Sanz / Murcia: Spanish Guitar Music

Featuring

Jakob Lindberg
Gaspar Sanz
Santiago de Murcia

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Gaspar Sanz, a composer on this album, believed the guitar's merits or defects lie with the player, not the instrument itself, comparing it to a lady whose rose will not wither no matter how much it is touched by skilled hands.

Compositional Technique

Both composers on this album, Gaspar Sanz and Santiago de Murcia, utilized 'rasgueado' (strumming) and 'punteado' (plucking) techniques in their guitar music, sometimes integrating them for dramatic effect.

Performer Biography

Jakob Lindberg, the performer on this album, developed his initial passion for music through The Beatles and is now a prolific performer and professor of lute at the Royal College of Music in London.

Historical Context

During the 17th century, the five-course baroque guitar was known throughout Europe as the 'Spanish Guitar' because the fifth course was added in Madrid by Maestro Espinel, a Spaniard.

Cultural Impact

The Fandango, a dance featured in Murcia's work, was described as a dance for men and women in pairs who, without touching, would express emotions with glances, gestures, and 'voluptuous steps' to 'inflame' dancers and fill spectators with 'ecstasy'.

Composer Biography

Gaspar Sanz, a composer featured on this album, studied theology at the University of Salamanca before traveling to Italy to study music, where he was taught by notable musicians like Cristoforo Caresana and Lelio Colista.

Historical Context

Some dances in Santiago de Murcia's collection, such as Cumbées and Zarambeques, likely originated in the African community in Mexico and were brought to Europe from the New World, often used in Spanish theatrical productions.