Obradors, Granados,Turina, Falla, Montsalvatge, Rossini
Published:
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.