Si me llaman ... El Cortesano

• 1 Salamanca 9 p.m. 00:43
• 2 Si me llaman a mi llaman 02:32
• 3 Quien tuviesse tal poder 01:50
• 4 Fantasia a tre bozes del quarto tono 02:33
• 5 Para que es dama tanto quereros 02:09
• 6 Partense partiendo yo 01:39
• 7 Y con que la lavare 03:31
• 8 Por una vez que mis ojos alce 03:00
• 9 Fantasia por el quarto tono sobre la sol fa re mi 02:52
• 10 Si la noche haze escura 03:37
• 11 No me llamen sega la yerba 02:34
• 12 O bene mio fa famme uno favore 03:42
• 13 Madonna mia fan me von 01:46
• 14 Guarte guarte el rey don Sancho 05:28
• 15 Lagrime mesti 01:18
• 16 Fantasia sin passo ninguno a tres bozes 02:26
• 17 Passeavase el rey Moro 04:27
• 18 Gentil cavallero, dadme ora un beso 03:01
• 19 A quand'a quand'haveva 02:31
• 20 Sempre me fingo 00:55
• 21 En la fuente del rosel 01:16
• 22 Fantasia del sexto tono a quatro 02:31
• 23 Aquellas sierras madre 02:41
• 24 La manana de San Juan 01:26
• 25 Si te quitase los hierros 02:54
• 26 Herida va la garca 01:36
• 27 Pues te partes y te vas 03:06
• Total Runtime 01:08:04

Info for Si me llaman ...

Songs for vihuela and voice by Spanish Renaissance composer Diego Pisador, in a world premiere recording by the duo ‘El Cortesano’: Ariel Abramovich (vihuela) and José Hernández-Pastor (countertenor). This is the first complete recording of Pisador‘s songs from his „Libro de musica de vihuela“ which he published in Salamanca / Spain in 1552.

There are not many amateur composers who have made a name for themselves and whose works are still performed. Diego Pisador is one of them, and although his music isn't that often performed and isn't held in great esteem by some, the fact that a whole disc is devoted to his only only collection of music is an indication that he is not to be neglected.

Pisador was living in Salamanca and made a living as a tax collector. In his spare time he played the vihuela and was dreaming about publishing a book with tablatures for the vihuela. With this book he aimed at helping out people who wanted to learn how to play the vihuela. It took him 15 years to compile the book and then two years to print it. That was something he had to do himself, as the printing industry wasn't that well developed. It cost him a fortune, and probably to cover the costs he sued his father and brother over the inheritance his mother had left.

The book contains 95 compositions, ranging from masses by some of the great masters of polyphony, like Josquin, Gombert and Morales, to Spanish and Italian secular vocal pieces - all intabulated by Pisador - and some fantasias of his own making. This disc contains the bulk of the Spanish songs - romances and villancicos - as well as four Italian villanesche by Adrian Willaert. Unfortunately the composers of the various pieces are not given in the booklet - only the four compositions by Willaert are easily recognizable.

The programme delivers an interesting survey of the kind of songs which were popular in Spain in Pisador's time. There is quite some variation in the texts and the music. As one may expect, a number of them deal with love, including laments about the absence of the beloved (Partense partiendo yo) and the longing for love (Si te quitasse los hierros). Some are about (female) beauty, as the villancico which gave this disc its title, Si me llaman: 'They call to the prettiest, I ensure they call me'.

Two specific genres should be mentioned. First, the three romances are related to the role of the Moors in Spanish history. Passeavase el rey moro, for instance, is about Alhama, taken by the Christian troops, ten years before the fall of Granada. The second genre is the endechas de Canarias: 'Originally funeral songs, later they became laments for ill-fated love', the programme notes say. An example is ¿Para qués dama tanto quereros?: 'What's the use of loving you so much, my lady? If I am to lose myself and to lose you, best would be not to see you again'. The character of the texts is also vary different. Quién tuviesse tal poder is quite sophisticated, whereas En la fuente del rosel is playful and lighthearted.

The first time I heard the Spanish alto José Hernández-Pastor was in the Early Music Festival Utrecht of 2008, which was entirely devoted to Spanish music. I was struck by the beauty of his voice and his artistic versatility. Listening to this disc was another fine experience, because of the subtlety of Hernández-Pastor's interpretation, his excellent delivery of the text, his differentiated ornamentation and brilliant control of dynamics. With Ariel Abramovich he has a completely congenial partner. He gives excellent support and contributes some nicely played solos. He uses three different vihuelas in various tunings.

This is a disc to treasure: beautiful music sung by an excellent singer with a beautiful voice, and played by a fine artist on beautiful instruments. What more one could ask for? (Johan van Veen)

José Hernández-Pastor, Countertenor
Ariel Abramovich, Vihuela

El Cortesano's artistic project originated in Basle (Switzerland) in 1998, after the fortunate meeting of two young musicians passionately dedicated to Renaissance music.

Although both studied at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, José Hernández-Pastor and Ariel Abramovich's musical backgrounds and life experiences differ significantly, a fact that they have used to their advantage merging their diverse musical approaches in a complementary way. Perhaps inspired by their youthful enthusiasm, the duo have rejected convention, engaging in research into the rich musical and poetical repertoires of the Spanish Golden Age and selecting those strands that allow them to create a novel voice.

Guided by the conviction that reciting can make wonders out of words, as Castiglione put it in the book after which they are named, El Cortesano began to experiment with means of bringing the music closer to the text. This fundamental questioning has been the key to defining their singular artistic vision and is responsible for the magical dynamic they create with their audiences, which in turn feeds their live performances.

El Cortesano has been able to inspire introspection while evoking the sensual nature of the Spanish Golden Age in such diverse situations and places as the Estella's Early Music Week, Gijón's Early Music Week, Vigo's Are More Festival, Utrecht's Early Music Festival, and renowned concert halls such as the Palau de la Música de Valencia or the Príncipe Felipe in Oviedo. They have performed in Spain, France, the US, Morocco, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Ecuador and Argentina.

El Cortesano's recording career began in 2002 with El Parnasso (issued by the French label Arcana), the product of intense research into the Castillian vihuelist Estevan Daça's work (Valladolid, 1576), which had not been recorded before. The album received audience and critical acclaim, which helped strengthen the duo's identity and encouraged them to envisage further projects.

In March 2009, the German label Carpe Diem is releasing El Cortesano's second album, a new take on the work of the often misunderstood Salamanca-born vihuelist Diego Pisador.

Booklet for Si me llaman ...