A Spanish Nativity

The Spanish 'Golden Age' witnessed an astonishing musical flowering, fully worthy of the nation's new-found preeminence on the world stage. Focusing on works for Christmas and Epiphany, Stile Antico explores this glittering musical treasury, drawing together an irresistible mix of sumptuous polyphony and infectiously joyful folk dances. The centrepiece of the is the superbly rich and luminous Missa Beata Dei genitrix Maria by Alonso Lobo. Interspersed between it's movements are motets by Tomás Luis de Victoria, Francisco Guerrero and Christóbal de Morales, an exuberant 'ensalada' by Mateo Flecha, and classic villancicos - traditional carols using folk melodies.