Description

More about the title

Music for a while. Music for this moment, for this moment. Music to bring joy, music to bring relief, music to chase away demons. Although Henry Purcell’s famous song, made famous by Alfred Deller in the 20th century, is not heard on Romina Basso and Alberto Mesirca’s recording, it is part of it. The songs of the Baroque masters are not (only) a fascinating musical travelogue through distant lands in ancient times. As the album’s subtitle says, they are a journey through the lands of the human soul. They also remind us of the epitaph Kurt Vonnegut longed for: ‘The only proof he needed of the existence of God was music’. Music for a while. Music that can stop time. Music that knows no time. Also thanks to the art of Romina Basso and Alberto Mesirca.

Andrej ŠUBA, May 2022

The programme Music for a While (Romina Basso – vocals, Alberto Mesirca – guitar, baroque guitar) was prepared especially for Konvergencie and performed at the 2019 festival. The Italian mezzo-soprano Romina Basso is one of the sought-after specialists in so-called early music and, thanks to her artistry and originality, is ranked among the most prominent figures in this field. Her art can be encountered on the most prestigious labels in the world. The recital with Alberto Mesirco (guitar, baroque guitar) at the Konvergencie Festival consisted of works by Renaissance and Baroque composers (Dowland, Frescobaldi, Narváez, Marín, Sanz) and Sephardic songs. It is rare for artistic personalities of Romina Basso’s calibre to release their recordings in Slovakia, so we are honoured to have been given this opportunity and trust by the performers.

The album includes: music CD, booklet, download code for audio files

Authors: John Dowland, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Josquin des Prez, Luys de Narváez, José Marín, Gaspar Sanz, Juan Hidalgo, Traditional Saefard

Performers: Romina Basso (IT) – vocals, Alberto Mesirca (IT) – guitar, baroque guitar

Publisher: Konvergencie, 2022

Edition: Konvergencie LIVE

SOZA – BIEM: 1749-010-2

EAN: 8 588006 338089

recording / recording engineer: Martin Čema, Cobra Sound

mix & mastering: Martin Čema / Jozef Lupták / Andrej Šuba / Alberto Mesirca

Track list

1. John Dowland (1563 – 1626): Come again 03:12
2. John Dowland: If my complaints 03:19
3. John Dowland: Praeludium 00:55
4. John Dowland: The Most Sacred Queen Elizabeth, Her Galliard 01:12
5. John Dowland: Time stands still 04:21
6. Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583 – 1643): Così mi disprezzate 04:51
7. Girolamo Frescobaldi: O mio cor 04:16
8. Girolamo Frescobaldi: Aria con variazioni detta “La Frescobalda” 02:56
9. Josquin des Prez (c1450-55 – 1521): Mille regretz 02:20
10. Luys de Narváez (fl1526 – 1549): Canción del Emperador 03:11
11. José Marín (1618/19 – 1699): Que dulcemente suena 02:18
12. José Marín: Ojos, pues me desdeñais 05:03
13. Gaspar Sanz (mid 17th century – early 18th century): Canarios 02:11
14. Gaspar Sanz: Pavana 01:36
15. Gaspar Sanz: Jácaras 01:51
16. Traditional Sephardic: Nani, Nani 06:15
17. Juan Hidalgo (1614 – 1685): Sólo es querer 06:17