ALBUM INFORMATION:

Concerto 1700, led by the acclaimed violinist Daniel Pinteño, sets a new landmark in musical heritage with the first-ever complete recording of Luigi Boccherini’s Six String Quartets Op. 22 (G.183-G.188). This ambitious project, released under the 1700 Classics label, brings to light a collection written in 1775 for the Infante Don Luis in Madrid —a repertoire that has remained largely overlooked and minimally disseminated until now. Recorded in September 2025 at the Auditorio Fray Luis de León in Madrid , this album captures the vibrant essence of a golden era through the exclusive use of period instruments.
Through the expert artistry of Daniel Pinteño, Fumiko Morie, Isabel Juárez, and Ester Domingo , the ensemble explores the richness of Boccherini’s “opera piccola” style. In these quartets, the composer moves away from the Viennese tradition to create a kaleidoscopic texture where each voice maintains absolute independence, allowing every instrument to shine as a soloist. This release offers more than just a performance; it is an invitation to experience an intimate and soulful musical poetry that solidifies Boccherini’s role as a visionary figure in Western European chamber music.

TRACKS:

1. String Quartet in C Major G.183 – I. Allegro molto [05:53]
2. String Quartet in C Major G.183 – II. Tempo di Minuetto [03:51]
3. String Quartet in D Major G.184 – I. Moderato [06:46]
4. String Quartet in D Major G.184 – II. Minuetto [03:01]
5. String Quartet in E flat Major G.185 – I. Adagio [07:06]
6. String Quartet in E flat Major G.185 – II. Rondeau. Allegro moderato [05:42]
7. String Quartet in B flat Major G.186 – I. Allegretto moderato [06:40]
8. String Quartet in B flat Major G.186 – II. Allegro vivace [02:49]
9. String Quartet in A minor G.187 – I. Allegretto con molto [08:12]
10. String Quartet in A minor G.187 – II. Minuetto amoroso [04:13]
11. String Quartet in C Major G.188 – I. Andantino [07:49]
12. String Quartet in C Major G.188 – II. Non troppo Presto [02:33]

ALBUM INFORMATION:

Until recently, there were hardly any references to the origins of the string quartet in Spain in musical literature. This absence has been partly due to insufficient knowledge of facts and sources. However, we now know that the genre enjoyed the favor of amateur enthusiasts, as evidenced by the numerous advertisements for the sale of quartets that were published in the Spanish press from the early 1770s onwards. Furthermore, a remarkable corpus of quartets has been discovered which refutes this misconception of the period. In addition to the numerous quartets by Boccherini and Brunetti, quartets by Juan Pedro Almeida Mota, Manuel Canales, Enrique Ataide y Portugal, José Teixidor, and José María Reynoso have survived, to which isolated quartets by various musicians must be added. However, despite the evidence of quartet cultivation on Hispanic ground, music lovers still have to overcome deep-rooted prejudices. One of them is the nationalism that has excluded from Spanish music history composers such as Boccherini or Brunetti, whose careers unfolded within the context of Spanish institutions. These two composers are precisely the ones who cultivated the quartet genre in Spain in the most intense and extended fashion, being Boccherini, moreover, one of the protagonists of its emergence and consolidation throughout Europe. A second prejudice lies in the central role that the Viennese quartet occupies in the canon of so-called “classicism”. According to a conventional view, the “true” string quartet, as embodied in Haydn’s Op. 33 and Mozart’s “Haydn” quartets, has characteristics that place it at the pinnacle of the chamber music scene. The string quartet would be characterized by having four contrasting and interconnected movements, the prominence of the sonata form, exhibiting a conscientious motivic work and giving the four instruments an independent and equal treatment. This model has served as a measure to evaluate the quartets composed during the second half of the 18th century. Quartets with two or three movements, which prioritize melodic allure or the juxtaposition of attractive melodies, that emphasize contrasts of timbre, dynamics and texture, or seek to dazzle through the virtuosity of the performers, are judged as immature or imperfect pieces. Boccherini, Brunetti, as well as other musicians who worked in Spain, chose to follow paths that distanced them from the model that is nowadays considered canonical, but are no less valid for that reason.

TRACKS:

String Quartet in C Major L158

1. Largo sostenuto – Allegretto [03:53]
2. Tempo di Minueto [03:41]

String Quartet in A Major L157

3. Larghetto espressivo [05:53]
4. Allegro non Molto [04:25]

String Quartet in E flat Major L160

5. Largo cantabile con sordini [09:39]
6. Allegro con Spirito [05:48]

String Quartet in G Major L161

7. Andantino con variazioni [06:06]
8. Allegro [03:47]

String Quartet in F Major L156

9. Allegro Moderato [07:01]
10. Rondeau. Allegretto [04:27]

String Quartet in A Major L159

11. Andantino con un poco di Moto [05:26]
12. Allegro non molto [04:23]

REVIEWS: 

“The enormous quality of the improvisations and instrumental arrangements allow the listener to recreate his or her personal imagination of 17th century leisure while feeling a timeless joy and excitement.”– Ritmo Magazine.

“The performance is simply dazzling, with Olivé’s superb percussion, Campanero’s strength, Zapico’s subtlety and the imaginative and virtuosic brilliance of a great Pinteño.” – Scherzo Magazine.

“An album that makes us dance, stomp our feet and feel alive” – El Cultural.

ALBUM INFORMATION:

Baroque music is perhaps one of the musical genres most prone to instrumental arrangement, variations and improvisation. Based on these three precepts, and using as a base some of the most popular melodies of the 17th and 18th centuries, Concerto 1700 builds an emotional journey through dances and songs of Ancient Spain, immersing the spectator in a baroque party where the intricate rhythms of the jácaras, the fandangos, the canarios or the folías alternate with the soft and noble harmonies of the españoletas or the pasacalles.
From a casual point of view, the points in common between baroque music and other more current music will be addressed in this unique jam session devoted to the most representative dances of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Spain and that were treated by composers from all over the continent.

TRACKS:

1. ZARAMBEQUES TEQUES after Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz (1626 – ca.1677), Santiago de Murcia, Diego Fernández de Huete (1650-1705) & Salamanca Manuscript (ca. 1659). [03:48]

2. CANARIOS after Gaspar Sanz (1640 – 1710) & Paul de la Pierre (1612 – ca.1692). [03:48]

3. LAS ESPAÑOLETAS DE MARIZÁPALOS after Gaspar Sanz & anonimous S. XVII. [05:04]

4. FANDANGOS DE NORTE A SUR after Stockholm Manuscript (ca. 1755) & Antonio Soler (1729 – 1783). [06:49]

5. YO SOY EL PASACALLES after Henri de Bailly (before 1637) & Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644 – 1704). [09:56]

6. LA JOTTA after Santiago de Murcia. [03:40]

7. EL QUE GUSTARE DE FOLÍAS ANTIGUAS PONGA CUIDO EN ESTAS MODERNAS after Gaspar Sanz, Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) & Salamanca Manuscript (ca. 1659). [10:11]

8. MARIONAS after Santiago de Murcia (1673 – 1739). [03:28]

9. EL BAILE DE LA CHACONA ENCIERRA LA VIDA BONA after Salamanca Manuscript (ca. 1659) & José Marín (1618 – 1699). [05:26]

10. RECERCADAS EN EL TIEMPO after Diego Ortiz (ca. 1510 – ca.1576). [06:40]

11. JÁCARAS DE LO HUMANO Y LO DIVINO after Sebastián Durón (1660 – 1716), Gaspar Sanz y anonimous S. XVII. [04:13]

REVIEWS:

“The disc is an absolute delight that has been taken care of down to the smallest detail.” – Ritmo Magazine.

“It is difficult to hear a soprano who sings with such expressiveness, technical mastery, taste and beauty as Ana Vieira Leite” – Scherzo Magazine.

“The interpretation of the ensemble is splendid, developing with imagination and rigor a basso continuo that is the perfect pedestal for the extraordinary soprano Ana Vieira Leite” – La Lectura de El Mundo.

“Ana Vieira Leite thrills and moves (brilliant in ornaments, vocalizations, sublime in cadenza); the nature of her voice rich in nuances, prodigious in the central register, we fall in love.” – Melómano Magazine.

ALBUM INFORMATION:

Domenico Scarlatti was a son of art: of the art of the opera house. By the time he was born in Naples, in 1685, his father Alessandro (1660-1725), who was far more famous than him throughout the 18th century, had been working for the music enthusiast viceroy marquis of Carpio for two years, as maestro of the royal chapel but mainly as an opera composer. He was required to compose three new operas each year, which were to be performed during the carnival period. In addition, he also received commissions from Rome and other Italian cities, as well as cantatas requested by aristocrats to accompany and highlight the conversazioni with which, at nightfall, they would entertain their guests. Ultimately, there was a lot of new music to compose, beyond what a single person could take on, which meant that the Scarlatti family had something of an industrial workshop for opera music. Domenico was raised in this context, witnessing the most important and in-demand musician in Italy continually composing for the best voices, those that the Neapolitan viceroys were eager to have at their service for the greater glory of their theaters and enhancement of their magnificence. This was Domenico’s education until 1702, when, in the midst of the turmoil caused by the Spanish War of Succession, his father chose to pursue – both for himself and for his son – a safer future in Rome. A mere three years later, in 1705, Carlo Broschi Farinelli was born, the most famous Neapolitan-trained singer of the 18th century and to whom we owe the preservation of the cantatas here recorded, as well as the corpus of 555 sonatas that made Scarlatti a part of history. They both ended their professional careers at the service of the kings of Spain, Bárbara of Braganza and Fernando VI (1746-1759).The chamber cantata, despite sharing its name with Bach’s most famous religious works, has little to do with them. It was, in fact, a laboratory for opera composers to practice their skills. Both genres started from the same creative substance: a poetic text designed to be set to music, to be sung. However, cantatas had a specific trait that set them apart from operas: they were directed to a knowledgeable audience capable of appreciating literary subtlety and musical sophistication. An example of this literary refinement can be seen in the text of the aforementioned cantata, signed by the most important 18th-century Italian poet, Pietro Metastasio. Farinelli was heir to this era, which he retrospectively glorified in his memoirs when, from Madrid (where he had arrived in 1737), he complained about modern composers obsessed with the beauty of melody and little versed (unlike Alessandro) in the art of counterpoint. We have no definitive evidence that Domenico composed these four cantatas for Farinelli, but we can be sure that the latter cherished them as emblems of the Neapolitan heyday that shaped him. Musicologist Malcolm Boyd noted that Farinelli’s voice was suited to the type of singer for whom these four works are intended.

TRACKS:

Se fedele tu m’adori. Cantata a voce sola con violini
1. Aria: Se fedele tu m’adori [07:15]
2. Recitativo: Tirsi, poi che tu sai [01:12]
3. Aria: Non è contenta l’ape ingegnosa [05:16]

Dir vorrei ah, m’arrossisco. Cantata a voce sola con violini
4. Aria: Dir vorrei, ah, m’arrossisco [07:04]
5. Recitativo: Qualor da te lontano [02:07]
6. Aria (Allegro risoluto): Quante furie ha il cieco averno [07:33]

Pur nel sonno almen talora. Cantata a voce sola con violini
7. Introduzione alla cantata: Allegro [05:18]
8. Minuet [00:47]
9. Aria (Andante Lento): Pur nel sonno almen talora [09:13]
10. Recitativo: Pria dell’aurora, o Fille [02:40]
11. Aria (Allegro moderato): Partì con l’ombra, è ver [05:04]

Scritte con falso inganno. Cantata a voce sola con violini
12. Recitativo: Scritte con falso inganno [01:07]
13. Aria: Che vuol dir que tuo non sono [03:50]
14. Recitativo: Dimmi, lingua bugiarda [01:10]
15. Aria: Vorresti, sì vorresti dal labro mio sentir [04:02]

REVIEWS:

“Concerto 1700’s luminous interpretation (…) delves into a very little explored territory of Spanish music.” – Scherzo Magazine.

“This album is a Spanish musical gem from start to finish.” – Opus Klassiek.

“An excellent disc, suitable for connoisseurs and also for audiences who are just starting out in the world of classical music.” – Melómano Magazine.

ALBUM INFORMATION:

Fortunately, the notion of 18th century Spanish music as a wasteland that can offer little of interest to today’s listener is being left behind. This dark picture has been painted based on a lack of knowledge, together with some deeply rooted prejudice on the “age of enlightenment” in Spain, which has been deemed by some as inspired by foreign works and lacking personality, and by others as a failed project with no drive. In recent years, performers and scholars alike have been joining forces to show the music of this period in a more positive light.

One of the composers whose work deserves to come out of oblivion is José Castel. Born in Tudela (Navarra) in November 1737, he received a typical Old Regime chapel master training.

Castel was a skilled and versatile composer who cultivated the various musical genres of his time, from church music to theater and symphonic repertoire. His sacred compositions – which include masses, psalms, misereres and lamentations, as well as cantatas and villancicos – are possibly the least studied part of his work, although they were acclaimed in his time, which is shown by the fact that they are widely scattered in various Spanish and American archives.

Following a common practice in chamber music collections printed at the time, Castel wrote five trios in major keys, and only one, Trio IV, in a minor key. We can observe in them great formal and stylistic variety, typical of a composer who was well versed in different music genres. François Lesure, a great specialist in the history of Parisian music printing, dated the volume around 1785, a date which we can, at least approximately, take for granted. The only known copy of the print can be found in the National Library of France.

TRACKS:

Trio I in B flat Major
1. Allegro spiritoso [06:32]
2. Larghetto [02:15]
3. Menuetto (Allegretto) – Trio [03:35]

Trio II in F Major
4. Larghetto – Allegro [02:59]
5. Menuetto (Andantino) – Trio [02:53]

Trio III in E flat Major
6. Allegretto Gratioso [05:27]
7. Larghetto [01:49]
8. Allegro [02:05]

Trio IV in G Minor
9. Allegretto Gratioso [09:34]
10. Andante Largo [02:38]
11. Rondeau (Allegretto) [01:29]
12. Menuetto (Andantino) – Trio [03:16]

Trio V in A Major
13. Allegro [06:02]
14. Despacio [01:56]
15. Menuetto (Andantino) – Trio [03:32]

Trio VI in E Major
16. Cantabile [02:47]
17. Allegro [04:11]
18. Menuetto (Allegretto) – Trio [04:00]

REVIEWS:

“These four cantadas receive an absolutely exceptional performance in this recording. Daniel Pinteño as conductor and first violin, Carlos Mena as solo voice and the other members of Concerto 1700, give the best of themselves and give us an unforgettable CD” – Scherzo Magazine.

“The performance is really energetic and precise: impeccable countertenor Carlos Mena, as well as all the members of Concerto 1700, conducted by Daniel Pinteño” – Rivista Musica.

“Concerto 1700 knows how to find the points of enormous expressive depth, as well as those of greater energy and vitality, in a balance of well-achieved tempi and an abundant palette of dynamic resources.” – Melómano Magazine.

“Carlos Mena […] showing technical mastery and expressiveness, with an always agile and effective coloratura, exquisite diction and a great command of the word.” – Ópera Actual Magazine.

“Countertenor Carlos Mena sings with his usual fluency, without fault or reproach. However, the real sensation of this recording is the excellent orchestra, Concerto 1700, which executes its exceptionally demanding part with a precision and naturalness that impresses.” – Bayerische Runkdfunk.

ALBUM INFORMATION:

«Don Antonio Literes, a most exquisite composer, and perhaps the only one who has managed to combine all the majesty and sweetness of old music with the bustle of the modern.»

Benito Jerónimo Feijoo, Teatro crítico universal (1726)

These were the words used by Friar Feijoo to refer to one of the most important Spanish composers of the 18th-century: Antonio Literes y Carrión. Born in 1673 in Artá (Majorca, Spain), Literes moved to Madrid in 1686 and entered the Real Colegio de Niños Cantores, where he was an interim music teacher from 1692 to 1694. In 1693, he became «músico de violón» (cellist) of the Real Capilla (the Royal Chapel), a position he held until his death in 1747. From 1709 on, Antonio Literes and José de Torres were entrusted with the composition of music for the Real Capilla, a task that Literes kept carrying out after Torres’s promotion to professor of that institution in 1720.

The sacred works of Antonio Literes, less known but of a quality comparable to that of his theater music, can be mainly found in Madrid, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Toledo, and Guatemala. The four cantatas for alto to the Blessed Sacrament recorded in the present album belong to the Historical Archive of the Archdiocese of Guatemala, which holds the cathedral’s music collections. Likely, these works were originally meant to be performed at the “forty hours” devotion that was held in the Real Capilla.

TRACKS:

Ya por el horizonte. Cantada al Santísimo con violines, oboe y clarín (1728)
1. Recitado: Ya por el horizonte [00:50]
2. Aria (Vivo): Suene el alboreada [07:04]
3. Grave: Ay, que si yo pudiera [01:00]
4. Coplas (Airoso): Si a gozar solo aspiro [00:45]
5. Recitado: Repite, ave canora [01:08]
6. Aria (Vivo): De su aplauso en el empleo [07:16]

Si el viento. Cantada al Santísimo con violines y oboe (ca. 1725)
7. Recitado: Si el viento busca el ave placentera [00:51]
8. Aria (A medio aire): Es el divino centro del hombre [05:44]
9. Recitado: Por eso ha descendido [00:50]
10. Aria (Vivo): Como alegres placenteros [05:09]

Cuando a pique, Señor. Cantada al Santísimo con violines (1733)
11. Recitado: Cuando a pique, Señor [00:53]
12. Aria (Alegre): Va zozobrando la navecilla [04:44]
13. Recitado: ¿Qué tiene que temer? [00:50]
14. Aria (Alegre): Llegue ansioso tu cuidado [05:53]

De aquel fatal bocado. Cantada al Santísimo con violines y oboe (1730)
15. Recitado: De aquel fatal bocado [00:45]
16. Aria (Amorosa): Pan de llanto y de dolor [05:17]
17. Recitado: Tanto transforma al hombre [00:30]
18. Aria (Vivo): Elévate a ese velo [05:43]

REVIEWS:

“The energetic interpretation of the three soloists is especially exciting” – Melómano Magazine.

“The blend is perfect, achieving moments of outstanding timbral richness in the faster movements, in which the precision in the entrances and endings should be praised”– Scherzo Magazine.

“Excellent interpretation with original instruments of Concerto 1700.”– Rivista Musica.

“The music is of fabulous beauty, especially in the more lyrical and restful passages.” – Ritmo Magazine.

ALBUM INFORMATION:

Gaetano Brunetti, also known in Spain as Cayetano, was born around 1744 in Fano, a city on the Adriatic coast then under sovereignty of the Papal States. He was already in Spain since at least 1760, aged 15 or 16, as in that year he took part in the auditions for the position of violinist of the Royal Chapel of the Madrid Palace. In October 1767, Brunetti finally got a position as a violinist of the Royal Chapel. After Felipe Sabatini’s death in 1770, Brunetti was nominated violin teacher of the Prince of Asturias, the future Carlos IV. In fact, this position meant taking charge of everything related to the music of the prince’s chamber: Brunetti had not only to compose new pieces for the academic gatherings of his illustrious patron, but also to select the repertoire and the musicians to perform it. After Carlos IV’s coronation in early 1789, Brunetti became a musician of the Royal Chamber.

There are currently 52 string trios by Brunetti (although we know of several more which have been lost), 29 of which are written for two violins and cello and 23 for violin, viola and cello. While Brunetti simply called the works for violin and cello “trios”, the pieces with violin, viola and cello appear as “divertimenti” in the sources. This term is used possibly because of their instrumentation, different from the usual two violins plus bass, more common at the time. It is also possible that it refers to the lighter nature of the divertimenti, which usually contain two or three short movements.

In the 70s of the 18th century, Brunetti composed 18 divertimenti, divided into three series, each comprised of six works. The first series (L133-138) seems to be dated 1773, the second series (L139-144) 1774, and the third series (L127-132) 1775. These divertimenti play an important role in the roots of the genre, as they were composed soon after Haydn’s divertimento (Hob. V:8), dated around 1765, and after Boccherini’s viola trios Op. 14, published in Paris in 1772. Later on, in 1784, Brunetti composed another set of divertimenti (L145-149), based on Haydn’s divertimenti, copied around 1783 for the Prince of Asturia’s chamber, which were in fact arrangements for violin, viola and cello from trios originally written for “baryton”.

Brunetti’s 18 divertimenti are a good example of the maturity as a composer reached by this musician already in the 70s, a consequence of his personal assimilation and deep knowledge of the music made throughout Europe. It is worth mentioning the beauty and lyricism of the themes, the independent treatment given to the three instruments, the skillful and well-implemented developments – which show Haydn’s marks – and the delicate textures and surprising harmonic effects, a clear influence of Boccherini.

TRACKS:

Divertimento in G Major L127
1. Andante [02:11]
2. Allegretto [02:53]

Divertimento in E flat Major L130
3. Larghetto stacato [06:18]
4. Allegro [03:38]

Divertimento in D minor L136
5. Andantino con moto [03:52]
6. Allegretto [05:43]

Divertimento in E flat Major L133
7. Andantino [08:17]
8. Tempo di Minuetto [03:53]

Divertimento in B flat Major L140
9. Larghetto cantabile [04:00]
10. Allegro [03:22]

Divertimento in D minor L142
11. Andantino Gracioso con Variazioni [03:47]
12. Allegro non molto [06:01]

REVIEWS:

“The choice of music is crucial because it sheds light on a moment of transition between the late baroque and the gallant and pre-classical style. The rest is done by the magic of the violin with its inscrutable, fanciful and imaginative flourishes.” – Rivista Musica.

“Brilliant, luminous scores of really important idiomatic demand for the violin, approached with energy and good clarity by Daniel Pinteño.” – Melómano Magazine.

“Beautiful pieces that emanate a unique distinction in the violin of this revelation interpreter, helped by an also excellent work of his colleagues of Concerto 1700 in the basso continuo”– Docenotas Magazine.

“All ingredients that make this music an authentic delight, a pleasant sample of the Italian instrumental art that frequently visited our borders” – Opera World.

ALBUM INFORMATION:

Nowadays, the Spanish National Library holds dozens of violin sonata collections by Italian composers published in London, Amsterdam or Berlin in the 1760s and 1770s. Their authors’ names might be unknown to a music lover nowadays but were well known by the public in their time. So much so that it is easy to find references to Italian violinists like Tartini, Borghi, Nardini, Ferrari or Barbella in concert chronicles and advertisements published by then-recent Madrid press in the second half of the 18th-century.

The question that arises is: how did these sonatas get here? The crucial clue to understanding how all these Italian collections came to Madrid is given by the seal of the Library of the Royal Palace of Madrid, which can be seen in the covers of all them. One can thus infer that these were collections that English, French, Dutch and German publishers periodically sent motu proprio to the Spanish court as a sample of the musical novelties that were being printed in other countries. Although one might also ask: were they ever played in court? It is a difficult question to answer, but in any case, these scores represented an open window to what was happening in the European music scene, a compilation of the tendencies and the great changes in style that were taking place at that time. For a short while, the last echoes of the Baroque, the Galant style and the first appearances of Classicism coexisted. This program gathers a small but representative sample of this important material composed between 1760 and 1777. An exciting journey through an imaginary border that gathers two thrilling times that are yet to be studied in depth is thus started.

TRACKS:

Emanuele Barbella (1718 – 1777)
Sonata VI from Six Solos for a Violin and Bass […] Dedicated to Arch. Menzies of Culdares (ca.1765)
1. Larghetto e con Gusto [03:10]
2. Allegretto [04:43]
3. Allegretto Brillante. Alla Francese [04:45]

Pietro Nardini (1722 – 1793)
Sonata IV from Six Solos for the Violin with a bass Op. 5 (1769)
4. [-] [03:24]
5. Allegro [06:23]
6. Allegro [05:17]

Eligio Celestino (1739 – 1812)
Sonata IV from Six Solos for the Violin and a bass for the harpsichord or Violoncello Op. 2 (1774)
7. Largo [03:10]
8. Allegro [06:58]
9. Minuetto. Andantino [05:25]

Luigi Borghi (ca.1745 – ca.1806)
Sonata IV from Six Solos for a Violin and Bass Op. 1 (1772)
10. Allegro [06:00]
11. Largo [03:24]
12. Rondeau. Andante Amoroso [04:03]

Felice Giardini (1716 – 1796)
Sonata II from Six Solos for the Violin and a Bass Op. 19 (1777)
13. Adagio [05:35]
14. Presto assai [03:50]
15. Grazioso [04:27]

REVIEWS:

“The performance does her full justice: Peña’s powerful voice sounds here more delicate and sweet than ever, and the instrumental accompaniment is at all times exemplary.” – Scherzo Magazine.

“Thanks to Concerto 1700, skilfully led by violinist Daniel Pinteño (as can be appreciated in the solo cadenzas) and the young soprano Aurora Peña […], four touching sacred cantatas in Spanish language are recovered” – Rivista musica.

“Valiant vindication of the figure of the Spanish baroque composer José de Torres (ca. 1670-1738) is undertaken in this exquisitely crafted disc by soprano Aurora Peña and the ensemble Concerto 1700 under the direction of violinist Daniel Pinteño.” – Opera World.

“Music of the highest quality, fortunately rescued from the archives with an interpretation that does it full justice and edited with care in a CD that is beautiful to the last detail. An example to follow in historical recovery.” – Ritmo Magazine.

ALBUM INFORMATION:

Despite being practically unknown nowadays, José de Torres was very prestigious among his contemporaries, which meant that his work circulated widely throughout Hispanic territories. It is thus not by chance that the four cantatas selected for this CD are found nowadays in the cathedrals of Mexico and Guatemala.

The late cantatas by José deTorres show the assimilation of the latest musical tendencies, alwaysin a personal and very original manner. While in his first cantatas, written during the 1710s, Torres mixed recitatives and arias with other genres from the late 17th-century Hispanic musical practice, such as coplas, seguidillas, graves, minuets, estribillos or fugues, in his late cantatas he chooses to follow the standardized pattern of a succession of recitatives and arias. In addition to this, the length and complexity of the arias become considerably greater compared to his first ventures into the genre.

TRACKS:

Reloj que señala. Cantada al Santísimo con Violines y Oboe
01. Aria: Reloj que señala [05:41]
02. Recitado: Ay, que cada minuto [01:19]
03. Aria: Aún en música sonora [11:26]

Sosiega tu quebranto. Cantada al Santísimo con Violines
04. Aria [Despacio]: Sosiega tu quebranto [05:17]
05. Recitado: Ya el enemigo infiel de los mortales [00:32]
06. Aria [Vivo]: De airados viento la unión, combatirán el poder [06:43]

Amoroso Señor. Cantada al Santísimo con Violines y Oboe
07. Recitado: Amoroso Señor, omnipotente [00:51]
08. Aria [Andante]: Quien todo es amores [06:00]
09. Recitado: Goza, goza dichosa [00:44]
10. Aria [Vivo]: Suave acento [06:04]

Murió por el pecado. Cantada al Santísimo
11. Recitado: Murió por el pecado [00:50]
12. Aria [Despacio]: El arroyo está helado [06:17]
13. Recitado: Venérente, Señor [00:36]
14. Aria [Vivo] : No tema el día [05:34]