Codex Las Huelgas: Music from 13th Century Spain
Just how engaging, catchy, lively, and artful can 13th century Spanish music be? Very,  as evidenced by this collection of motets, conductus, mass movements, and strophic songs from the  legendary manuscript compiled at the 12th-century Cistercian convent at Las Huelgas. This  remarkable program, highlighting only a handful of the nearly 200 works contained in the original  manuscript, shows not only the beauty and inventiveness of sacred music of this period, but also  how colorful and varied it could be. And just how well sung and played is it? Impressively, as  shown by these five exceptional female voices and period instrumentalists from the superb Huelgas  Ensemble. Instruments--recorders, fiddles, rebec, and percussion--are sparingly and effectively  used, and the singers treat us to exciting yet rarely heard ornamentation, an ancient art that sounds  eerily modern.--David Vernier