Composer: Francisco Correa de Arauxo, Juan Bautista José Cabanilles, Francesc Valls
Performer: Matthew Martin, The Choir of Keble College Oxford, Academy of Ancient Music
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: AAM Records
Catalogue: AAM008
Release: 2020
Size: 720 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Valls: Missa Regalis
01. I. Kyrie
02. II. Gloria
03. Correa de Arauxo: Tiento y discurso de segundo tono
Valls: Missa Regalis
04. III. Credo
05. Cabanilles: Tiento de falsas
Valls: Missa Regalis
06. IV. Sanctus
07. Correa de Arauxo: Tiento de medio registro de tiple de septimo tono
Valls: Missa Regalis
08. V. Agnus Dei
Much of the music of Baroque Spain remains obscure, despite the fact that many Spanish composers of a previous era – Cabazón, Arouxo and Cabinilles – have retained greater notoriety. During the 16th century, Spain benefitted from a rich musical interchange with Italy, but that ran drier by the end of the century and musical influences faded. Spanish music continued to develop from its own resources and the voice of Francisco Valls stands out in this newly arrived “Baroque” era in Spain. Based in Barcelona, he is best known for various theatrical works and his Missa Scarla Aretina (1702), a controversial mix of old and new, infamous for its flagrant disregard of various established musical practices. The Choir of Keble College is delighted to collaborate with the Academy of Ancient Music to bring to life another important work, Valls’ “forgotten” Missa Regalis (1740) in a new edition by Simon Heighes, unlikely to have been heard since part way through the 18th century. Although smaller scale than his earlier Missa Scarla Aretina, it is a refreshing (and sometimes fascinatingly illogical) combination of ancient and “modern”. We hope that this recording, and Simon’s new edition of the score, encourages further performances of this piece along with greater interest into the life and works of this somewhat unconventional musician.
This AAMRecords’ latest release, with the Academy of Ancient Music joining forces with The Choir of Keble College and director Matthew Martin, is a landmark recording of Francisco Vall’s ‘forgotten’ Missa Regalis [1740]. Performed from a new edition by Simon Heighes, Valls’ fascinating (and frequently confusticating) juxtaposition of ancient and ‘modern’ compositional styles provides a intriguing glimpse into the treasure-trove of Spanish baroque music, much of which remains relatively unknown to the wider world.
The movements of the Missa Regalis are here interspersed with earlier keyboard works by both Francisco Corrêa de Arouxo and Juan Cabinilles. Director Matthew Martin writes: ‘there has been no attempt to create any particular formal liturgical sequence here, rather to place the Mass within a broader musical context using a style of keyboard writing most likely to have been familiar to Valls and his contemporaries.’ These organ pieces were recorded on the Aubertin organ in St. John’s College, Oxford and overlaid with Keble Chapel’s acoustic.