One of the major developments in classical music at the end of the 20th century was the rediscovery of the colorful, joyous music of the Mexican Baroque by
Jordi Savall. In the 17th century, the composers of New Spain, especially in Mexico, fused the European traditions in which they were trained with African and Native American influences. Since then, various performers have taken up this repertory, imparting to it a great variety of flavors. Listeners may have their own preferences as to the emphasis placed on the non-Western elements, and those in search of a more restrained treatment may enjoy this Christmas-themed outing from
Siglo de Oro. The program is well chosen, with much of devoted to Puebla Cathedral composer
Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla. It is not a speculative reconstruction of Christmas programming from the great Puebla Cathedral; the pieces were found in the cathedral's archives. It is the small genres -- villancico, marizápalos, and xácara -- where the Native American and African influences are most apparent. For the strongest admixture, listen to
Padilla's A la xácara xacarilla (roughly, "let's have a xácara, a little xacarilla").
Siglo de Oro does well to include a mass, the Missa Joseph fili David (together with the motet on which it is based), where the local influences are also present. The inclusion of music by
Palestrina is also good; all of the lively pieces with cajón and so on existed side-by-side with purely European styles. Those who want a heavy dose of percussion might do better to seek out
Savall's recordings of this repertory, but this is a thoroughly enjoyable Christmas release.