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Leopoldo
de URCULLU (fl.1830-1843)
La Amistad: Introducción y Polaca [13:08]
Introduccción, variaciones y coda sobre un tema de Guglielmo
Tell de Rossini [9:01]
Tema con variaciones, Op.10 [9:17]
Cavatine en la ópera Belisario de Donizetti [7:19]
La Queja: Introducción, variaciones y coda [11:28]
Capriccio sobre aires de La Straniera de Bellini y de L’esule
di Roma di Donizetti [5:25]
Introducción y variaciones sobre un tema de Il Pirata de
Bellini [7:29]
Eugenio Tobalina
(guitar)
rec. 27-28 July 2006, 22 February, 5-6 April, 26 April 2007,
El Canton de la Soledad Estudios, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain NAXOS 8.570715 [63:26]
Urcullu
(sometimes the name appears as Urcullo) is one of the mystery
men of the Spanish guitar tradition. Almost nothing is known
about his life – not even approximate dates for his birth and
death. A few nineteenth century documents offer tantalising
hints as to the man and his music. His name appears in a volume
published in Madrid in 1834, the Catálogo General de laMúsica
Impresa y Publicada en Madrid. In 1843 a poem by one Florencio
Gómez Parreño was published in a music journal entitled El
Anfión Matritense; in it Urcullu is described as “ill-fated” and
his music is said to be akin to that of Fernando Sor and Dioniso
Aguado. The epithet “ill-fated” perhaps implies a youthful death
before the date (1843) of the poem? Given that he makes use
of themes from Donizetti’s Belisario, premiered in 1836,
he presumably died after that but before Parreño’s poem was
published in 1843. I am indebted to Eugenio Tobalina’s booklet
notes for this information.
Urculu’s
music – on the evidence of this CD – is well-made and belongs
very much to the same family, musically speaking, as the work
of Sor. Urcullu seems to have been particularly fond of what
are, compared to the usual repertoire for the instrument at
this time, more than usually extended compositions. It has to
be said that sometimes he over extends himself and runs out
of worthwhile ideas. But sometimes – as in La Amistad (Friendship),
which opens the CD – one is grateful for the opportunity to
hear ideas worked out fully and for the creation of larger patterns
and structures than are often possible within the idiom of the
guitar miniature.
Like
many another guitarist of the period - and not, of course, guitarists
only – Urcullu was evidently fond of the operatic paraphrase
or set of variations – melodies by Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini
are drawn on here and the results are pleasant and civilised,
if perhaps relatively passionless.
The
back cover of the disc speaks of its containing some “extraordinary
music”. That, I think, rather oversells it. It is accomplished,
sophisticated music, written within a fairly well-established
tradition and to those familiar with that tradition these compositions
are unlikely to offer any of the kinds of shocks implied by
the adjective “extraordinary”.
What is extraordinary
is that Urcullu should have slipped so thoroughly from the memory
and knowledge of the musical public and that his music should
be so little known. It is full of attractive touches and winning
details and Urcullu’s use of variation form is generally both
inventive and satisfying.
Not
for the first time, we should be grateful to Naxos for making
available to us such out of the way repertoire. Tobalina plays
the music with obvious sympathy and understanding, playing with
the kind of lucidity that helps to clarify the workings of Urcullu’s
variations; he proves to be an excellent guide into this unfamiliar
territory. The close-up recording will perhaps be a bit too
close-up for some tastes.
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