This recording provides an opportunity to discover a forgotten Baroque operatic treasure, a zarzuela, the key dramatic and musical genre of the Spanish Golden Age. Sumptuous choruses, poignant arias and folksongs blend in a rich and spectacular narrative, whose music was falsely attributed to Antonio Literes before Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) was acknowledged as its composer in 2009! Another peculiarity of the work is that it is sung by seven sopranos, who are even given the roles of Apollo, Neptune and the monster Triton. Only the part of an old man, the seer Proteus, is assigned to a tenor. Ana Quintans in the title role, Isabelle Druet, Anthea Pichanick, Caroline Meng and Cyril Auvity are among the cast of this colourful zarzuela, whose modern stage premiere in 2019 enjoyed great success.|
"The Forty Hours devotion is a mysterious celebration that consists of displaying the Blessed Sacrament on the altar for the time Christ remained in the tomb. In Spain this extraordinary prayer, lasting over three days, included siestas during which chamber vocal works were sung interspersed with instrumental pieces. Focusing on the music of Sebastián Durón, this album recreates the sound of one of these siestas using cathedral sources and the distinctive sonority of the dulcians. It mainly features tonos and villancicos, whose popular texts are a marvellous blend of simplicity and sophistication. The composer’s art undoubtedly lies in expressing religious emotion using the same means as profane emotion: we are in church and at the same time surrounded by nature, like in a poem by Saint Francis of Assisi." (prestomusic.com)
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