“Cancionero presents a highly significant publication related to the beautiful and rich musical legacy of New Mexican culture and history, and it is an important contribution to the work of musicologists, historians, folklorists, language and literary scholars, and many other areas of research. Its greatest contribution, however, is the music itself and the role it can play in the lives of musicians, singers, and the general public.”—New Mexico Historical Review
“This is a book of scores that marry traditional New Mexican Spanish folk songs with art and mainstream folk techniques. The compilation brings awareness of a mestizo people and history, part of the fundamental fabric of US identity, a people largely invisible until the last half century. These Spanish-language songs, shared here with Western art techniques of a fittingly vintage nature, result in a new listening experience.”—Brenda M. Romero, coeditor of Dancing across Borders: Danzas y Bailes Mexicanos
“This long-anticipated compilation of New Mexico folk songs is a multigenre sampler of classic songs from the great archive compiled by John Donald Robb, UNM’s legendary music professor and composer. Designed to encourage performance, the book draws from Robb’s field notes, transcriptions, and analyses, amplified by scholars associated with the Robb Musical Trust. Several children’s pieces contrast with satirical songs, two ballads, and religious songs, including a processional, a wedding ceremony, and two from Christmas. The cancionero will be welcomed by folk musicians and aficionados all over the world as well as by students and scholars.”—Enrique Lamadrid, author of Hermanitos Comanchitos: Indo-Hispano Rituals of Captivity and Redemption
