The Spanish composer Anton Garcia Abril certainly boasts
an interesting and varied academic background. He studied initially
at the Madrid
Royal Conservatory and subsequently at the Academia Chigiana
in Sienna, where his teachers included the conductor Paul van
Kempen. This was in the early/mid-fifties. Later, in 1964, he
returned to Italy and the Academia di Santa Cecilia in Rome,
as a scholarship student, which included classes with Goffredo
Petrassi.
Whilst writing in a number of genres including opera, the musical
folklore of the Asturias region has been an abiding thread through
his career. Having composed “Three Asturian Songs” for
a
capella chorus in 1982 he followed these up two years later
with a series of “Fourteen Asturian Songs”, written
as part of a major project “
Lirica Asturiana” (Asturian
Lyricism). Originally written for the tenor Joaquin Pixan (the
soloist on the present disc) and orchestra, the songs were recorded
by CBS with Lopez-Cobos and the London Philharmonic Orchestra
soon afterward.
In 2004 however the process was taken a step further. Whilst
the new “
Coleccion de canciones asturianas” (Collection
of Asturian Songs) is drawn directly from the previous work,
the accompaniment is now for piano. The result is more than simply
a reduction. Instead it is, in the words of the sleeve-note writer
Ramon Avello, “a sort of re-examination”; a dialogue
of
“...imaginary folklore, in the pianistic conception,
and direct data, or real folklore, in the vocal line..” In
other words the vocal line essentially follows the original folk
melody whilst the accompaniment exhibits a more interventionist
approach:
“The piano not only takes up the melody, but
also re-creates it, evokes it, frames it and projects it with
lyricism, fantasy and freedom.” The results I found
spellbinding.
Whether it’s the seductive lilt of “Una Estrella
se perdido” (A star was lost), with its gentle introduction
of subtle “wrong note” figures in the treble of the
piano part; or the descending right hand figuration in the opening
measures of the succeeding lullaby (
Duermente, nenu -
Go to sleep my boy) ... which for all the world sounded like
little falling stars - I was completely hooked.
Full marks to the performers. Señor Pixan, clearly somewhat
more “mature” now than in the earlier CBS issue,
nevertheless still possesses a very attractive lyric tenor, with
few worn edges and plenty of warmth throughout the register.
Rosa Torres-Pardo meanwhile is an admirable partner.
Indeed the only possible drawback I can point to is the lack
of texts, which would have been a bonus, but at least their omission
is for a genuine reason, and Ramon Avello does give a brief synopsis
of each song.
Gentle reader, I have been a MusicWeb reviewer for a couple of
years now, and whilst not among its most prolific contributors,
I have nevertheless covered a significant number of recordings
in that time. Not only has this issue been a considerable discovery
- an increasing rarity in itself considering the onward march
of Father Time - but it’s also the most sheerly
enjoyable CD
I have considered so far.
To this end it has returned to the tray of my CD player more
frequently than any other review copy I can recall. Indeed ...
it is there now as I write, with the sounds of Pixan’s
plaintive tenor bidding farewell to his beloved water nymph (
Adios,
xana) ... and it sounds ... marvellous! To paraphrase a famous
quote:
“Hats off Gentlemen, a winner!”
Ian Bailey
Joaquin Pixan (tenor);
Rosa Torres-Pardo (piano) 
