JOSEPH RUIZ SAMANIEGO (fl.1653-1670): 9 Villancicos, Toccata for Winds.

Description: An obscure maestro di capilla at a church in Zaragoza, Samaniego produced a strikingly varied group of villancicos here - from an expressive piece with use of bold dissonances, to one quite voluptuous, to an announcment of Christ's birth by the scum of the streets with the text full of puns (the one most rooted in popular culture, to be sure). Another, in fourteen parts, makes use of spatially separated groups and echo effects; another is nocturnal and another is reminiscent of the Aragonese jota. A real discovery for collectors of the Spanish baroque! Spanish-English texts. Los Músicos de Su Alteza; Luis Antonio González.