Orpheus’ Lyre: music for voice and vihuela
Orpheus’ Lyre – 16th century music for vihuela de mano and voice performed by Frank Wallace.
Available Spring of 2016 and after; please write with our Contact form or send email to “info (at) gyremusic.com” for more information
Frank Wallace performs the music of Renaissance Spain on vihuela de mano with “elegant virtuosity” (Classics Today). He tours internationally, accompanying his baritone voice in the music of Narváez, Fuenllana, Mudarra, Milán, Francesco da Milano and more.
“It is extremely unusual to listen to a self-accompanying singer…equally adroit at both skills…I cannot but congratulate [him] for infusing new life into this neglected art.” Antonio Corona-Alcalde, LSA Quarterly. “… touching and eloquent… a subtle range of attack, decay, and articulation…The program is extremely well sequenced…ending with a very beautiful group of five Verdelot settings interweaved with lute pieces by Francesca da Milano…” – Catherine Moore, American Record Guide
LECTURE/DEMO
The Vihuela in Spain, an in-depth discussion and demonstration of the history of the vihuela and the sources of it’s music; how singing and story effect our understanding and interpretation of the repertoire.
Please click on tabs above for detailed program info, biography, video and audio. DOWNLOAD PROGRAM PDF of Orpheus Lyre
Copyright ©2015 Frank A. Wallace
Photography and design by Nancy Knowles, Emily Taub; All rights reserved.
Frank Wallace is supported in part by a grant from the NH State Council on the Arts.
DOWNLOAD PDF of Orpheus Lyre
Fantasías #1-6, Libro Segundo – Luys de Narváez, 1490-1547
Isabel – Alonso de Mudarra, 1546
Por Asperos Caminos – Mudarra
Las Tristes Lágrimas Mías – Anrríquez de Valderrábano, 1500-c.1557
Tres Moricas – anónimo, Cancionero de Palacio
¿Cómo Puedo yo Bivir? – Valderrábano
De los Alamos Vengo Madre – Juan Vásquez/Fuenllana
Fantasía 33 – Francesco da Milano, 1497-1543
Riceercar 69 – Francesco
Ricercar 11 – Francesco
Fantasía 34 – Francesco
intermission
Fantasia 17 – Francesco
Madonna Qual Certezza – Philippe Verdelot, 1475-1552
La Vita Fugge – Mudarra
Recercar 8 – Francesco
Benche’l Misero Cor – Verdelot
Duo de Morales – Miguel de Fuenllana, 1500-1579
Fantasías #1-3, 8, Libro Segundo – Narváez
Duo de Josquin – Fuenllana
A Donde Tienes las Mientes – anon., Cancionero de Palacio, c. 1500
Tan Buen Ganadico – Juan del Encina, Cancionero de Palacio
Como está sola – Juan Ponce, Cancionero de Palacio
Si d’Amor Pena Sentís – anónimo, Cancionero de Palacio
Diferencias Sobre Conde Claros – Narváez
Teresica Hermana – Flecha/Fuenllana
Orpheus’ Lyre is available in the spring of 2016 and after – Please write for more information with our Contact form or to “info (at) gyremusic.com”
PHOTOS
Hi res photos are available at Flickr Frank Wallace Performance and many more casual shots for the web are at Flickr Albums
“The concert by Frank Wallace [Utrecht Early Music Festival] was a veritable tour de force“ – Tom Kerstens, Classical Guitar (London)
“I have listened to the CD “Delphín” numerous of times and I have to say it is astonishing, both technically and musically. Frank Wallace is a mature musician and his interpretation of the vihuela music is really splendid! The sound on this recording is warm and bright and the instrument sounds beautiful. A must for music lovers!” – Per Kjetil Farstad, Professor, Ph.D, Norway “If you are an aficionado of the vihuela, this is a must-have recording. Not only is it one of the most virtuosic recordings in my library, it provides significant representation of the vihuela fantasia: a portion of the literature from which most recordings pick and choose a few of the better known examples. It is gratifying to have a recording that explores such important, yet rarely heard repertoire.
And, no wonder these are often overlooked: they are neither easy to play, nor easy to make sense of. Frank Wallace’s abundant technical resources and obvious feel for the almost vocal-like improvisatory riffs lets the listener experience the kind of creative abandon that one would expect from a fantasia, defined in one dictionary as ‘A free composition structured according to the composer’s fancy. ‘ On this recording they make perfect sense, and sound like they were being extemporized on the spot.
It is gratifying to have a recording that explores such important, yet rarely heard repertoire.” – Kemer Thomson
“Your solo vihuela CD confirms the feeling I had when I first heard you (ages ago, come to think of it), that you probably are the most sensitive vihuelist I know, maybe because you can also sing that stuff, I don’t know, while technically you sound second to none.” – Ivo Magherini, luthier On the Gyre recording Piva: “In this well-chosen program Nancy Knowles and Frank Wallace give the listener a pleasing privacy of expression that is touching and eloquent. Knowles and Wallace, who have performed together since 1976, use a subtle range of attack, decay, and articulation that is immediately attractive and yields depth on repeated hearings… The program is extremely well sequenced, beginning with the Spanish pieces and ending with a very beautiful group of five Verdelot settings interweaved with lute pieces by Francesca da Milano…” – Catherine Moore, American Record GuideOrpheus’ Lyre is available in the spring of 2016 and after – Please write for more information with our Contact form or to “info (at) gyremusic.com”
Frank Wallace, vihuela and baritone
vihuela, 1986, by Nico van der Waals
Viola da Mano, Raimondi, c1510
El Maestro, Milán, Valencia, 1536
Por quien la vihuela / paresce en el mundo
Si el fue primero / no fue sin segundo
Pues dios es de todos / de todo hazedor.
The great Orpheus, first inventor
Through whom the vihuela appeared in the world
If he was the first, he was not without a second [?]
Since God is creator of everyone and everything.
Read more in the informative blog Eats Lutes and Leaves
Orpheus’ Lyre is available in the spring of 2016 and after – Please write for more information with our Contact form or to “info (at) gyremusic.com”
“It is extremely unusual to listen to a self-accompanying singer…Mr. Wallace seems equally adroit at both skills…I cannot but congratulate [him] for infusing new life into this neglected art.” – Antonio Corona-Alcalde, Lute Society of America Quarterly
Frank Wallace is known for his “elegant virtuosity” (Classics Today) on the classical guitar, lute and vihuela de mano and is also a master of self-accompanied song. He tours internationally, performing music of the 16th – 21st century both as a soloist and with mezzo-soprano Nancy Knowles as Duo LiveOak. He has performed at the Holland Festival, Regensburg Festival, Música en Compostela, Festival de Música Cuenca, Boston Early Music Festival, Barcelona Festival, International Guitar Festival of Arequipa, the Festival of Spanish Song of Granada, Echi Lontani in Sardinia and more.
Wallace is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in guitar performance and is self-taught as a composer. He moved to Boston immediately after graduation in 1974, studied early music performance with Marleen Montgomery and took one lute lesson from Paul O’Dette in 1980 which confirmed his desire to perform Renaissance music exclusively for nearly two decades. Since 1986 he has received inspiration from his residence in a 1789 farmhouse in rural New Hampshire. In the mid nineties he began composing and has compiled a list of hundreds of works for lute, guitar, voice and chamber instruments. He has recorded over a dozen CDs for the Gyre label in a local church which are highly praised for their “gorgeous sonics” – Jed Distler, classicstoday.com. American Record Guide calls Wallace’s compositions “exciting, unpredictable, and fresh”. Fanfare magazine has dubbed him a composer with “an authentic expressive voice” and a “high standard of musical interest” who performs with “flawless technical proficiency.” His compositional style has many influences, from Medieval and Renaissance to blues, jazz and modern atonalism. Great passion and a sense of humor infuse both his compositions and performances.
Frank Wallace has taught at the New England Conservatory, Plymouth State College, Emmanuel College, Keene State College and Franklin Pierce University. He has recorded for Gyre, Titanic, Centaur and Musical Heritage Society has re-released a number of LiveOak and Frank Wallace recordings. His compositions are published by Gyre Music and have been featured in Guitar Review, Fingerstyle Magazine, The LSA Quarterly and Soundboard magazine. Wallace’s complete recordings and compositions are available at www.gyremusic.com, a site rich with information and samples of sheet music and audio.
NOTES
While the Spanish vihuela de mano has been somewhat of an enigma in the historical instrument revival due to the lack of extant examples, its music for the most part is very straightforward. Many performers have felt they have too few historical references on which to base a stylistic performance. What exactly is dedillo? [a right hand technique mentioned but not explained in detail] How were ornaments used? What was the vihuela‘s place in society? What exactly is the difference between a vihuela and a guitarra? To be honest, these questions have never held much interest for me. The music speaks for itself. The bulk of the repertoire is vocally based and its models were clearly Josquin des Prez and his successors. This program attempts to reveal the vocal nature and beauty of the vihuela repertoire by focusing on the fantasías of Luys de Narváez and his Italian contemporary Francesco da Milano, who played the viola da mano, an Italian equivalent of the more popular Spanish model, as well as lute.
Also included are some of the earliest examples of the “art song” by Alonso Mudarra and Philippe Verdelot as well as intabulations (arrangements) of even earlier songs from the magnificent Cancionero de Palacio, a collection of late 15th and early 16th century villancicos and canciones, essentially folk songs and art songs.
The skill of the vihuelista was most certainly judged on his/her ability to control the expression of multi-voiced textures. To this end, I believe the acoustic of the performance hall greatly enhances the sustaining quality of light plucked instruments and is essential to the character of the music. I am most certain that every vihuelista of his or her day, amateur or professional, sang fluently. The professionals undoubtedly sang in choirs from early childhood in the church and any worthy courtier would have been given lessons in singing as well as plucking in order to be well-rounded. Each of the seven existing books are roughly half songs and frequently the notation for voice is included in the tablature itself, indicating the player would accompany oneself. To make a modern comparison, what self-respecting singer-songwriter does not sing and accompany oneself. The public expects that and would generally find it odd if they did not.
While scholars have pointed to the importance of the diferencia as the major contribution of the vihuelistas, I don’t think they themselves must have seen it that way. Fuenllana speaks with disdain of the popular styles and clearly believes the high art of the vihuela is achieved by imitating the polyphony of the masters. Nevertheless, I have included one example of the genre, the popular Conde Claros by Narváez, a simple set of variations on a three chord progression not unlike the blues progression of today – a sort of beginner’s way of learning to jam. Dances are virtually non-existent in the core repertoire.
Orpheus’ Lyre is available spring of 2016 and after – Please write for more information with our Contact form or send email to “info (at) gyremusic.com”