La Real Camara - Tientos y batallas: 17th-Century Violin Music in Spain (2020)

Lovers of the Spanish Baroque may be surprised to see the subtitle "17th-century violin music in Spain" here, inasmuch as non-keyboard instrumental chamber music following Italian models has never surfaced before. Indeed, the booklet transmits statements by writers of the time bemoaning the lack of such violin music. What's happening here is that Spanish historical-instrument group La Real Cámara and its director-violinist Emilio Moreno have hypothesized that Spanish organ music might have been arranged for other instruments in the same way Italian music certainly was; Girolamo Frescobaldi specifically attested to this. The evidence for the practice in Spain is pretty slim, consisting mostly of the fact that violins (known by the intriguing alternate names biolino, rabele, rabelejo, or rebequino) existed there, and Moreno freely concedes his music represents an "optimistic" answer to the question of whether there was Spanish Baroque violin music. The musical results of his speculation, though, are pretty convincing. The basic contrast between tientos (contrapuntal pieces comparable in form and meaning to the Italian ricercar, the word means "tests") and batallas, or battle pieces, is one that isn't heard much elsehwere, for the representation of battles, though not unknown in Italy, wasn't especially common. The juxtaposition produces a fun, colorful sequence of pieces for strings and large continuo group, including dulcian, viola da gamba, keyboard, Baroque guitar, and percussion, for a great mixture of Spanish and Italian elements that keeps things moving. The composers here are mostly unknown and include the intriguing Irishman Henry Butler, who dubbed himself Enrico Botelero when he worked at the Spanish court. The proceedings end with a trio of the dance pieces, including the irresistible and perhaps African-influenced Xácaras, which have brought such popularity to Spanish Baroque music, and fans of same may well enjoy this speculative disc.