El dulce trato hablando

In the 16 century the vihuela tradition was already well established in Spain. Among the books dedicated to the instrument we find "Tres libros de música en cifra para vihuela" by Alonso de Mudarra, a canon of Seville Cathedral. 

The first two books contain instrumental pieces. The third book is devoted to vocal pieces, encompassing all the genres cultivated in Spain since the late 15th century, in a style not very different from what Italians called cantar a la lira —a semi-improvised way of performing polyphonic repertoire in imitation of what was believed to be ancient Greek singing. A singer would take the superius line, while the accompanist would reduce the remaining voices on an instrument.

This program offers a journey through Mudarra’s third book, but the first two are also represented, with a few instrumental pieces. All vocal genres are brought together: the highly popular villancicos, the romance, the more solemn canciones, the more dramatic sonnets, reflecting Italian influence in Spain, and the Latin verses, also inherited from Italian frottola composers.

Polyphony is thus presented in a different way, while in the distance one can already glimpse the emergence of Baroque rhetoric and monody.

Pablo J. Vayón