Batailla en Espagnol
CD Book + DVD

Ensalada was a Spanish term for a genre of extended musical work, vocal or instrumental or both, consisting of a series of contrasting episodes and covering a wide range of themes and topics. ‘Quodlibet’ or ‘collage’ would be near equivalents of the idea. Spanish renaissance music is a rich source of such colourful pieces, and the present recording offers two each from the 16th-century composers Mateo Flecha el Viejo (the Elder) and Bartolomé Cárceres. The best-known of these, and already recorded several times on CD, is Flecha’s ‘La Justa’ (the joust or tournament), a brilliantly vivid ‘battle’ piece with many unmistakable references to Janequin’s famous and oft-parodied chanson ‘La Guerre’. These reminders are in the form of frequently used motifs from Janequin’s masterpiece, as well as in the variety and changing mood and pace of the work. The sung text, ostensibly depicting a jousting contest, clearly uses the occasion as an allegory of battle between Christ and the Devil or, more generally, between good and evil. All this is performed by four voices – soprano Pilar Esteban, countertenor José Hernandéz Pastor, tenor Lambert Climent and bass Jordi Ricart – and a small but splendid band of period wind, string, keyboard and percussion instruments. All four singers are excellent, the soprano having a rather penetrating edge which works very well for this music, and all of them performing in exemplary period idiom. The Capella de Ministrers are a period-instrument ensemble based in Valencia, directed here with great verve and style by viola player Carles Magraner. They include the distinguished names of William Dongois on cornetto and Katharina Baüml on shawm. Twe lve instruments and four voices may not seem like very much, but players and singers alike perform with tremendous panache and can make a hell of a lot of noise for their modest numbers! The instrumental sound is rich and exciting, and percussion makes a vivid contribution. The result is that ‘La Justa’ is a brilliant success, the best rendition I’ve ever heard of Flecha’s striking piece. Especially notable are the varying moods within Flecha’s warlike subject – extending far beyond the excitement, bravado and triumphalism of the traditional battle piece but in addition, by the repeated use of Janequin’s emotive cadences, reminding the listener of the more ominous character of warfare, its tragedy and misery.

Of the three remaining ‘ensaladas’, the second in the programme is Flecha’s ‘La Viuda’ (the widow), in a similar format but in different mood with a text covering such varied fare as marriage, loss, employment, religion, mischief and agriculture. This is followed by the two Cárceres pieces, ‘La Trulla’ (hubbub) and ‘La Negrina’ (black girl), in similar vein and episodic in format with frequent changes of subject, pace and mood. The first of these, at 30 minutes, is the most extended work in the programme. I found these two Cárceres pieces less compelling than those of Flecha, with the noise, shouting and constant gearchanges getting a little tiresome after a while. On the other hand it is punctuated by numerous beautiful and exciting instrumental passages; these were the bits I enjoyed most, in fact, and they are played with wonderful improvisatory panache by the ensemble. There are also repeated and enjoyably varied Spanish rhythms and frequent references to other well-known Spanish melodies of the period, such as ‘Guárdame las vacas’ and ‘La Dama le demanda’. The CD is accompanied by a DVD. This brings us the same pieces, this time performed live in concert in a Valencia church. It is beautifully filmed, with many close-ups allowing us to enjoy the animation and commitment of singers and players alike, and the atmosphere and ambience of the concert is nicely captured. Subtitles are available in English and other languages, including the Spanish original of course, and this adds further to our appreciation. The DVD ends with a Pavana and Gallarda extracted from ‘La Trulla’, performed by instruments and some of the singers and with video clips of a dancer to accompany the music. Altogether, this DVD is a joy to watch and to hear, and an outstanding addition to the CD programme. The two discs come in a splendidly produced hardback book enhanced by magnificent illustrations – such as the battle fresco by Antonio Salviati which you can see on the cover – together with copious notes and documentation in Spanish and English. All texts are provided, together with excellent translations. There have been quite a few discs appearing over the last few years in this hardback, historical-context format; but this present one, produced with bold imagination and exceptional care, is certainly one of the very best I’ve heard. Above all, Mateo Flecha’s ‘La Justa’, in both aural and visual formats, should prove a memorable and richly rewarding experience for any fan of early music.

Stephen Midgley – Published on Amazon.com

Inmerso en el proceso de estudio del repertorio de este disco siempre me pareció más que curioso presentarlo como ensaladas. En un sentido general el vocablo hace referencia a una mezcla de hortalizas aderezada y en lo que nos atañe, su sentido figurado, a una composición poética que integra versos de otros poemas conocidos o que combina métricas diferentes. Así comprendemos el significado que encierra esta denominación en lo musical y que navegó por la historia arropando influencias del villancico hasta su consolidación como género de la mano de Mateo Flecha el Viejo.

En el ámbito musical, ensalada es el nombre que daban los músicos españoles del siglo XVI a una composición vocal polifónica en la que se mezclaban los géneros religioso y profano, idiomas o dialectos y otros componentes. De modo que en la ensalada musical, en lugar de ingredientes gastronómicos, se mixturan estilos y lenguas, amalgamando además lo cómico, lo serio, lo popular y lo épico. El resultado es un género literariomusical –y quizás escénico– propiamente hispano. Los estudiosos la relacionan con el quodlibet (del latín quod, qué, y libet, placer), composición polifónica alemana que combina diferentes textos y melodías populares en contrapunto, haciéndose también referencia a un estilo madrigalesco con elementos heterogéneos. Las ensaladas se cantaban generalmente en Navidad para diversión de los cortesanos, que habrían de disfrutar enormemente de la alternancia de sus ritmos, pasando de lo dramático a lo cómico y de lo pícaro a lo épico; y por supuesto con su representación escénica, si es que se representaban, transcendiendo así del simple entretenimiento con su mensaje crítico. La popularidad del género en la época la podemos ver incluso en El Cortesano de Luis Milán cuando en la sexta jornada le responde Doña Iseo a Don Diego: Vos no sois mi don Tristán, que pasó la mar salada, mejor sois para ensalada, de truhán.

El título de este disco, Batailla en spagnol, hace alusión a la denominación que ofrece Jacques Moderne a la ensalada La Justa en su edición de Lyon de 1554 (Le difficile des chansons. Second livre contenant XXVI Chansons nouvelles a Quatre parties). Pero no por usar ese título las ensaladas dejan de serlo. La originalidad del término para este género musical me provocó el interés por conocer la opinión de un cocinero sobre el aderezo entre música y gastronomía. Entonces, qué mejor que hablar con Ferran Adrià. Con su manifiesta sensibilidad para entrelazar los sentidos por la comida le entretuve una tarde para que me escribiese sobre eso, sobre música y cocina. Me sugirió el ritmo, la estructura y su ordenación en el tiempo.

Para el entorno social y musical de la Corte del Duque de Calabria y Germana de Foix, virreyes de Valencia simul et insolidum, y a sus ensaladas musicales, encontraremos el texto de Maricarmen Gómez Muntané.

Carles Magraner