R E V I E W S:

GUTIÉRREZ DE PADILLA Missa Ave regina caelorum. Deus in adiutorium. Mirabilia testimonia tua. Stabat mater. Transfige dulcissime Domine. Incipit Lamentatio. Tristis est anima mea. Versa est in luctum. Pater peccavi. Salve regina. Ave regina caelorum • Harry Christophers, dir; The Sixteen • CORO 16059 (67:25 Text and Translation)

Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla (c. 1590–1664) learned music from Francisco Vásquez at the cathedral in Málaga and soon became maestro at the cathedral of Jérez and then Cádiz. Between 1620 and 1622 he went to the cathedral in Puebla, the second largest city in colonial Mexico, where he was maestro from 1629 until his death. The city had a bishop as early as 1539, but a large permanent cathedral was soon begun, and it was dedicated during Gutiérrez’s tenure. We have seen a new focus on recordings of music in Latin America, which flourished in Mexico City, Guatamala, Lima, and Sucre, but Puebla at this time had the richest musical establishment in the colonies, due to the patronage of the bishop. At the end of his long tenure, Gutiérrez’s music was copied into a large choirbook by order of the cathedral chapter. Gutiérrez adheres to the earlier style of the Spanish Renaissance rather than the more recent Italian style, with a preference for double-choir settings that the layout of Spanish churches encouraged.

The choirbook included five masses, four of them for double choir (including this one), but all but one omit the Agnus Dei. This one is a parody Mass based on the composer’s own motet, which is heard at the end of the program. The lamentation is part of the first one for the first day of Tenebrae, while Versa est is a favorite funeral text among Spanish composers of the time. Some of this music has been recorded before, including Deus in adiutorium, Mirabilia testimonia tua, Incipit Lamentatio, and Salve regina in James O’Donnell’s Mexican survey (14:3). Not included is the only Mass that has an Agnus Dei, Missa Flos campi, which has been recorded at least three times. The performances are stylish and sympathetic, with a continuo group of five players in most of the music, similar to O’Donnell’s treatment. This is the first full disc devoted to the composer, though, and it represents his place in colonial America very suitably. This disc is recommended as a generous sampling of his work.

FANFARE: J. F. Weber