Canto a mi Caballero is a celebration of instrumental virtuosity at the height of Renaissance humanism. As Franco-Flemish polyphony and the Italian madrigal spread their influence throughout Europe, the most brilliant Spanish musicians (among them the legendary harpsichordist, harpist and organist Antonio de Cabezón, Morales, Mudarra and Narvaez) were inspired by their foreign contemporaries, as well as by the expression of native Spanish melody such as the mystical ‘Canto de Caballero’. This program presents the Caballero melody in various secular and sacred versions, entwined with some of the most famous music and poetic texts of their time.
Canto a mi Caballero retraces that special moment in Renaissance music in which the humanist tendency in instrumental music first attains its singular goal: expressivity that rivals that of the human voice. Capriccio Stravagante's instrumentation, featuring the consort of viols and plucked strings (guitars, harp, vihuela, along with Skip Sempé's solo harpsichord selections), provide for a touching portrayal of the classic Spanish concept of the ‘Duende’.
