Jordi Savall
Background information
Birth name	Jordi Savall i Bernadet
Born	January 14, 1942 Igualada, Catalonia
Genres	Classical
Occupations	Gambist
Instruments	Viola da gamba, viola da braccio
Website	http://www.alia-vox.com/

Jordi Savall i Bernadet (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈʒɔrði səˈβaʎ]; born January 14, 1942, in Igualada, Catalonia) is a Catalan viol player, conductor and composer. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for bringing the viol (viola da gamba) back to life on the stage. His characteristic repertory ranges from Medieval to Renaissance and Baroque music, though he has occasionally ventured into the classical or even the romantic period.

Musical education[link]

Savall's musical training started at the age of six in the school choir of his native town (1947–55). After completion of training at the Barcelona Conservatory of Music (1959–65), he specialised in early music, collaborating with Ars Musicae Barcelona of Enric Gispert and studying under August Wenzinger at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland (1968–70). In 1974 he succeeded Wenzinger as professor of viola da gamba at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

Ensembles[link]

In 1974 he formed the ensemble Hespèrion XX (known since 2000 as Hespèrion XXI), together with the soprano Montserrat Figueras (his wife, who died in 2011), Lorenzo Alpert and Hopkinson Smith. Hespèrion XX favoured a style of interpretation characterised by great musical vitality and, at the same time, ultimate historical accuracy.

Jordi Savall with viol

In 1987 he returned to Barcelona to found La Capella Reial de Catalunya, a vocal ensemble devoted to music from before the 18th century.

In 1989 Savall created Le Concert des Nations, an orchestra which is generally dedicated to music from the baroque period, but sometimes also performs music from the classical or romantic repertoire (e.g. Sinfonía Grande Orquesta by Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga).

More recently, Savall has performed with his family. The Savall family ensemble has included Jordi Savall's late wife, Montserrat Figueras, and their two children, Arianna and Ferran. Arianna Savall plays the harp and sings, like her mother. Ferran Savall plays the theorbo (bass lute) and sings (not only with his family but also in jazz clubs in Barcelona).^[1]

Recordings[link]

Savall's discography includes more than 100 recordings. Originally recording with EMI Classics, and then from 1975 with the Astrée label of Michel Bernstein, since 1998 he has released his records under his own label, Alia Vox.^[2]

Honours and awards[link]

In 2000 Savall was awarded the Premi d'Honor Lluís Carulla, given for service to Catalan culture or for scientific, cultural or civic works in the Catalan language.

He was awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa degree by the University of Barcelona on 27 November 2006.

He was twice nominated for a Grammy, and won the 2011 Grammy Award for 'Best Small Ensemble Performance' for Dinastia Borja. Església i poder al Renaixement.

In 2008 Savall was appointed a European Union ambassador for intercultural dialogue. In June 2008 he and his wife, Montserrat Figueras, were named "Artists for Peace" by UNESCO.^[3]

In February, 2009 he received the Handel Music Prize from the city of Halle, Germany, and the National Music Prize from the National Council of Music and Arts of Catalonia. In 2010, he was given the Praetorius Musikpreis Niedersachsen and a MIDEM Classical Award, for his album "Jerusalem –La ville des deux Paix: La paix céleste et la paix terrestre."^[4]

In 2012 Savall was awarded the Léonie Sonning Music Prize.^[5]

Filmography[link]

Savall adapted and performed music for the 1991 Alain Corneau film, Tous les matins du monde. His work on this film earned him a César award from the French film industry in 1992. The soundtrack has sold more than a million copies worldwide.

As a composer, Jordi Savall has written music for the following films:

• (1991) Tous les matins du monde (All the Mornings of the World) by Alain Corneau
• (1993) El Pajaro de la felicidad (The Bird of Happiness) by Pilar Miró
• (1993) Joan the Maiden, Part 1: The Battles by Jacques Rivette
• (1994) Joan the Maiden, Part 2: The Prisons by Jacques Rivette
• (1997) Hosszú alkony (i.e. Long Dusk) by Attila Janisch
• (1997) Marquise by Vera Belmont
• (1998) Top Secret by Jacques Rivette

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jordi Savall

• Alia-vox.com, Jordi Savall's official website.
• Complete discography at Medieval.org
• The private website Classic @ la carte is devoted primarily to Jordi Savall's works.
• Misteria Paschalia Festival
• [2]

Book cover of his chansonnier's first edition (1496): Cancionero de todas las obras de Juan del Enzina con otras cosas nueuamente añadidas

Juan del Enzina – the spelling he used – or Juan del Encina – modern Spanish spelling – (born July 12, 1468 – died late 1529 or early 1530)^[1] was a composer, poet and playwright,^[2]:535 often called the founder of Spanish drama.^[1] His name at birth was Juan de Fermoselle.^[1]

Life[link]

He was born in 1468 near Salamanca,^[1] probably at Encina de San Silvestre, one of at least 7 known children of Juan de Fermoselle, a shoemaker, and his wife.^[3] He was of Jewish converso descent.^[1][4] After leaving Salamanca University sometime in 1492^[1] he became a member of the household of Don Fadrique de Toledo, the second Duke of Alba, although some sources believe that he did not work for the Duke of Alba until 1495.^[3] A plausible argument is that his first post was as a Corregidor in northern Spain.^[3]

Fermoselle was a Chaplain at the Salamanca Cathedral in the early 1490s.^[3] It was here that he changed his name from Juan de Fermoselle to Juan del Enzina, or Encina (meaning holm oak) during his stay as Chaplain.^[3] He was later forced to resign as Chaplain because he was not ordained.^[3]

Works[link]

In 1492 the poet entertained his patron with a dramatic piece, the Triunfo de la fama, written to commemorate the fall of Granada.^[3] In 1496 he published his Cancionero,^[3] a collection of dramatic and lyrical poems. He then applied for the cantor post at Salamanca Cathedral, but the position was divided among three singers, including his rival Lucas Fernandez.^[3]

While working for the Duke of Alba, Encina was the program director, along with Lucas Fernandez.^[2]:537 Here Encina wrote pastoral eclogues, the foundation of Spanish secular drama.^[1] Encina's plays are predominantly based on shepherds and unrequited love.^[2]:540

Encina was ambitious, looking to be promoted based on preferment,^[3] so around 1500 he relocated to Rome, where he apparently served in the musical establishments of several cardinals or noblemen.^[1] Encina was appointed Archdiaconate of Malaga Cathedral by Julius II in 1508.^[3]

In 1518 he resigned from position at Malaga for a simple benefice at Moron, and the following year he went to Jerusalem,^[3] where he sang his first mass.^[3] He also wrote about the events during his pilgrimage to Jerusalem in Tribagia o Via Sacra de Hierusalem.^[1] In 1509 he had held a lay canonry at Málaga;^[3] in 1519 he was appointed by Leon for the priorship of Leon Cathedral.^[1] His last job was recorded as being in Leon, where he is thought to have died towards the end of 1529.^[2]:438

His Cancionero is preceded by a prose treatise (Arte de trobar) on the condition of the poetic art in Spain. His fourteen dramatic pieces mark the transition from the purely ecclesiastical to the secular stage.^[2]:539 The Aucto del Repelón and the Égloga de Fileno dramatize the adventures of shepherds;^[2]:540 the latter, like Pládcida y Vitoriano, is strongly influenced by the Celestina. The intrinsic interest of Encina's plays is slight, but they are important from the historical point of view, for the lay pieces form a new departure, and the devout eclogues prepare the way for the autos of the 17th century. Moreover, Encina's lyrical poems are remarkable for their intense sincerity and devout grace.

Even though his works were dedicated to royal families, he never served as a member of a royal chapel.^[3] And even though Encina worked in many Cathedrals and was ordained as a priest, no religious musical works are known to still exist.^[1] Most of his works were done by his mid-30's,^[3] some 60 or more songs attributed to Encina, and another 9 settings of texts on top of that, to which the music could also be added, but not for certain.^[3] Many of the surviving pieces are villancicos, of which he was a leading composer.^[3] The Spanish villancico is the equivalent of the Italian Frottola.^[3] There are three and four voice settings that offer a variety of styles depending on the kind of text, with very limited movements in the voices in preparation for the cadence points.^[3] To make the text heard clearly, Encina used varied and flexible rhythms that are patterned on the accents of the verse, and used simple yet strong harmonic progressions.^[3]

Leonese times[link]

Encina held the priorship of Leon Cathedral from November 1523 until his final illness in December 1529.^[1] Juan del Encina's will was presented on January 14, 1530, so the exact date of his death is not known, but it is thought to be in late 1529 or early 1530.^[3] In his will he noted that he wanted to be buried beneath the choir of Salamanca Cathedral,^[3] and in 1534 his remains were taken to the Cathedral.^[2]:538

Leones language influence[link]

Juan del Enzina wrote in Castillian with Leonese language influences or in Leonese^[5] in his pastoral eclogues. He was from Salamanca, a Leonese-speaking region and eventually arrived at the capital of the Kingdom of León, where he died.

Selected works[link]

• Triunfo de la fama (1492)
• Cancionero (1496)
• Tan buen ganadico (1496)
• Más vale trocar (1496)
• Triste España sin ventura (1504)
• Plácida y Victoriano (1513)
• Églogas
• Oy comamos y bebamos (late 15th century)
• Tribagia o Via Sacra de Hierusalem (1521)

Notes[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Teatro completo de Juan del Encina (Madrid, 1893), edited by F. Asenjo Barbieri
• Cancionero musical de los siglos XV y XVI (Madrid, 1894), edited by F. Asenjo Barbieri
• R. Mitjana, Sobre Juan del Encina, musico y poeta (Mlaga, 1895)
• M. Menendez y Pelayo, Antologia de poetas liricos castellanos (Madrid, 1890–1903), Vol. VII
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• Anselm, Dom, ed. "The New Oxford History of Music: Ars Nova and the Renaissance 1300-1540" Oxford University Press, 1960: 378
• Magill, Frank N, ed. "Critical Survey of Drama: Foreign Language Series" v2. Salem Press, 1986: 535-545
• Pope, Isabel; Tess Knighton Encina, Juan del. Sadie, Stanley, ed. "The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2nd edition" V8.Grove's Dictionaries Inc., 2001: 193-196
• Slonimsky, Nicolas, ed. "Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians" seventh edition. Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1984: 662
• Buekholder, J. Peter, Claude V Palisca. "Norton Anthology of Western Music: volume 1" fifth edition. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2006

External links[link]

• Juan Ruiz Jiménez, Juan del Encina, Goldberg, 39 (2006)
• Free scores by Juan del Encina in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• Free scores by Juan del Encina in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
• Listen to free recordings of songs from Umeå Akademiska Kör.

Mateo Flecha (Catalan: Mateu Fletxa) (1481-1553) was a composer born in Catalonia, in the region of Prades. He is sometimes known as "El Viejo" (the elder) to distinguish him from his nephew, Mateo Flecha "El Joven" (the younger), also a composer of madrigals. "El Viejo" is best known for his ensaladas, published in Prague in 1581 by the same nephew.

Mateo Flecha directed the music at the cathedral of Lleida (Sept. 1523 - Oct. 1525).^[1] From there he moved to Guadalajara, in the service for six years of the Duke, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza. From there he went to Valencia where he assumed direction of the chapel choir of the Duke of Calabria. While thus employed, three of his works were included in songbooks associated with that chapel, including the Cancionero de Uppsala. In 1537 Flecha moved to Sigüenza where he served as maestro di cappella for two years. From 1544 to 1548 he lived in the castle at Arévalo as teacher of the Infantas Maria and Joanna, daughters of Philip II of Spain (1527-1598). Toward the end of his life Mateo Flecha became a monk of the Cistercian Order, living in the Monastery at Poblet, where he died in 1553.^[2][3][4]

Flecha's ensaladas influenced the madrigals of Joan Brudieu.^[5]

Works[link]

Mateo Flecha's music was published in part by Fuenllana in his Orphenica Lira. The majority of his works can be found in the Cancionero of the Duke of Calabria (Venice, 1556), also known as the “Cancionero de Uppsala.” Flecha is best known as composer of the "ensalada" (literally "salad"), a work for four or five voices written for the diversion of courtiers in the palace. The ensalada frequently mixed languages: Spanish, Catalan, Italian, French, and Latin. In addition to the ensalada, Flecha is known for his villancicos, or Christmas carols.

In 1581 Flecha's ensaladas were published by his nephew, Mateo Flecha "El Joven" (the younger), in Prague. Of the eleven ensaladas, complete versions remain of only six, El jubilate, La bomba, La negrina, La guerra, El fuego, and La justa. Four of the others are missing a voice. El cantate is lost because Flecha's nephew did not publish it, considering it to be too long.

Various Spanish vihuelists, like Enríquez de Valderrábano, Diego Pisador, and Miguel de Fuenllana, adapted Flecha's works for the vihuela.

List of works[link]

Although he surely wrote more than the following, the following compositions are known to be the work of Mateo Flecha El Viejo:^[6]

Ensaladas for 4 voices:^[7]

• El fuego
• El jubilate
• La bomba
• La caça
• La guerra
• La justa
• La negrina
• La viuda^[8][9][10]

Ensaladas for 5 voices:

• Las cañas
• Los chistes
• El cantate o dança despadas (lost)

Villancicos for 3 voices:

• Encúbrase el mal que siento
• O triste de mí
• Si sentís lo que yo siento
• Vella de vós som amorós (attributed to Flecha)

Villancicos for 4 voices:

• Mal haya quien a vos casó
• Que farem del pobre Joan
• Teresica hermana
• Tiempo bueno
• Riu Chiu

Villancicos for 5 voices:

• Si amores me han de matar

Sacred works in Latin:

• Miserere (4 voices)
• Doleo super te (lost)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Free scores by Mateo Flecha in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
• Free scores by Mateo Flecha in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• (Catalan) Page in Catalan Viquipèdia for his nephew Mateu Fletxa el Jove (Prades, Baix Camp, 1530 - Sant Pere de la Portella, Berguedà, 1604)

Dimitrie Cantemir
Portrait of Dimitrie Cantemir (engraving)
Born	October 26, 1673 Silişteni, Moldavia
Died	August 21, 1723 Dmitrovka near Kharkov, Kharkov's Cossack regiment, Imperial Russia
Nationality	Moldavia, Romania

Dimitrie Cantemir (Romanian: [diˈmitri.e kanteˈmir]; 1673 – 1723) was twice Prince of Moldavia (in March–April 1693 and in 1710–1711). He was also a prolific man of letters – philosopher, historian, composer, musicologist, linguist, ethnographer, and geographer.

His name is spelled Dimitrie Cantemir in Romanian, Dmitriy Konstantinovich Kantemir (Дми́трий Константи́нович Кантеми́р) in Russian, Dimitri Kantemiroğlu in Turkish, Dymitr Kantemir in Polish, Dimitrios Kantemiris (Δημήτριος Καντεμίρης) in Greek and Demetre Cantemir in several other languages.

Life and family[link]

Born in Silişteni (renamed Dimitrie Cantemir and now located in Vaslui County, Romania), Dimitrie was the son of Moldavian Voivode Constantin Cantemir (and brother to Antioh Cantemir, himself Prince), of the low-ranking boyar Cantemireşti family. His mother, Ana Bantăş, was a learned woman of noble origins. (Cantemir never forgot his paternal ancestry, but while in Constantinople because of his name similarity locals inspired him to claim descent from Khan Temir, an early 17th century khan of the Budjak Tatars – see Moldavian Magnate Wars on some occasions.)

His education began at home, where he learned Greek and Latin and acquired a profound knowledge of the classics. Between 1687 and 1710 he lived in forced exile in Istanbul, where he learned Turkish and studied the history of the Ottoman Empire at the Patriarchate's Greek Academy, where he also composed music.

In 1693, he succeeded his father as Prince of Moldavia – in name only, as the Ottomans appointed Constantin Duca, favoured by Wallachian Prince and, despite many shared goals, forever rival of the Cantemirs Constantin Brâncoveanu; his bid for the throne was successful only in 1710, after two rules by his brother (whom he represented as envoy in the Ottoman capital). He had ruled only three weeks^[1] when he joined Peter the Great in his campaign against the Ottoman Empire (see Russo-Turkish War, 1710–1711) and placed Moldavia under Russian suzerainty, after a secret agreement signed in Lutsk.

Defeated by the Turks in the battle of Stănileşti (July 18–July 22, 1711), Cantemir sought refuge in Russia, where he and his family finally settled (he was accompanied by a sizeable boyar retinue, including the chronicler Ion Neculce). There, he was awarded the title of Knyaz (Prince) of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great and received the title of Reichsfürst (Prince) of the Holy Roman Empire from Charles VI. He died at his Dmitrovka estate near Oryol in 1723 (on the very day he was awarded the Roman-German princely title). In 1935, his remains were carried to Iaşi.

Posthumous portrait of Anastasia Ivanovna, Countess of Hesse-Homburg, Princess Trubetskaya by Alexander Roslin (1757)
Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria

He was married twice: in 1699, to Kassandra Cantacuzene (1682–1713), member of the Cantacuzino family (the daughter of Prince Şerban Cantacuzino), and in 1717 to Anastasia Trubetskaya (1700–1755; from the Trubetskoy house).

Portrait of Princess Ekaterina Dmitrievna Golitsyna by Louis-Michel van Loo (1759)
Moscow, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

Cantemir's children were rather prominent in Russian history. His elder daughter Maria Cantemir (1700–1754) attracted the attention of Peter the Great who allegedly planned to divorce his wife Catherine and marry her. Upon Catherine's ascension to the throne, she was forced to enter a convent. His son Antioh Cantemir (Antiokh Dmitrievich in Russian) (1708–1744) was also the Russian ambassador to London and Paris, a prominent satirical poet, and Voltaire's friend. Another son, Constantin (Konstantin Dmitrievich; 1703–1747), was implicated in the Galitzine conspiracy against Empress Anne and exiled to Siberia. Finally, Dimitrie's younger daughter Smaragda (1720–1761), the wife of Prince Dmitriy Mikhailovich Galitzine, was a friend of Empress Elizabeth and one of the great beauties of her time.

Works[link]

History, geography, philosophy and linguistics[link]

In 1714 Cantemir became a member of the Royal Academy of Berlin. Between 1711 and 1719 he wrote his most important creations. Cantemir was known as one of the greatest linguists of his time, speaking and writing eleven languages, and being well versed in Oriental scholarship. His oeuvre is voluminous, diverse, and original; although some of his scientific writings contain unconfirmed theories and inaccuracies, his expertise, sagacity, and groundbreaking researches are widely acknowledged.

Dimitrie Cantemir in Ottoman dress.

The best known is his History of the Growth and Decay of the Ottoman Empire. This volume circulated throughout Europe in manuscript for a number of years. It was finally printed in 1734 in London, and later it was translated and printed in Germany and France. It remained the seminal work on the Ottoman Empire up to the middle of the 19th century – notably, it was used as reference by Edward Gibbon for his The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Afterwards, the work was largely contested, for some of its sources were doubtful.

In 1714, at the request of the Royal Academy in Berlin, Cantemir wrote the first geographical, ethnographical and economic description of Moldavia, Descriptio Moldaviae. As many of his books it circulated first in manuscript and was only later published in Germany (first in 1769 in a geographical magazine, and then in 1771 the first edition as a book). Around the same time he prepared a manuscript map of Moldavia, the first real map of the country. It contained a lot of geographical detail as well as administrative information. Printed in 1737 in the Netherlands, it has been used by all cartographers of the time as an inspiration for their own maps of Moldavia.

Other writings:

• A history and notation of Ottoman court music.

• The first critical history of Romania as a whole, under the name of Hronicul vechimii a romano-moldo-valahilor – approx. "Chronicle of the durability of Romans-Moldavians-Wallachians" (1719–1722).

• The first Romanian language novel, the cryptic Historia Hieroglyphica (1705), to which he furnished a key, and in which the principal persons are represented by mythological beasts; it is the history of the two Wallachian ruling houses of Brâncoveanu and Cantacuzino.

• A philosophical treatise, written in Romanian and also in Greek, translated into Arabic, under the title Divanul sau Gâlceava Înţeleptului cu lumea sau Giudeţul sufletului cu trupul (Iaşi, 1698) – Le divan ou la dispute du sage avec le monde ou le jugement de l'âme avec le corps in French ("The Divan or The Wise Man's Parley with the World or The Judgement of the Soul with the Body").

• An unfinished second treatise (Istanbul, 1700), Sacrosantae scientiae indepingibilis imagio or Imaginea ştiinţei sacre, care nu se poate zugrăvi ("The Image of the Sacred, Undepictable Science").

• An introduction to Islam written for Europeans.

• A biography of Jan Baptist van Helmont (Cantemir, 1709).^[2] This work is cited by Debus (2002),^[3] on pages 212-213.

Due to his many esteemed works he won great renown at the high courts of Europe. His name is among those who were considered to be the brightest minds of the world on a plaque at the Library of Sainte-Genevieve in Paris, next to those of Leibnitz, Newton, Piron, and other great thinkers.

Musicology[link]

Soviet stamp devoted to Dimitrie Cantemir, 1973 (Michel 4175, Scott 4132).

Some of Cantemir's compositions are part of the regular repertory of Turkish music ensembles. In 1999, the Bezmara ensemble have recorded an album, Yitik Sesin Peşinde ("In Search of the Lost Sound") from the Cantemir transcriptions using period instruments.^[4]

In 2000, Golden Horn Records released a CD exploring Cantemir's compositions, European composers of Cantemir's era, and folk music of Moldavia. Featuring solo improvisations on kemençe (Turkish bowed fiddle) and tanbur (Turkish long-necked plucked lute) by famed master Íhsan Özgen and early music ensemble Lux Musica directed by Linda Burman-Hall, the project fulfills an ambitious endeavor by Özgen and Burman-Hall to meld early European music styles and instruments with today's Turkish art music styles and instruments, with Cantemir as their touchstone.^[5]

In 2009, Alia Vox published a CD and booklet of music performed by the Hespèrion XXI ensemble and invited musicians under the baton of Jordi Savall. The recording and booklet both pertain to “The Book of the Science of Music” by Cantemir and the Sephardic and Armenian musical traditions. Seven of Cantemir's compositions are included in the recording along with other Turkish, Armenian and Sephardic music. ^[6]

He had around 40 compositions in the Ottoman music of which few are performed today, but his greatest service to the Ottoman music is the fact that he helped survival of 350 instrumental pieces by recording them in a certain notation (the ebced) script he developed in his work Edvar which he presented to Sultan Ahmed III.

The most recent publication of his abovementioned work, reprint along with complete transcription and explanations, is: Kantemiroğlu, Kitâbu 'İlmi'l-Mûsiki alâ Vechi'l-Hurûfât, Mûsikiyi Harflerle Tesbit ve İcrâ İlminin Kitabı, Yalçın Tura, Yapı Kredi Yayınları, Istanbul 2001, ISBN 975-08-0167-9. Romanian historian and musicologist Eugenia Popescu-Judetz has numerous works on Cantemir, the most recent of which being a monograph (in English, also translated into Turkish): Prince Dimitrie Cantemir, Theorist and Composer of Turkish Music, Eugenia Popescu-Judetz, Pan Yayıncılık, Istanbul 1999, ISBN 975-7652-82-2.