Obradors, Granados,Turina, Falla, Montsalvatge, Rossini

COMPOSERS: Falla,Granados,Montsalvatge,Obradors,Rossini,Turina
LABELS: Eloquentia
ALBUM TITLE: ÁPasión!
WORKS: Songs by Obradors, Granados,Turina, Falla, Montsalvatge and Rossini
PERFORMER: Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano),

Julius Drake (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: EL 0608

The professed passion for Spain is



conventional: DiDonato’s gushing



liner note would be enough to make



any seasoned visitor cringe. But apart



from Falla’s Seven Popular Songs, the



programme is far from obvious and



the singing stylishly spirited with a



feel for idioms: the touch of contralto



timbre backing up a bright mezzo



comes into its own in those moments



where the real woman emerges from



a demure social presentation.



Fernando Obradors’s songs get an



especially live performance, while



the more developed and dramatic



Tonadillas of Granados are again



beautifully shaped. Turina’s ‘poem in



song form’ explores the contradictory



faces of erotic love in a journey



which DiDonato follows with



concentration and character.



No punches are pulled here either



in Montsalvatge’s bold way with



Cuban poets of assorted races.



For Falla the approach is



distinctive: quick, forthright and



catching the balance of earthiness



and refinement better than some



starry singers. Only the Rossini



encore seems a mistake, its satirical



operatic showiness undermining the



previous sincerity.