words performed in a manner unique to Savalli's recordings and Hesperion. This collection falls within the bounds of true rarities of unusual excellence. As a real fan of early music and history, it takes a special place in my collection alongside those on Don Quixote and the more recent work on Francis Xavier."