Viento es la dicha de amor (de Nebra)

Maite Arruabarrena, Marta Almajano, Raquel Pierotti, Pilar Jurado, María del Mar Duval. Coro Capilla Peñaflorida, Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, dir. Christopher Coin
Auvidis Valois V4752 (2-CD)

One generation on from de Literes, José de Nebra was the leading Spanish composer of the mid-18th century, as this utterly charming late baroque zarzuela (1743/52) demonstrates. Allegorical, with the typical mixture of poetic myth and low-life comedy, the music is oddly poised between the new rococo fashion, old high baroque, and even earlier styles dating back to the 17th century popular Spanish traditions of coplas and tonos. It is a delight throughout, performed with an appropriate mixture of elegance and rough-hewn vitality by Coin and his first-rate team. No spoken dialogue is included, but this double-album, with good notes and full texts, makes a highly recommendable entry point into the world of late baroque zarzuela.

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