In 1442, the Catalan-Aragonese King Alfonso V ascended the throne of Naples. The conquest of this city secured a dominant position over the Mediterranean. Alfonso wanted to turn his new capital into a wonderful cultural center, not following the new Renaissance ideas from Northern Italy, but opting for plurality. At his court, Catalan, Castilian, French and Italian were spoken and musicians of many
… nationalities worked in the Royal Chapel. The manuscript found in Montecassino Abbey, the so-called Cancionero De Montecassino, gives a nice picture of the varied music played at the court of Alfonso and his son Ferdinand: from beautiful polyphonic religious works of Guillaume Dufay to cheerful, secular songs like the anonymous Dindirindin. Performed here on a double CD by conductor Jordi Savall and La Capella Reial de Catalunya. (CP) _more
