Based on the study of a selection of works widely disseminated in Renaissance manuscripts and prints (Nunca fue pena mayor, Pange lingua, Aspice Domine, Los braços traygo cansados, and Missa Pro Victoria by Tomás Luis de Victoria), as well as the critical editions of some of the original sources (available here), we have recorded these compositions in three representative historical buildings of Castile: the House of Miguel de Cervantes (Valladolid), the Palace of Avellaneda in Peñaranda de Duero (Burgos), and the San Gregorio Chapel in the Museo Nacional de Escultura (Valladolid). The experimentation with the sound according to the space, the location of the performers, and the different instrumental and vocal combinations allows us to analyze which elements contribute to the execution and perception of music as a sound act.

We thank all the musicians, singers, and sound technicians for the enthusiasm they have shown in turning our research object into a sound reality: Manuela del Caño (mezzo-soprano); José Hernández Pastor (countertenor); Javier Centeno (tenor); Pablo Román (tenor); Antonio Santos (baritone); Choir CONTRAPUNTO, Verónica Rioja (director), Leire Sánchez, Carolina Morales, Mª José Sánchez, Pablo Román, Gregorio Casado, Luis Sánchez, and Víctor Esteban; Juan Miguel Nieto Cruz (vihuela); Fernando Pérez Valera, Juan Alberto Pérez Valera, and Luis Alfonso Pérez Valera (minstrels); Herder Sousa (organ); Leonardo Luckert (viola da gamba); Ana López Suero (flute); Tiziana Palmiero (harp); David Hernando (artistic director); Iker Olabe (sound engineer); and Iván Martín (sound technician). We also thank the staff of the Museo Nacional de Escultura, the House of Cervantes, the City Council of Peñaranda de Duero, and the University of Valladolid for their welcome and support in this process.

This recording was directed by Soterraña Aguirre Rincón, coordinator of the RDI Project “The Renaissance Musical Work” [HAR2015-70181-P] based at the University of Valladolid, with the collaborators Carlos Gutiérrez Cajaraville, Manuel del Sol, Ana López Suero, and Pablo Ballesteros Valladolid (members of the research team), and Verónica García (assistant).