Baset writes the rare note "Allegro con valentía" at the beginning of his 10th symphony. It seems to be a declaration of intent when it comes to realizing his compositions, which is far removed from the fashion of Italian imitation. A breathtaking, experimental, courageous music that drinks from the theatrical effects of a fascinating time full of chiaroscuro (light and dark). A new work on the European music scene that demands an uncompromising, imaginative interpretation. Courageous! Forma Antiqva, directed by Aarón Zapico, nourished by the best generation of Spanish musicians, deals with the important phase of Spanish Baroque music in an ideal time of growth and development.

 

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Three brothers named Zapico -- Aarón, Pablo, and Daniel -- are part of the early music group Forma Antiqua (or, Antiqva); they appear here by themselves in a program of "Iberian-Italian" Baroque dance music, a genre whose influence stretched as far north as mid-Germany. The listener who samples this disc and wonders whether Baroque keyboard pieces ever actually had this much oomph can be assured that the recording falls purely into the not-even-speculative realm of using musical scores purely as a stimulus for further creative activity; keyboard music was something of a realm unto itself in the 17th century, and the booming guitar-and-theorbo arrangements heard here are purely the invention of the players. Indeed, they offer no justification other than that of wanting to play the music together. This said, the disc has the considerable virtue of reminding the listener that all of the patterns -- the fandangos, ciaccona, giga, folía, and so on heard here -- that made their way into Baroque music as ground basses were originally dances. The accompaniments devised by the Zapicos perhaps go beyond the intensity Baroque audiences would have recognized as appropriate (or perhaps they don't). But they're a great deal of fun, and they go together with the exciting group of releases that's defining the secular repertory exemplified by such composers as Santiago de Murcia, a repertory whose echoes have come down to the present day in both old and new worlds. Not "authentic," but if you don't tap your feet to a piece like Murcia's Folías gallegas (track 12), you'd better check for a pulse. - James Manheim (AllMusic.com)