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Spanish Classics - Blancafort: Complete Piano Music Vol 4 / Miquel Villalba
Naxos

Spanish Classics - Blancafort: Complete Piano Music Vol 4 / Miquel Villalba

$19.99

Details

Composer
BLANCAFORT, MANUEL
Artist
Miguel Villalba
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Apr 29, 2008
Catalog #
8557335
UPC
747313233526

About



BLANCAFORT Pastorel-la. American Souvenir. Sonatina antiga. Ermita i panorama. Cavantina i diàleg. Romance, Intermezzo, and March • Miquel Villalba (pn) • NAXOS 8.557335 (64:38)


This is the fourth in a series devoted to the piano music of Catalan composer Manuel Blancafort (1897–1987). His work resembles that of his fellow Catalan Federico Mompou. I hear a similar tough edge to the harmony, stabs of dissonance underpinning the intimate surface, but Blancafort draws on a wider stylistic range, incorporating neo-Classical influences ( Sonatina antiga ) and often a Debussyan sparkle. A fluency to the writing indicates the composer’s prowess as a pianist, and one or two pieces that wind down in a gradual rallentando remind us that the Blancafort family was in the pianola business.


I have found this disc beguiling, returning to it out of sheer pleasure as much as reviewing necessity. The stately Cavantina and the similarly melancholy Saraband that constitutes the central movement of the Sonatina (Tendresa) reveal a considerable depth of feeling. On a more Impressionistic note, the piece entitled Ermita i panorama (“Hermitage and Panorama,” 1930–31) opens with a folksy theme, sounding like a Hispanic Vaughan Williams, then blossoms into virtuosic activity. With its rippling surface, this could be a newly discovered prelude by Debussy.


American Souvenir (1926–29) consists of two movements. The first was inspired by an Atlantic crossing the composer undertook, where the slow progress of the voyage was punctuated by the distant sounds of bustling activity and the resident American jazz orchestra on board. The second is a tribute to Charlie Chaplin, a screen star who fascinated Blancafort—much as he fascinated the composer’s French contemporary Charles Koechlin. In both these pieces, Blancafort retains his personal voice (as indeed did Koechlin in his own Chaplin tribute, the final movement of the Seven Stars Symphony ). There is no mock-ragtime to depict the 1920s; rather the composer has evoked the energy of that era through his own musical language, more a passive observer than participant. A tinge of pathos to the high jinks makes the second piece suitably “Chaplinesque.”


The music covered in this program comes from a six-year period centering on the late 1920s, with the exception of the three-part Romance, Intermezzo, and March , written in 1942. In this suite of pieces, Blancafort has pared back his textures and any French influence has practically disappeared. The result is plainer, closer to Mompou in its concision. Several of these works remain unpublished, including Ermita i panorama and the lilting Pastorel-la that opens the recital.


Pianist Miquel Villalba presents this unfamiliar music with skill and sensitivity; one senses that his heart is in it. The sound is enjoyably warm and clear. In its gentle way, this disc is a winner.


FANFARE: Phillip Scott

Tracklist 12 tracks

  1. 1 Pastorella 05:10
    Track
    1
    Title
    Pastorella
    Duration
    05:10
    Composer
    Manuel Blancafort
    Performer
    Miquel Villalba
  2. 2 I. Transatlantic en ruta 08:48
    Track
    2
    Title
    I. Transatlantic en ruta
    Duration
    08:48
    Composer
    Manuel Blancafort
    Performer
    Miquel Villalba
  3. 3 II. Homenatge a Chaplin 04:12
    Track
    3
    Title
    II. Homenatge a Chaplin
    Duration
    04:12
    Composer
    Manuel Blancafort
    Performer
    Miquel Villalba
  4. 4 I. Exercici 05:56
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. Exercici
    Duration
    05:56
    Composer
    Manuel Blancafort
    Performer
    Miquel Villalba
  5. 5 II. Tendresa 06:17
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. Tendresa
    Duration
    06:17
    Composer
    Manuel Blancafort
    Performer
    Miquel Villalba
  6. 6 III. Recreacio 05:51
    Track
    6
    Title
    III. Recreacio
    Duration
    05:51
    Composer
    Manuel Blancafort
    Performer
    Miquel Villalba
  7. 7 Ermita 05:44
    Track
    7
    Title
    Ermita
    Duration
    05:44
    Composer
    Manuel Blancafort
    Performer
    Miquel Villalba
  8. 8 Panorama 04:55
    Track
    8
    Title
    Panorama
    Duration
    04:55
    Composer
    Manuel Blancafort
    Performer
    Miquel Villalba
  9. 9 Cavatina i dialeg 06:33
    Track
    9
    Title
    Cavatina i dialeg
    Duration
    06:33
    Composer
    Manuel Blancafort
    Performer
    Miquel Villalba
  10. 10 Romanca 04:56
    Track
    10
    Title
    Romanca
    Duration
    04:56
    Composer
    Manuel Blancafort
    Performer
    Miquel Villalba
  11. 11 Intermedi 03:56
    Track
    11
    Title
    Intermedi
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    Manuel Blancafort
    Performer
    Miquel Villalba
  12. 12 Marxa 02:22
    Track
    12
    Title
    Marxa
    Duration
    02:22
    Composer
    Manuel Blancafort
    Performer
    Miquel Villalba