Granada concert savoured

Reviews

Granada concert savoured

Gonzalo Roldán Herencia, Granada Hoy (2 July, 2026)

The commemoration of the fifth centenary of Charles V ‘s visit to Granada found one of the most solid and intelligent offerings of the Granada Festival in Stile Antico’s concert . Entitled ” The Acquisition of Power: Charles V, from Prince to Protector,” the prestigious British ensemble reconstructed the sonic universe that accompanied the emperor’s political and spiritual formation through a journey through the great Franco-Flemish and Spanish polyphony of the 16th century. The program, performed at the Colegio Mayor Santa Cruz la Real, transcended its commemorative nature to become a demonstration of how music was also one of the instruments with which the Habsburg monarchy articulated its image and power. The program’s internal coherence allowed each work to find its meaning within a continuous narrative, where history, liturgy, and courtly propaganda appeared closely intertwined.

While the program’s brilliance was undeniable, its execution was even more outstanding. Stile Antico once again demonstrated why it has long held a prominent position among the great ensembles specializing in Renaissance vocal music. The intonation, simply extraordinary throughout the evening, rested on a blend of rare perfection, where the twelve voices seemed to merge into a single sonic whole without ever losing the distinct character of each contrapuntal line. This ability to combine homogeneity and transparency is one of the British ensemble’s greatest strengths and allows us to understand the naturalness with which it tackles repertoires of enormous technical complexity.

The balance between the different voice parts allowed the works of composers as diverse as Josquin Desprez, Gombert, Cristóbal de Morales, and Rodrigo de Ceballos to flow with absolute spontaneity, always respecting the stylistic particularities of each composer. The vocal flexibility with which the performers adapted the timbre, weight of their voices, and density of sound to the different contrapuntal textures demonstrated a profound knowledge of the repertoire, but also a collective listening of extraordinary maturity. The music seemed to unfold effortlessly, sustained by a shared breath that transformed technical difficulty into pure musical expression.

From the very first chords of Carole magnus eras from Clemens non Papa, the work with which the concert began, one of the most admirable aspects of the performance was the treatment of the text. The diction, precise down to the smallest detail, allowed for an absolute understanding of the semantic dimension of each motet. The Latin pronunciation never appeared as an accessory, but rather as the true starting point of the phrasing, with the prosody continually shaping the musical discourse; such was the case in Josqun Despres’s Salve Regina , or Nicolas Gombert’s Magnificat, where the odd-numbered verses in plainchant alternated with the even-numbered verses in polyphony. Rarely can one appreciate with such clarity how vocal production, articulation, and the meaning of the text form part of a single interpretive vision.

Within an exceptionally high artistic level, there were moments that particularly eloquently encapsulated the ensemble’s personality. Nicolas Gombert’s Mille regretz , performed by six voices, achieved extraordinary delicacy thanks to the perfect timbral fusion and phrasing of refined naturalness, where the melancholy of the celebrated chanson seemed to emanate from the very breath of the ensemble. Quite different was the atmosphere created by the four solo high voices in Virgo Sancta Katherina, whose luminous sound highlighted the group’s extraordinary flexibility in continually modifying their vocal color without losing unity . Also noteworthy was the exquisite performance of Andreas Christi famulus by Thomas Crécquillon, entrusted to eight solo voices, one of the evening’s high points for the balance achieved between contrapuntal clarity and expressiveness.

The works of Spanish composers also received a high level of interpretation. Both Rodrigo de Ceballos’s Hortus Conclusus , closely linked to Granada’s musical history, and the two pieces by Cristóbal de Morales were approached with identical stylistic rigor, integrating seamlessly into a program where the various national schools appeared united by a shared sonic ideal. The continuity of the program, which concluded with the splendid Jubilate Deo composed by Morales to commemorate the Peace of Nice, allowed the audience to appreciate how Spanish polyphony engaged in a dialogue of equals with the Franco-Flemish tradition, without stylistic breaks or forced contrasts.

With this performance, Stile Antico offered a true masterclass in polyphonic interpretation. The perfect intonation, the exquisite blend, the refined phrasing, and a profoundly humanistic understanding of the text transformed a program of immense historical interest into a first-rate musical experience. The audience’s prolonged ovation was met with an encore of immense spiritual joy: Gaudete in Domino by Jacques de Wert, which brought to a close a performance that could hardly have reached a higher level. More than a simple expression of gratitude, the encore extended the atmosphere of contemplation and beauty that had been cultivated throughout the concert.