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J. F. Weber, Fanfare magazine
Juan Esquivel (c. 1560–before 1630) is not entirely unknown to specialists, but he has enjoyed only five recorded motets, Veni Domine on a Bruno Turner collection (Fanfare 2:3; later on CD), De profundis with a Guerrero Requiem (23:5), Duo Seraphim and Ego sum panis vivus on a Gloriae Dei collection (19:6), and O vos omnes on two CDs by Owen Rees (20:3) and Manuel Torrado. A previous entry gave his death as “after 1613,” indicating how little is known about his last years. Now for this first CD dedicated to the composer, Bruno Turner writes a note reflecting his own long immersion in the music of Renaissance Spain. He mentions Robert Stevenson, whose 1961 book gave major chapters to three very familiar composers. When a Spanish translation appeared in 1993, Lobo, Vivanco, and Esquivel were added, a good indication of the deeper understanding of the period.
The reason for Esquivel’s emergence from obscurity is worth retelling. Robert Snow, a contemporary of Stevenson, was in Ronda (near Málaga) in 1973, where he encountered the sacristan of the cathedral, who as a boy had hidden away during the Civil War a 598-page book of Esquivel’s music published in 1613, as well as chant books. The discovery of this lost publication added immensely to two other Esquivel collections both published in 1608 that were already known. Most of the music on this new program was transcribed from the 1613 publication. The Mass based on Ceballos’s motet is the last of six in the 1613 volume (six other Masses had been published in 1608). Turner describes Esquivel’s reworking of the motet as an absorption of the music rather than merely a parody. The motet is followed by the Kyrie and Gloria, then the Credo is separated by another motet, then a third motet is inserted before the last two movements. The Agnus Dei oddly ends with “Deo gratias,” which is sung here after the celebrant’s chanted “Ite missa est” as the composer probably intended.
Turner’s role goes beyond annotator, for two motets that were sung in succession on side 3 of his 1978 recorded survey are both sung here, Veni Domine (placed before the Credo) and the Ceballos motet, Hortus conclusus. After the Credo we also hear Ego sum panis vivus, which Elizabeth Patterson included in her broad survey of the Renaissance (19:6). The Mass is followed by music for Vespers and Compline, Turner characterizing each work briefly, focusing on the effect of the Council of Trent’s reforms on the era that Esquivel lived in. All four Marian antiphons are included, with Regina caeli (based on a distinctive Spanish chant) placed at the beginning of the program. Salve Regina is an alternatim setting with the chant verses omitted from the published polyphony; they are restored here from an appropriate source of 1565. Sancta Maria succurre is an antiphon for the Magnificat, a double-choir setting rare for the composer. The Magnificat in the fifth mode is also an alternatim setting for six voices. The ensemble sings with great sensitivity.
Eamonn Dougan has directed The Sixteen in several recordings as Harry Christophers’s assistant. Here we hear his first outing with this ensemble of 22 voices, which has already made two CDs for this label since its founding in 2011, each under a different conductor but always annotated by Turner. Focused on Spanish composers, the group has added Esquivel to Ribera’s first full CD (40:2) and Vivanco (42:1): one composer neglected, the other given only a few whole CDs before this. I suspect Eamonn Dougan has learned a lot from Harry Christophers. On his own he wins plaudits.
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