This album is dedicated to the compositions of Federico Mompou i Dencausse (1893-1987), a composer and pianist of profound sensitivity. Born in Barcelona, Mompou exhibited an early inclination for the piano. However, inspired after a concert of Gabriel Fauré, he decided to dedicate himself to composition. Like many of his generation, he went to Paris to further his studies. Upon returning to his homeland, he continued his profoundly personal approach to the piano, exploring its most poetic facets as a composer and interpreter. Despite his innate introversion, the unique voice of his music soon gained recognition. His contemplative and poetic music mirrors his life, one of introspection, in which music was used as a medium to connect to his spiritual world.

Nothing could be more appropriate in celebrating Victoria de los Angeles’s 75th birthday than this extensive conspectus of her recordings of Spanish song over 40 years. It’s hardly possible in a brief review to do justice to such an astonishing achievement on the part of the Spanish soprano; indeed had she sung nothing else her place in recorded history would be assured.

Música Callada (Music of Silence) is a very special work, one of the most beautiful and elusive in the entire piano repertoire. It is extremely difficult to perform. On the one hand, there’s the temptation to stretch each piece out hypnotically, if monotonously, while quicker speeds preserve the music’s melodic essence at the expense of much of its atmosphere and harmonic richness. For although much of the music is indeed quiet, and none of it moves quickly, it is all meaningful. Mompou himself found the perfect balance between incident and repose, and of all the pianists since, Jenny Lin arguably comes closest to doing the same, only in much better sound. It’s not so much that her tempos match Mompou’s own (she’s actually not copying him–it would hardly be possible in a work containing 28 individual pieces), but rather that her phrasing and sense of timing let the music breathe and sing with its own special poetry. To take just one example, consider the sadness that Lin finds in the fourth piece, “Afflitto e penoso”, by allowing the piece’s harmonic color time to speak simply and eloquently.

Marianne Crebassa's new album celebrates her French-Spanish roots. Centered around French composers taking inspiration from Spain and Spanish composers, Séguedilles is a mix of opera arias and songs from composers Bizet, Massenet, de Falla, Mompou, Offenbach, Guridi, Ravel, and Saint-Saëns. It features hits such as the "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen and Falla's "Vivan los que rien" from La Vida breve. Crebassa portrays 5 strong female characters Carmen, Dulcinée, Concepcion, Périchole, and Salud. She recorded the album with the Choeur & Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse conducted by Ben Glassberg.