Federico Mompou is best known for
his piano music and to a lesser extent his songs. I was first introduced to his
work by way of the incomparable performances by Alicia de Larrocha. Despite
their age, I still turn to these recordings if I wish to enjoy Mompou’s lyrical,
sensitive and often impressionistic music.
I was surprised that Mompou wrote
only three works for solo guitar. They are all presented here. He published a
series of 15 Cançons i danses (Songs and Dances) written between 1918 and 1972!
There were typically for piano. However, no. 13 (1972) was written for guitar
solo and no.15 was for organ. And no.10
(1953), although conceived for the piano, was transcribed for guitar by the
composer. The formal structure of each piece is the same: a slow ‘Cançó’
followed by a vibrant ‘Dansa.’ Some were based on Catalan folk-tune, but others
were original compositions inspired by this musical environment. These two
delightful numbers make use of folk-tunes which feature hunting, birdsong and
music written by King Alfonso of Castile in honour of the Virgin Mary.
The only other guitar work by
Mompou is the Suite Compostelana
which was written in 1962 and dedicated to the legendary Andrés Segovia. I love
everything about this suite. It seems to be a snapshot of the composer’s entire
oeuvre presenting a subtle balance between traditional Spanish guitar music and
the elusive influences of twentieth century musical harmonies and gestures. The
six movements include a vibrant ‘Preludio’, a sad ‘Coral’ (Chorale), a gentle ‘Cuna’
(Lullaby), an enigmatic ‘Recitativo’ which utilieses the rarely used Locrian
mode (based on scale B-B’ and transpositions), the waltz-like ‘Cancíon’ (Song)
and finally the vibrant and sometimes dissonant ‘Muñeira’ (Doll’s Dance.)
Marco Ramelli includes in this
recital two gentle, sophisticated and quite lovely arrangements of Catalan
folk-songs by Emilio Pujol who was a composer and guitarist from
Barcelona. These are ‘El cant dels
ocells’ (The Song of the Birds) and ‘La plume de perdreau’ (The Partridge
Feathers).
Spanish émigré composer Roberto
Gerhard’s Fantasia for solo guitar was originally written in 1957. It was an
interlude for the song-cycle Cantares.
There is little here of the advanced ‘modernist’ techniques that were being
explored by the composer at this time. In fact, the reverse is largely true.
This is a work that is truly inspired by the sunshine, landscape and the tradition
of Catalonia. There is a perfect balance between lyricism and driving rhythms. Apart
from a few sharp dissonances, the use of the octatonic scale (symmetric
alternating tones and semitones), some ‘gentle’ serial procedures and
polytonality, this work is still largely conceived in the ‘Spanish idiom.’ The
Fantasia was composed specifically for Julian Bream. The liner notes suggest
that ‘it did not meet [Bream’s] taste’ and was subsequently revised. It is
given a satisfyingly reserved recital here by Ramelli.
It is unbelievable, but there is
only one other work by Roberto Gerhard composed for solo guitar. This was the
incidental music to a BBC radio production of Ernest Hemmingway’s novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. The title of
this book is taken from the well-known poem (Meditation XVII) by John Donne.
The plot revolves around the American Robert Jordan who joins the Republican
cause during the Spanish Civil War. He is ordered to blow up a bridge, which is
central to resistance to Franco’s army. Marco Ramelli has rearranged the music into
a ‘suite’ suitable for concert performance and has provided titles for each of
the sections, to tie it in with the novel. The general mood of this work is a
balance between love and compassion and the brutality of war. This is musically
achieved by ‘soft and sensual’ music competing with passages that are dissonant
and aggressive. The work is cyclic with internal references pointing up the
importance of the ‘bridge’ and a ‘theme of death.’ As the liner notes suggest,
the piece works ideally without a text or even ‘programme.’ I prefer to listen
to it in an abstract manner and find it an extremely inspiring and often moving
creation. It demands to be in all classical guitarist repertoire.
One down side: I felt that the
duration of 53’40” was a wee bit mean. The playing and the sound quality on
this wonderful CD are brilliant. I cannot fault it. Ramelli plays a guitar built in Barcelona in
1931. It has a beautiful, mellow sound. The liner notes are by the performer
and give all the required information about these fascinating and beautiful
works.
Finally, as an aside, I do wish
that Roberto Gerhard’s music had greater prominence in the United Kingdom. Despite
many of his works being issued on record or CD he is a composer who seems to have
be largely forgotten.
Track Listing:
Federico MOMPOU (1893-1987)
Cançó i dansa No. 10 (Sobre dos Cantigas del Rey Alfonso X),
originally for piano, transcribed for guitar by the composer (1953)
Cançó i dansa No. 13 (Cançó: El cant dels ocells; Dansa (El
bon caçador)) for guitar (1972)
Suite Compostelana for guitar (1962)
Emilio PUJOL (1886-1980)
El cant dels ocells (?); La plume de perdreau (?)
Roberto GERHARD (1896-1970)
Fantasia (1957)
For whom the bell tolls (1965)
Marco Ramelli (guitar)
Rec. January 2018, Collegio Rotondi, Gorla Minore, Italy
BRILLIANT CLASSICS
95679
With thanks to
MusicWeb International where this review was first published.
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