Jose de Nebra: Responsorios de Navidad

The enormous popularity enjoyed by the works of Jose de Nebra, the leading Spanish composer in the mid-18th century, is a cause for surprise. His manuscripts are scattered across archives throughout Spain and the Americas. Jose de Nebra rose to be one of the organists of the Spanish Royal Chapel in 1724 and it's vicemaestro from 1751. Following the 1750 prohibition of performing villancicos in the royal institution, Nebra composed a complete series of Christmas Day responsories for the Matins service. From among the different versions, La Grande Chapelle offers the full version from 1752, which is unquestionably one of the indispensable works of Spanish Baroque music. The performance of this collection, following the study and transcription of the musical sources still in existence, represents a premiere of great musicological and artistic interest.