Galiza Eterna: Early Galician Music

Galiza eterna was born from the desire to give voice to Galicia's musical heritage from a living historical perspective that is in constant resonance with the present. The journey proposed by this album begins with medieval music, both written in Old Galician by key figures such as Martín Codax and Alfonso X, and pieces from the Codex Calixtinus, an essential testimony to the sound universe linked to Galicia and its "Camino de Santiago". From this starting point, the journey extends to the Baroque period, tracing a musical arc that spans centuries of creation and memory. Along this musical path we find the chaconne ‘Sante Jaco’, collected by William Wey, an English pilgrim who heard it in 1456, performed by children dancing in front of the cathedral. Its musical structure, clearly identifiable as a chaconne, challenges traditional musicological approaches to the origin of this dance and points to Galicia and its "Camino de Santiago" as one of its possible places of origin. The exploration of the Galician folk songbook also reveals that, based on the melodies transmitted by oral tradition, it is possible to construct arrangements based on Baroque dances, returning them to a context that, in all likelihood, connects with a much more distant past. The journey culminates with the music of Diego de las Muelas, composer and chapel master of Santiago Cathedral, thus bringing to a close a journey that, although chronologically spanning from the Middle Ages to the Baroque period, remains alive in Galicia's musical memory. This entire repertoire is performed accompanied by reproductions of historical instruments from the periods covered: medieval citterns, theorboes, lutes, Baroque guitars and various percussion instruments, which help to recreate the original sound and reinforce the evocative nature of this journey through time.

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Miguel Ulla, Countertenor & Percussion Fernando Reyes, Early Plucked Instruments