Evocaciones

This program stems from the desire to plunge into a succession of short and idiomatic musical forms that can “evoke” the expressive nuances of the protagonists of the Spanish national school, which developed between the XIX and the XX century. The deep voice of the cello and the brightness of the guitar perfectly blend in this repertoire to recall the taste, the cultural world, and the expressive spirit that originated it and that underlies, in every page, the stories and the weaves of its protagonists. The first pioneers of this Iberian impressionism were the renowned pianists and composers Isaac Albéniz (18601909) and Enrique Granados (18971966). Catalans and spokesmen of a national music filtered through a more European outlook, born from their Parisian stays and the rich cultural excitement of the Barcelona of that era. Both, through their pianos, manage to render a Spain seen from the outside. The popular pieces for piano (or for voice and piano, like in Elegia Eterna) collected here, evoke colors and sounds that transcend the instrument; they recall the dances, the folk songs, the nightly atmospheres, the cante jondo and the voice of the guitar itself to such an extent that the following vibrant transcriptions of guitarists like Tarrega, Llobet and Segovia sparked the popular false belief that these pieces were created for the guitar in the first place. Therefore the guitar presents itself as the ideal instrument for this repertoire since its conception, but the expressive intensity of the cello, not only perfectly marries with the tone of the six strings, but also seems to infuse the singing with a fluidity, a richness, and a narrative intensity that no transcription for solo guitar could ever fully support.