José Miguel Moreno – The Spanish Guitar [12CDs] (2019)

With a capaciously-filled boxset of a dozen CDs made up of attractive individual programmes and entitled The Spanish Guitar, Glossa reintroduces the superb playing of José Miguel Moreno. And with recordings from 1991-2004 which still sound fresh and vivid today. A new essay and all the sung texts are included in the physical booklet that completes this limited-edition set.
José Miguel Moreno’s multi-century guided tour of Spanish instrumental music encompasses a magisterial pair of CDs tracing the history of the Spanish guitar: compositions by Narváez, Mudarra, Murcia, Sanz, Sor, Tárrega and Llobet are all accorded their rightful places. A sizeable portion of the collection is dedicated to celebrating the Renaissance and Baroque eras with either the vihuela or the Baroque guitar. To discs of music by Luys Milán and Gaspar Sanz comes a clutch of albums adding vocal gems from Spain’s musical Siglo de Oro and bearing titles such as Claros y frescos ríos or Al alva venid. Moving onwards from Spain’s Classical era, the set ends with another of Moreno’s legendary albums, Las mujeres y cuerdas.
As well as being joined by instrumental colleagues from Orphénica Lyra and La Romanesca, Moreno’s dexterous playing is also called upon in the service of accompanying a group of early music Spanish singers in their time: Nuria Rial, Marta Almajano, Raquel Andueza and Carlos Mena among them.

Performer:
José Miguel Moreno, Vihuela, Renaissance guitar, Baroque guitar, Classical-romantic guitar, Post-romantic guitar

Contents:
1.CD “Canto del cavallero” Solo Pieces for Vihuela
2.CD “Canción del Emperador” Solo Pieces for Vihuela
3.CD “Luys Milán (c.1500-c.1561) – Fantasía” Music for two Vihuelas
4.CD “La guitarra española I” Music for Vihuelas, Baroque & Classical-romantic Guitar
5.CD “La guitarra española II” Music for Classical-romantic & Post-romantic Guitar
6.CD “Claros y frescos ríos” Guitar Music from the Spanish Renaissance
7.CD “Al alva venid” Guitar Music from the Spanish Renaissance
8.CD “Miguel de Fuenllana (c1500-1579) – Orphénica lyra, 1554”
9.CD “Música en el Quijote” Music in the Works of Miguel de Cervantes
10.CD “Gaspar Sanz (c1640-c1710)” – Instrucción de música para la guitarra española
11.CD “Música en tiempos de Velásquez” Guitar Music from 17th-century Spain
12.CD “Las mujeres y cuerdas” Guitar Music from Spain and Italy, c1800