This is in many ways an extraordinary recording‚ not least because of the rarity value of its contents: 18th­century music from the mission of San Francisco Xavier in Bolivia. Though not the first CD in the Chemins du Baroque series to imaginatively explore the music of Latin and South America‚ it is probably one of the most interesting and accomplished to date. On offer here is the reconstruction of an ‘opera’ written for the mission of San Francisco Xavier in Bolivia‚ coupled with a Mass for the same institution. The unusual setting is evoked not only by a photograph of the mission church‚ but also the inclusion of an atmospheric recording of its plangently distinctive bells‚ plus cicada accompaniment! The music itself‚ probably composed for the mission in about 1740‚ is less original‚ but nevertheless makes for interesting listening‚ especially in this spirited performance by Gabriel Garrido and his Ensemble Elyma‚ who are joined by the impressively trained Coro de Niños Cantores de Córdoba (with boys’ and girls’ voices). The ‘opera’ – the generic term used in the original scores and contemporary descriptions of such works – is rather a staged‚ or semi­staged‚ musical entertainment performed on special occasions‚ often when an important visitor found his way to the mission. These pieces were usually written in the language of the visitor‚ whether Spanish or Italian‚ but the text of this work‚ which recounts the entry of the Jesuit saint Francisco Xavier into heaven‚ is in the indigenous Chiquitan of the Indians who would certainly have been involved in its performance. The eminent missionary­musicologist Piotr Nawrot‚ who is responsible for the musical reconstruction and the fascinating insert­notes (poorly translated into English)‚ also believes that at least parts of this work‚ and probably all of the Mass‚ were written by Indian composers. The ‘opera’ takes the form of a spiritual dialogue between St Francisco Xavier and Ignace Loyola‚ the founder of the Jesuit Order. Though not exactly a dramatic piece‚ the music is attractively melodious and draws on various baroque stylistic and generic commonplaces‚ such as might be found in the music of Italian contemporaries such as Zipoli‚ who travelled to Paraguay and whose music was widely disseminated in South America – the pastoral duo ‘Iriquîbo ñaana Yyaî’ is a good example. Apart from brief forays into more expressive minor passages‚ the overall mood of the music is unremittingly cheerful‚ serving to underline the optimistic nature of the text: there is no development of character‚ and little development in the music either beyond tonic and dominant and occasional shifts to the relative minor. Yet Garrido‚ with upbeat tempos and plenty of rhythmic verve‚ gives a very persuasive account of both this and the Mass‚ in which the children’s choir makes an excellent contribution. The playing is stylish and lively‚ too‚ and the soloists perfectly acceptable. The polychoral motet by the virtually unknown Blas Tardío de Guzmán might have been written 100 years or more earlier in the manner of the music of the late flowering Portuguese Renaissance; it adds depth to our knowledge of the sound world of the Jesuit missions‚ and is given a beautiful and moving performance here. Congratulations are due to everyone involved‚ but especially to Garrido and Nawrot for bringing this – until recently – lost musical world to life.