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"Si a la muerte imita el sueño - Tonos humanos de José Marín (1618-1699)"

Música Ficta

rec: Sept 29 - Oct 1, 2018, Chíquiza (Boyacó, Co.), Iglesia doctrinera de San Isidro Labrador
Lindoro - NL-3053 (© 2021) (61'17")
Liner-notes: E/ES; lyrics - translations: E
Cover & track-list
Spotify

anon: Chacona; Españoleta; Diego Fernández DE HUETE (c1650-c1711) / Santiago DE MURCIA (1673-1739): Tarantela [3] [4]; José MARÍN (1618-1699): Ahora que estáis dormida; Así, moriré; De los ceños del diciembre; Filis no cantes; Hizo paces con Anarda; Pensamiento, que en tu daño; Si de ausencia muero; Sin duda piensa Menguilla; Vólgate, Amor, por Gileta; Santiago DE MURCIA: Jácaras por la E; Lucas RUIZ DE RIBAYAZ (1626-1677): Hachas [2]; Gaspar SANZ (1640-1710): Canarios [1]; Españoletas por la E [1]; Pasacalles por la I [1]

Sources: [1] Gaspar Sanz, Instrucción de música sobre la guitarra española y método de sus primeros rudimentos hasta tañerla con destreza, 16743; [2] Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz, Luz y norte musical para caminar por las cifras de la guitarra española y arpa, tañer, y cantar a compás por canto de órgano; y breve explicación del arte, 1677; [3] Diego Fernández de Huete, Compendio numeroso de zifras armónicas, con theórica, y pràctica para arpa de una orden y arpa de dos órdenes, y de órgano, 1702–4; [4] Santiago de Murcia, Resumen de acompañar la parte con la guitarra, 1714

Jairo Serrano, tenor, percussion; Carlos Serrano, recorder; Regina Albanez, theorbo, jarana; Julián Navarro, guitar, jarana

One of the main genres of Spanish secular music of the 17th century was the tono humano, a song for solo voice and basso continuo. Whereas composers still continued to write in the stile antico in sacred music, the repertoire of tonos humanos documents the growing influence of the Italian style in secular music, in particular that of the monody. One of the main sources of tonos humanos is the so-called Manoscritto Guerra*, whose title is derived from José Miguel de Guerra, scribe of the Royal Chapel from 1677 to shortly after 1680. The composers of these songs are not mentioned, but a number of them could be identified through comparison with other sources. Two of Spain's main composers of secular music of the time, Juan Hidalgo and José Marín, are represented in this collection with a number of songs. The present disc focuses on the latter of them; it is a sequel to a disc which was released in 2020.

Marín was closely associated with the court during the early stages of his life. From 1644 to 1649 he sang as a tenor in the royal chapel of Felipe IV. Apparently he was highly respected, as in 1648 his salary was substantially increased. He went to Rome to be ordained a priest, and also visited the Indies. Those visits were not voluntary, as he was accused of criminal offenses. Whether there was any truth in that has remained unclear. Marín returned to Spain in 1656, and then was accused of robbery and murder. Apparently it did not harm his reputation as a composer. The Gazeta de Madrid of 17 March 1699 reported his death "at the age of 80", stating that he was "known within and outside Spain for his rare ability in the composition and performance of music" (New Grove).

Marín's entire oeuvre consists of tonos humanos: 75 such songs have been preserved, all in manuscript. Most of them are included in the so-called Cancionero de Marín, which dates from 1699, the year of his death. Whereas tonos humanos from the second half of the 17th century were mostly for voice and basso continuo, including songs by Marín in other sources, in this collection the voice is accompanied by a five-course guitar. That does not exclude other plucked instruments, such as the theorbo.

Marín takes a special place in the repertoire of tonos humanos because of his treatment of the text and the connection between text and music. Jairo Serrano and Daniel Zuluaga, in their liner-notes, explain: "Within the simple structure of his pieces, Marín's music has its own identifiable style, making it unique with respect to that of his contemporaries. The use of chromaticism, hemiolas, rhetorical devices to emphasize phrases and words, the so-called 'painting in music' of the 17th century Baroque, the recurrence of themes of melancholy and lost love, the repetition of words and phrases that vehemently emphasize feelings of restlessness and that seem to go hand in hand with the life he led, enhance his singularity, the intimacy of his writing, and make of him one of the most unique composers of the Spanish Baroque".

The very first song in the programme demonstrates his sense of drama. Válgate, Amor, por Gileta is entirely written in triple time, but in the second half of the refrain, the mood suddenly changes on the text "he moans and cries, he sighs and burns". It includes a whole bar of rest in both parts, and Marín illustrates the text with chromaticism and descending intervals. In Así moriré - "So shall I die" - the last syllable of "moreré" takes three bars. Long notes are also used to depict the text in Si de ausencia muero: "If I die from solitude". In the last phrase of the refrain, on the words "endure so much", the vocal part includes a note spanning six bars.

Syncopations and hemiolas are used in Hizo paces con Anarda, and in De los ceños del diciembre, the bleakness of winter is illustrated by an ambiguity between major and minor and the use of chromaticism. Unusual is the change of meter within the refrain of Pensamiento que en tu daño; the same happens in Sin duda piensa Menguilla. Although Marín mostly follows the conventions of the time, he sometimes takes the freedom to deviate from them, such as in Ahora que estáis dormida, which omits a refrain.

Like in the previous recording, Música Ficta puts Marín's tonos in their historical context by including instrumental pieces by contemporaries. I'm a bit in two minds about this. On the one hand, it is certainly useful to shed light on the environment in which these songs were written. On the other hand one would like to hear more songs by Marín, especially because of their special character.

Some of the instrumental pieces included here are rather familiar; that goes especially for the Canarios by Gaspar Sanz. Fortunately there are also pieces that are far less common, and it is nice that some of them are played on the recorder. The problem for recordings of this kind is that there is not that much instrumental music from the 17th century, and much of it is anonymous. Some pieces have been transcribed for the organ by Antonio Martín y Coll; the anonymous Españoleta has been taken from his Flores de música.

I was happy with the first Marín disc of this ensemble from Colombia, and this second disc is of the same level. Jairo Serrano has the perfect voice for these songs: he produces a nice tone, is agile and flexible, and is responsive to the text, whose content is effectively communicated. The instrumentalists are excellent, both in their accompaniment of Serrano and in the instrumental items. The only issue is that some percussion instruments are used which seem to be Colombian; one may wonder whether they are appropriate in music from 17th-century Spain.

If you are interested in Spanish music, you should not miss this disc. Let's hope that more tonos by Marín are going to be recorded.

(*) Ars Atlántica recorded the complete collection for Naxos (reviewed on this site).

Johan van Veen (© 2025)

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