Gracía Fajer & dos Santos: Passio Iberica

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Over the centuries, the religious traditions of the Holy Week gave rise to some of the most extraordinary works in the History of Music, dedicated both to the liturgy and to devotional practices of specific geographical and cultural contexts. Despite increasing secularization at the end of the 18th century, the Holy Week ceremonies, with a strong musical component, remained an important event in the spiritual, social and cultural life of Southern Europe. “Passio Iberica” is an invitation to spirituality and reflection as a counterpoint to the fevered contemporary world. Two rare masterpieces are offered here, with two composers, both of Iberian origin, each with a fierce national (Spanish and Portuguese) identity, dedicated with deep devotion to Christ’s Calvary and to Mary’s sorrow at the feet of the cross. Siete palabras de Cristo en la cruz, by Francisco Javier García Fajer (1730-1809), and the Stabat mater, by José Joaquim dos Santos (1747-1801), evince the personal mark of these composers as well as their knowledge of the tradition and compositional models in vogue at the time, both in the Iberian Peninsula and in Europe.