Amoroso pensamiento · Loving thought
Spanish Music of the Golden Age (17th Century)
Under the title Amoroso pensamiento (a text by Miguel de Cervantes, one of the world's greatest writers) we present a very special selection of works by great musical personalities and texts by writers who contributed to the splendour of the Spanish Baroque. The Golden age is called the "Golden Age" of Spain because philosophy, art, music and literature flourished between 1492 and 1681.
Of the most important composers of this period, we have selected Juan Hidalgo (1614-1685), Juan Arañés (1580-1649) and José Marín (1618-1699). Most of these sung works belong to the category of "zarzuelas" (the Spanish homonym for Baroque opera). Zarzuelas were very important in 17th century Spain: famous composers and writers came together to create these works. The name "zarzuela" (not "opera", as in other European countries) comes from the fact that the first performances took place in the "Teatro del Palacio de la Zarzuela" in Madrid for the Spanish court.
The texts come from important writers of the time: Jorge de Montemayor (1520-1561), Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), Félix Lope de Vega (1562-1635), Luis Vélez de Guevara (1579-1639), Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600–1681) and Agustín de Salazar y Torres (1636–1675).
The three most brilliant musicians who composed for the Baroque guitar were Gaspar Sanz (1640–1710), Francisco Guerau (1649–1722) and Santiago de Murcia (1673–1739), 12 exemplary pieces of which are presented here.
Juan Hidalgo (1614–1685, Madrid)
Composer and courtier. He is considered one of the most important representatives of Spanish Baroque music. He was the first to compose zarzuelas at the court of Felipe IV and Carlos II and helped Madrid achieve a status in the theater world that could compete with Versailles or Vienna.
José Marín (1618–1699, Madrid)
Guitarist and singer. He led a turbulent life, was ordained a priest, was involved in thefts and murders, was convicted and banished for ten years. The gifted composer wrote an important compendium of 51 Tonos Humanos for voice and guitar.
Juan Arañés (*1580, Barcelona · †1650, La Seu d'Urgell)
He was Kapellmeister in Rome, where he published two volumes of Tonos Humanos and Christmas carols published, inspired by the picaresques of the Italian villanelle and the Spanish Chaconas After his return to Spain, he became Kapellmeister in La Seu d'Urgell, where he composed a large number of religious works.
Santiago de Murcia (17th–18th centuries)
He is one of the leading figures of the Spanish Baroque guitar, but there is very little biographical information about him. His first treatise, About how to play the guitar [On Guitar Playing], was printed in Antwerp. He traveled through Italy, France and Mexico, where he probably died.
Gaspar Sanz (*1640, Teruel · †1710, Madrid)
He studied at the University of Salamanca and spent long periods in Rome and Naples. He published an important work entitled Instructions for music for the Spanish guitar [Music Instruction for the Spanish Guitar], the third volume of which is entirely devoted to pasacalles para prelude [Prelude-Passacaglia]: It was customary to play these pieces to prepare for the vocal pieces that followed. His works enjoyed great popularity because they made the national roots particularly clear.
Francisco Guerau (*1649, Palma de Mallorca · †1722, Madrid)
He was cantor of the »Real Capilla« for 10 years and then became a member of the »Real Cámara«. He published the work Poema Harmónico for guitar, which made him famous. It marks a turning point in the development of guitar music and is exceptional due to its musical quality.
Isabel Alvarez
After studying singing and acting at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, she specialized Isabel Alvarez on the world of baroque, classical and contemporary opera, with titles such as Acis and Galatea by Antonio de Literes; The blessed brother, The Servant Mistress and Flamineus by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi; Il Trionfo del'onore by Alessandro Scarlatti (Doralice); Die Zauberflöte by WA Mozart (Pamina); Orpheus and Eurydice by Johann Joseph Fux (Euridice); Ulisse in Campania (Anonymous, 18th century); La Púrpura de la Rosa by Tómas de Torrejón y Velasco (Venus & Cupid); Iziar by M. de Oñate; Women shoes by Ángel Illarramendi (world premiere); L'impresario delle Canarie by Giovanni Battista Martini (Spanish premiere); La Didone by Francesco Cavalli, etc.
Isabel Álvarez has performed in numerous theatres, including the Teatro del Baraccano (Bologna), the Teatro Vittorio Emmanuele (Messina), the Teatro Arriaga (Bilbao), the Bordeaux Opéra, the Teatro Malibran (Venice), the Teatro Stabile (Turin) and the Teatro alla Scala (Milan). She has sung oratorios, baroque music and in recitals at international festivals (including in Granada, the Canary Islands, Guanajuato, Budapest, Antwerp, Liège, San Sebastián, Paris, Santander and Utrecht) and in famous halls and auditoriums, such as the Teatro del Baraccano (Bologna), the Teatro Vittorio Emmanuele (Messina), the Teatro Arriaga (Bilbao), the Bordeaux Opera, the Teatro Malibran (Venice), the Teatro Stabile (Turin) and the Teatro alla Scala (Milan). She has sung oratorios, baroque music and in recitals at international festivals (including in Granada, the Canary Islands, Guanajuato, Budapest, Antwerp, Liège, San Sebastián, Paris, Santander and Utrecht) and in famous halls and auditoriums, such as the Vienna State Opera, ... E.g. Auditorio Nacional de Música (Madrid), Auditorio de Zaragoza, Auditorio Alfredo Kraus (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Châtelet de Paris, Wiener Konzerthaus, Auditori de Barcelona, Schloss Eggenberg (Graz), Steinway Hall and Metropolitan Museum (New York), Pushkin
Museum (Moscow) or Teatro Real in Madrid.
She has worked with conductors such as Jordi Savall, Pierre Dervaux, José Rada, José Ramón Encinar, Michel Plasson, Gabriel Garrido, Carmelo A. Bernaola, Juanjo Mena, Fabio Bonizzoni, Emilio Moreno, Eduardo López Banzo and Fabio Biondi and has performed with the most renowned
Ensembles for early music: among others Hespèrion XX, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Al Ayre Español, Axivil, Capilla Peñaflorida, El Concierto Español, Accentus Austria, La Colombina, Sour Cream and La Europa Galante.
With her ensemble MAGIOS she produced and directed original performances such as El Carnaval del Conde (for the Count of Peñaflorida) or Don Juan, ay Ausencia with texts by Molière and Music from the Golden Age of Spain, which premiered at the Bolzano Festival (Bozen, Italy).
Isabel Álvarez has recorded more than 30 CDs for the labels EMI, Astrée, Philips, Fidelio-Holland, Elkar, NB-Records, Glossa and K 617, as well as for RNE, Radio France, ETB and TVE.
She is a professor of singing at the Conservatory of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Carlos Oramas studied at the conservatories of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Madrid and Luxembourg as well as at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg (Austria), under professors such as Olímpiades García, Joaquín Prats, Demetrio Ballesteros, Eliot Fisk and José Miguel Moreno. He was a prizewinner in the following competitions: Andrés Segovia (Santiago de Compostela, 1992), Concurso Juventudes Musicales de España (Girona, 1992), Villa de Laredo (Santander, 1992), Premio Extraordinario de Fin de Carrera (Madrid, 1991), Concurso Internacional Martín Codax (Málaga, 1990), Concurso Internacional de Guitarra Alhambra (Alcoy, 1990), Concurso Internacional de Guitarra de Comillas (Santander, 1989) and received the Réplica prize for the poetic-musical show Todo el Cielo by Unahoramenos Producciones
(Canary Islands, 2020).
He has performed as a soloist with the Symphony Orchestra of the Luxembourg Conservatory and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria as well as at various festivals: among others. Festival de Música de Canarias, Festival Rio Loco (Toulouse), Volos International Guitar Festival (Greece), WOMEX (Copenhagen), Festival de Música Antigua de Sajazarra (La Rioja), Festival de Música Antigua de Aranjuez, Festival Antiqua (Bolzano Festival Bozen ), Festival de Música Antigua de Daroca, Festival Musica-Musika (Bilbao) and Festival Universo Barroco (Madrid).
He has performed in Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Greece, France, Germany, Portugal, Luxembourg, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Spain and played in important concert halls, including the Cologne Philharmonie, Tonhalle Zurich, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Victoria Hall (Geneva), Großes Festspielhaus (Salzburg), Gulbenkian (Lisbon), Casa da Música (Porto), Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Teatro El Galpón (Montevideo) and Auditorio Alfredo Kraus (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria).
He made recordings for the labels Warner Music, Opera 3 (Madrid), ASV (London), Oasis (Madrid) and Multitrack (Tenerife) and performed with ensembles such as Camerata Iberia, Al Ayre Español, Bozen Baroque Orchestra, Harmonia del Parnàs, Os Músicos do Tejo, Galdós Ensemble, El Afecto Ilustrado, Orquesta Barroca de Tenerife, Ensemble Allettamento, Orquesta Barroca Casa da Música and with the musicians Paolo Pandolfo, Claudio Astronio, Eduardo López Banzo, Emma Kirby, Carlos Mena, Iván Martín, Isabel Álvarez, Jacques Ogg, Juan Carlos de Mulder and Adrián Linare.
Carlos Oramas currently teaches Renaissance and Baroque plucked instruments at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Canarias.