Having traversed the full-length opera recordings of Victoria de los Ángeles ranging from the late seventeenth century of Henry Purcell to the twentieth century of Claude Debussy, I can now shift my attention from the opera house to the recital stage. If the albums that she recorded were representative of her recital programs, then it is worth noting that she seems to have shown a preference for “historical journeys.” Indeed, the title of one of those albums was Five Centuries of Spanish Songs, beginning with medieval selections from the early fourteenth century and extending to eighteenth-century composers such as Blas de Laserna (who lived into the early nineteenth century). She also released a more focused album entitled Spanish Songs of the Renaissance.
De los Ángeles’ earliest recordings were first released as 78 RPM discs; and, where this repertoire is concerned, her most recent recordings were made in 1960, including her participation in the “retirement recital” given by pianist Gerald Moore. Unfortunately, during the first half of the twentieth century, there was a tendency to approach early music as if it were some sort of delicate antique. That tendency was reinforced by releases from the Musical Heritage Society, many of which were about as stimulating as canned spinach. I had the good fortune to be teaching computer science at the University of Pennsylvania, which turned out to be a forerunner in the turning of that tide. As a result, I was able to experience several early music programs that had all of the excitement of twentieth-century aesthetics.
Obviously, I cannot blame de los Ángeles for not being there when the tide of early music performance began to turn. I can only say that she never seems to have had the opportunity to give that repertoire a fair shake. Whether or not circumstances change for the better as the repertoire advances into the nineteenth century can only be determined on the basis of further listening.
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