Missa Mexicana

I took a chance on buying this CD, having heard only the short selections on Amazon. But I've enjoyed this captivating collection for several years now, having purchased it in 2015. The engaging rhythms and sonorous melodic lines are sung by superb voices that blend with precise intonation and contagious enthusiasm. The album never fails to lift my spirits and leave me humming the melodies.

This is an amazing piece of work. I picked my FIRST copy of the CD up at a Habitat for Humanity Resale store on a lark. When I first heard it I was breathless! I did not even finish the CD before I had to share it with someone. I have now bought two more copies and will probably keep giving them to friends. Spanish baroque is not my favorite style but this is beautiful.

Wonderful Baroque music from Mexico. This is a good introduction to Mexican church music that was composed during the Baroque period, and could pass for it's European counterparts.

LOVE these sounds....could listen over and over..

Interest in New-World [Hispanic] music from the Baroque period has experienced something of a renaissance in recent years, resulting in the release of several excellent recordings. In this particular case, Andrew Lawrence King and The Harp Consort present a vividly atmospheric programme which centres around the 'Missa Ego Flos Campi' for double four-part choir by Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla (c.1590-1664), the maestro de capilla at Puebla Cathedral from 1629 and one of the leading Spanish New World composers of the period. Padilla's Mass is complemented with examples of secular music by his contemporaries - villancicos, jácaras, etc. The programme is very inventive, and the level of musicianship is consistently excellent throughout. From a historical perspective, however, several aspects of this programme are problematic, and it is difficult to know just how representative of 17th-century New Spain (Mexico) it really is. Padilla's 42-part choir, for example, is reduced to a handful of soloists (one-per-part), and whereas the 'tiple' (soprano) parts would originally have been sung by boys or male falsettists, here they are taken by women (although their singing is far superior, in my view, to that which any treble choir could achieve). In addition, whilst the use of a continuo group of organ, dulcian (bajón), violón and harp is well documented in capitular acts and other sources, it remains more speculative to assume that such an ensemble also performed solo organ music (such as the 'Corrente Italiana' by Juan Cabanilles [track 6]), especially since percussion is needlessly (and anachronistically) added to the mix here. Similar liberties are taken with the Santiago de Murcia pieces (tracks 3 and 9), which were originally intended for guitar(s). 'Cumbées' (track 9), for example, is arranged here for harp (which takes the 'punteado' [solo guitar] passages), guitars and African percussion, before being interspersed with pseudo-African scat-syllabic vocal improvisations, thus rendering the notated 'golpes' (percussive guitar hand strikes) practically inaudible. The underlying emphasis on an exotic sound world on this recording perhaps also explains why strange ficta and rhythmic changes are employed in Joan Cererols 'Serafin que con dulce harmonia' (track 13). Lastly, some of the interpretations are probably on the polite and stately side - the jácara, for example, was derived from an energetic urban dance, lascivious in character, and the term is defined in the 'Diccionario de Autoridades' (Madrid, 1737) as "high-spirited people who walked around at night making racket and singing in the streets." Nevertheless, in spite of these points, such musicological quibbles perhaps loose their significance given the strength of the performances. The interpretations are full of flair and panache, and the personnel line-up comprises some of today's leading exponents of early music (Ellen Hargis, Paul Hillier, Julian Podger...etc). Incidentally, if you've enjoyed this recording, you should also explore similar ones by Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI [ Villancicos y Danzas Criollas , Alia Vox AV9834] and Gabriel Garrido & Ensemble Elyma if you can get hold of them [in particular Fiesta Criolla (Bonus Dvd) , K617139 and Juan de Araujo: L'Or et l'Argent du Haut-Pérou , K617124].

Awe-filled music that I hadn't known from Spanish Colonial Mexico. A revelation for me.

With 'Missa Mexicana' Andrew Lawrence-King and The Harp Consort provide one of the most joyous and thought-provoking discs of early music around. For an album that is 'crossover' in the best sense of the word, they take a 17th century mass by a Mexican composer and juxtapose it with the popular music that inspired it. All of this music is gorgeous, earthy, elegant, sensuous and passionate. Not surprisingly considering that many of the pieces are dances, it will undoubtedly set your toes tapping as well as have you humming. In addition to the standard harps, gambas, bass viols, etc., that one would expect from music of this period, The Harp Consort also includes Mexican guitars, bajons, and even a conch and a rain stick! The playing and the singing are superb, and Lawrence-King not only directs the ensemble but provides wonderful accompaniment on the harp and psaltery. The sheer joy everyone brings to the performance makes it seem like a particularly successful jam session, even though it is obvious just how much hard work and research has been put into it. Mexico in the 1600s was a rich mixture of ethnic groups and cultures, and its music reflects this. The main influence is Spanish Renaissance polyphony (Spain at this time was in its musical golden age - the 'siglo d'oro'), but there is also help from Portuguese immigrants, Native Mexicans (Mayan), and Africans from the Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Puerto Rico. As well, there is constant tension between the sacred and secular worlds. The core of this recording is a 'parody mass' (that is, the polyphony has been reconstructed from previously written motets) by Juan Gutierrez de Padilla, a Spanish composer who emigrated to Mexico and became the choir director of the Cathedral in Puebla in 1629. This work is radiant and lighthearted and although more formal than the other music on this disc, is still heavily influenced by dance rhythms. Unlike in many mass settings, phrases such as 'bonae voluntatis', 'credo' and 'confiteor' are repeated as refrains. The accompaniment is also rather spare, relying primarily on guitars with occasional percussion. Each section of the mass is surrounded by popular songs and dances of the time which have lyrics based on religious themes, as was often done at the time to delight the worshipers - and assure their church attendance! Two tenors sing of goldfinches singing softly to the infant sun in 'Canten los jilguerillos', the vilancico (popular dance) that begins the CD. We later hear examples of one of the most popular musical forms of this time - the xacara, a particular type of vilancico normally in D minor and sung in backstreet Madrid dialects. 'Jacaras de costa', which includes the aforementioned conch shell and rain stick, is an instrumental variation in a major key and has the same theme as the vocal 'Los de queren de bon gusto' which it leads into. Like 'A la xacara xacarilla', this xacara, with the singers egging each other on ('vaya, vaya!' or 'vaya pues!') to keep dancing and adding more verses, is as much about the pleasure of making music ('Look at my nice new xacara which I will sing in Bethlehem!') as it is about the religious symbolism expressed within. Another common style was the Marizapalos, a romance which could have either a secular or sacred theme. 'Marizapalos a lo humano', a bawdy song about a priest's niece who goes to meet her lover, is full of sexual innuendo, but elevates physical love into something holy. In contrast 'Marizapalos a lo divino' speaks of the divine harmony of the seraphim and has a melody very reminiscent of the main theme from Joaquin Rodrigo's 'Fantasia alla gentilhombre' - I wouldn't be surprised if it was one of Rodrigo's sources! There is also a lovely instrumental variation ('Diferencias sobre marizapalos') on this theme. Some of the most interesting music on this disc doesn't have obviously 'Hispanic' origins. The 'Corriente Italiano', a broad, elegant and courtly instrumental dance of Italian origin, is made Spanish by syncopation, and is my favorite track on the disc. From Africa come 'Cumbees', a call and response (variations on the word 'cumbe') puctuated by heavy drums, and the negrilla, 'A siolo flasiquiyo' depicts a group of African musicians who are celebrating the baby Jesus, but have to be careful to not play so loud that they wake Him! Some of the lyrics here are admittedly a bit too 'minstrel show' for 21st century audiences, but the music is still gorgeous, particularly the exuberant refrain 'Tumbucutu, cutu, cutu'. The CD comes to a breathtaking finish with the guaracha 'Convidando esta noche', where the final, ecstatic 'Ay, ay, ay!' will linger long after it ends. The thick booklet is illustrated with skeletons to recall the Mexican 'Day of the Dead' tradition, and contains full Latin and Spanish texts and English and French translations, as well as websites if you want other languages. Lawrence-King contributes an essay detailing the historical background and structure of the music and lyrics. There is also a CD insert that indicates which musicians are playing in which selections, although it is a pity they do not identify the actual INSTRUMENTS played, as each musician plays several. 'Missa Mexicana' is music-making of the highest integrity and not to be missed. In addition to adventurous classical music lovers, I would also recommend this disc to people coming from the 'other side', that is those who may not be particularly fond of classical music but who like more 'traditional' Mexican and Latin American sounds. Either way, this is one of the most original, imaginative, and fun discs I've heard in a long time, and it deserves to be a huge bestseller.

I bought this quite extraordinary CD at the behest of my wife, who was singing the mass Ego flos campi by one Juan Gutierrez de Padilla (c1590-1664) on a music course. She loves this disc and so do I! The mass is the centrepiece of a CD in which Renaissance mass settings and Latin motets rub shoulders with secular entertainments and popular songs. Padilla’s “parody” mass is touched by the secular dance music and songs that surround it and the influence of the exotic rhythms of the New World and the rich harmonies of African music can clearly be heard. My wife in fact prefers the “other” pieces, loving the driving rhythms and sparkling syncopations of the songs dances taken from popular culture. The splendidly clear recording was made in the Abbey of Saint-Michel-en-Thiérache in 2000. The presiding genius over the whole enterprise was the baroque-harp virtuoso Andrew Lawrence-King and a set of six Veracruz baroque guitars were specially constructed for the project; they form part of the largely improvised continuo. A fellow reviewer has commented on the “trained” rather than “authentically raw” voices of the singers here; this may well be true, but the performances here are anything but bland and the whole disc is an undeniably exciting aural experience...and tremendous fun!

La missa creola est connue, la missa mexicana l'est beaucoup moins et pourtant, elle mérite de l'être. L'alternance entre musiques traditionnelles et compositions liturgiques surprend mais les deux se répondent. De très beaux choeurs chargés d'émotion et de passion

Un clásico barroco indispensable, para escuchar en la máxima tranquilidad y sin interrupciones. El vendedor, excelente. De gran amabilidad.

Nachdem ich schon seit 15 Jahren "Luz Y Norte" vom The Harp Consort besitze und diese CD bis heute sehr liebe, habe ich nun auch die CD "Missa Mexicana" erstanden. Und ich bin total begeistert. Das ist eine wunderschöne, betörende Musik, die auf Anhieb eine Spitzenposition in meiner umfangreichen Sammlung alter Musik errungen hat. Jedem, der Alte Musik liebt, kann ich diese Einspielung nur wärmstens empfehlen. Auch die Klangqualität ist hervorragend und bereitet auf einer high-endigen Stereoanlage großes Vergnügen.

I love choral music, but had not been exposed to this piece until I heard it on satellite radio, upon which I immediately ordered the CD. And what a delight it is. In a brief description, this is a mix between traditional liturgical mass music and Latin music, mixed together in a delightful way. No, this isn't a massive Requiem or similar piece from European composers, but it's a wonderful change of pace for choral fans. I was thoroughly delighted listening through. The performers do a superb job, the music is a wonderful mix, and the entire experience puts a smile on my face. Not what I expected from a Mass, but without doubt one of the better surprises in CDs I've recently ordered. Out of the ordinary, for sure, but in a good way. You'll likely enjoy this just as much as I did, if you're willing to listen with an open mind.