Raval: Ricercari & Canzonette La violondrina & María Alejandra Saturno

• Sebastián Raval (1550 - 1604): Qual fenice morendo:
• 1 Raval: Qual fenice morendo 02:30
• Ricercar del sesto tono naturale:
• 2 Raval: Ricercar del sesto tono naturale 02:54
• S'el fuoco me lontan:
• 3 Raval: S'el fuoco me lontan 02:19
• Ricercar del decimo tuono:
• 4 Raval: Ricercar del decimo tuono 03:03
• Viderunt te aque deus per organum:
• 5 Raval: Viderunt te aque deus per organum 03:05
• Valor heroico son:
• 6 Raval: Valor heroico son 02:09
• Ricercar del nono tuono:
• 7 Raval: Ricercar del nono tuono 03:25
• Chiari zaffir son gl'occhi:
• 8 Raval: Chiari zaffir son gl'occhi 02:07
• Ricercar del primo tuono:
• 9 Raval: Ricercar del primo tuono 02:49
• Ondeggiavano a l'aura:
• 10 Raval: Ondeggiavano a l'aura 02:31
• Se per un solo scherno (Instrumental Version):
• 11 Raval: Se per un solo scherno (Instrumental Version) 02:31
• De stelle nelle chiome:
• 12 Raval: De stelle nelle chiome 02:01
• Ricercar del primo tono, trasportato in quattro fughe d'accordo:
• 13 Raval: Ricercar del primo tono, trasportato in quattro fughe d'accordo 03:53
• Corri alma mia:
• 14 Raval: Corri alma mia 01:50
• Ricercar del secondo tono, trasportato in quattro fughe d'accordo:
• 15 Raval: Ricercar del secondo tono, trasportato in quattro fughe d'accordo 04:23
• Dimmi se cieco sei:
• 16 Raval: Dimmi se cieco sei 02:07
• Ricercar del terzo tono naturale:
• 17 Raval: Ricercar del terzo tono naturale 03:20
• E come veggio la mia morte:
• 18 Raval: E come veggio la mia morte 02:37
• Ricercar del undecimo tono, trasportato in quattro fughe d'accordo:
• 19 Raval: Ricercar del undecimo tono, trasportato in quattro fughe d'accordo 04:02
• Total Runtime 53:36

Info for Raval: Ricercari & Canzonette

This recording fills a gap in our understanding of Sebastián Raval (c.1550–1604), a composer who has proved elusive to posthumous fame. Of noble origin, he was born on an unknown date in the region of Murcia (possibly in Cartagena). He fought in the Siege of Maastricht (1579) with the Spanish Tercios in Flanders, and, severely wounded, retired to Italy where he became a friar and worked as a musician.

Although musician–nobles were abundant in the 16th century, the presumption of a certain amateurism has marginalized them in the general historical narrative. Additionally, following a musical argument with Sicilian composer Achille Falcone, Raval was painted unfairly by partisan critics as arrogant and untalented, a view that persisted in Italian historiography, whereas in Spain he was largely ignored (most likely due to a career spent outside his home country).

Yet the canzonette on this album dispel any doubts about Raval’s talent. A light genre setting anonymous texts inspired by Petrarch in a madrigalian vein, canzonette – and particularly Raval’s – abound with themes of love. Although this genre was not inclined towards musical experimentation, there is a certain evolution from the classic canzonette of Orazio Vecchi (in the 1580s) to later examples by Luca Marenzio; Raval’s compositions, created in his pre-Roman period, fall at an intermediate point therein.

The choice of four voices with high tessituras and a baritone follows Vecchi’s style. Raval however uses a more imitative language, and in this aspect he is closer to Marenzio without reaching the latter’s declamatory style.

Not only is Raval’s book of ricercari the only one composed by a Spanish musician; its content reveals a rare contrapuntal ingenuity and a restless, innovative spirit that cannot go unnoticed. The volume reached us by sheer good fortune. Only one copy of each part-book was preserved in the archive of the cathedral of Valladolid. Thanks to this, today we can enjoy this rare music, not just for its artistry but also for its delicacy.

La violondrina
María Saturno, treble & tenor viols and conductor
Xurxo Varela, tenor
María Barajas, bass viol
Victoria Cassano, voice
Jorge López-Escribano , organ

La violondrina
Ensemble musical creation in 2018 by the instrumentista María Saturno. The versatile plant, the Violondrina is dedicated to the interpretation of repertories from the siglo XVI and XVIII, with special emphasis in retratar el ambiente y las histories de las piezas or en revisitar obras y compositores desatendidos.

The palabra 'violondrina', invented by the Chilean poet Vicente Huidobro, also played on the instruments, in the air and in the path of music.

In the summer of 2023 the agrupación grabó su primer CD, which includes obras de dos impresos (II primo libro di canzonette a quattro voci, Venecia, 1593 y Il primo libro di ricercari a quattro voci cantabili, Palermo, 1596), ofreciendo así el primer monographic de Sebastian Raval. With the principle of variation as norte la selection contiene piezas para consort alto (viola soprano, viola tenor y dos violas bajo) y bajo (dos violas tenor y dos violas bajo), a motete para órgano al cual se ha añadido la participation of the conjunto de violas y la instrumental version de una de las canzonette.

Booklet for Raval: Ricercari & Canzonette