Christoph Kolumbus

An outstanding recording taking the listener to a musical journey through the lifetime of Christopher Columbus, featuring Italian and Spanish composers of Columbus' time.

The Huelgas Ensemble, under the direction of Paul Van Nevel, enriches the music world time and time again with outstanding recordings of discoverable works. So the press writes about his last recording "Paul Van Nevel now presents a quite representative excerpt from Plantin's publications ... This is truly emotional music making." (Fono Forum) With this album, the ensemble goes in search of the music that Christopher Columbus might have heard in his adventurous life. Paul Van Nevel has selected some of the most interesting and largely unknown works by Italian and Spanish composers from the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The album begins with the music of Columbus' Italian childhood: the completely four-voiced, homophonic carnival song "Visin, visin, visin" (anonymous) tells a joke about chimney sweeps. Especially the composition of Bartolomeo Tromboncino (about 1465 - after 1534) "Se ben or non scopri" is a true example of the Frottola tradition - the predominant four-part song form of Italian Renaissance music.

A pivotal moment for Columbus's encounter with Spanish composers was his meeting with Los Reyes Católicos in 1486, and thus his frequent visits to Ferdinand and Isabella at their various locations in Spain - Seville, Córdoba, Madrid and Valladolid. The repertoire of the bands of Ferdinand and Isabella consisted mainly of secular music, sung in vernacular and composed by autochthonous Spanish musicians. Noteworthy is the delicate simplicity of both the lyrics and the homophonic music. For example, the album features the intimate "Dime, triste coraçón" by Francisco de la Torre (circa 1460 - after 1504), "Alláse me ponga el sol" by Juan Ponce (circa 1475 - after 1520) and "La tricotea "by Alonso (late 15th century). A particularly striking piece is "Amor con fortuna" by Juan del Encina (1468-1529), who was undoubtedly the most popular Spanish composer during Columbus' lifetime. "De mi perdida esperança" by Juan de Triana, who sings in Seville (circa 1450 - after 1490) is a true example of the delicate melancholy trio, which was also typical of autochthonous music in the Spanish courts. When Columbus set foot on land after his last voyage of discovery in Spain, Isabella and Ferdinand received a visit in 1506 from Duke Philip the Fair, whose band included a number of composers a. a. Mabrianus de Orto (c. 1460-1529) and Alexander Agricola (1446-1506). It is almost certain that Columbus heard the music of these two composers. The Sanctus and Agnus Dei from the Mass "J'ay pris amours" (de Orto), and Agnus Dei from the Mass "Malheur me bat" (Agricola), sound at the end of the album with their rich rhythmic inventiveness, virtuoso vocal guides and polyphonic constructions around a Cantus firmus highlights of Franco-Flemish Renaissance music. Columbus should have listened in amazement!