Search - Codex Las Huelgas Anonymous, Spanish Anonymous, King of Navarre Thibault IV :: Bestiario de Cristo

A literary record

Fabiano Seixas Fernandes | Florianópolis, SC Brazil | 12/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This record features 13th century vocal and instrumental pieces from Codex Las Huelgas and from a manuscript belonging to the Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid. The selection was due mainly to the content of the texts: all mention animals that have acquired symbolic value as representing religious characters and ideas. However, animal metaphors are many times only a lateral feature of the texts (cf track 1).
One might describe it as a "separated" record: men and women don't sing together, and instruments and voice meet only in track 15, which is also the only piece not sung in Latin. But this is not a reproach; the singing is as good as one would expect of ALIA MVSICA. My personal feeling is that the pieces sung by women show skill; those sung by men, strength.
Finally, the liner notes are excellent concerning the explanation of animal symbolism, but say little or nothing of the music performed; regardless this little flaw, it is a 5-star record, to be sure: it has ALIA MVSICA quality; it has Harmonia Mundi quality."