Another of the great veterans of Spanish early music released an extraordinary album at the end of 2023: “Procesional de Sixena.” With four female singers (Èlia Casanova, Beatriz Lafont, Laia Blasco, and Maria Morellà), absolutely transfigured, and the support of a harp (Robert Cases) and a fiddle (the director’s own), Carles Magraner has achieved with his Capella de Ministrers one of those musical milestones that linger in memory for the serene, timeless beauty that the music conveys. It is an approach to the repertoire of the nuns of the Royal Monastery of Sijena (Huesca) based on the only preserved musical source, the exceptional “Procesional de Sijena,” crafted in the 14th and 15th centuries, which includes chants for different moments of the liturgical year. Here, three are summarized: the day of St. John the Baptist, the Mandatum of Holy Thursday, and Easter, where Gregorian chants blend with some polyphonies and instrumental interludes from the Codices of Las Huelgas and Madrid.
NOVEDADES DISCOGRÁFICAS. Diario de Cádiz, Pablo J. Vayón . 07/01 2024
