©Iñigo Ibáñez
Crystal clear merit
María José Cano for El Diario Vasco
In terms of music, few eras have been as brilliant in Spain as the 16th century, known as the Golden Age. The Renaissance was also the time when there was a greater development of vocal polyphony, especially in the religious repertoire. a cappella. The “Quincena Musical of San Sebastian” yesterday wanted to dedicate its last concert of the Early Music Cycle to the works created in this period by such relevant composers as Francisco Guerrero, Cristóbal de Morales or Tomás Luis de Victoria, among other authors. The one in charge of interpreting it was the El León de Oro choir, which tackled a far from simple program in the museum church with a group of about twenty singers who, without removing their masks, communicated all the essence and purity of these works.
Renaissance polyphony requires clear, almost crystalline voices, a perfect diction and a vocal conjunction that with little vibrato, without extensive tessitura or power achieves the perfect filling, like the sound of an organ in the vertical parts and draws well the lines in the vertical parts. imitative sections. These qualities were obvious in the concert of the Asturian choir, expressive, adequate in style and sure transmitter of all the transparency that this repertoire requires. There were no cracks in any of the pieces that they offered, with careful final phrases, marked chords and magnificent tuning, although there were especially magical moments like Guerrero’s “O Domine Jesu Christe” with very good nuances. A great merit to also achieve a clear emission like a clean glass in a room with a lot of echo and above all, singing with a mask. The audience, with a sold out, appreciated the effort and the results and applauded until they gave two encores.
Program: Margarita Pretiosa (Works from Guerrero, Navarro, Robledo, Lobo, Ortiz, Morales and Victoria)
Artists: Coro El León de Oro
Conductor: Marco Antonio García de Paz
Location: Museo de San Telmo de Donosti
Date: August 9, 2020
Full house
