Joaquín TURINA (1882-1949)
Jardins d’Andalousie, Op.31 (1924) [19:41]
Le Quartier de Santa Cruz, Op.33 (1925) [17:56]
Las musas de Andalucia, Op.93 (1942): Clio, Urania, Terpsichore
[10:09]
En el cortijo, Op.92 (1940) [14:26]
Jordi Masó (piano)
rec. Jafre Auditorium, Spain, 26-27 February 2011
NAXOS 8.572682 [62:27]
Turina was an amazingly prolific composer for the piano. His output for the
instrument surpasses in sheer fecundity that of his Spanish contemporaries
Falla and Granados, or even his predecessor Albéniz. This is the eighth
CD of his piano music produced by Naxos in performances by Jordi Masó.
And yet Turina’s piano music is distinctly less well known than that
of the other three Spanish composers cited earlier. There doesn’t seem
to be any spectacularly obvious reason for this, unless the sheer volume of
the music has deterred pianists from exploring it. The works here are all
inspired by the scenery and music of Turina’s native Andalucia. The
earlier two works - Jardins d’Andalousie and the ‘rhythmic
variations’ Le Quartier de Santa Cruz - were originally intended
to form two panels of a unified portrait of Seville. None of the works on
this disc appear to have been recorded before, and their total neglect is
most surprising.
The Jardins d’Andalousie in their title may recall Falla’s
Nights in the gardens of Spain, but Turina’s music is less ambitious
- rather more a series of impressionistic portraits in the style of Granados’s
Goyescas or Debussy’s Préludes. They are beautiful
pieces. The set of variations rings the required changes in mood nicely but
is rather less evocative despite the persistence of Andalucian rhythms which
underpin each variation. It might seem that Turina found the variation form
somewhat of a constraint; some of the individual sections yearn for more room
to expand rhapsodically. The final section produces a broadly grandiose restatement
of the melody. Masó could perhaps have allowed the music to expand
a little further here to produce a feeling of conclusion.
The excerpts from Las musas d’Andalucia comprise the three numbers
for solo piano from a nine-movement work describing the Greek Muses. It also
included settings for voice and string quartet. They are beautiful pieces,
superbly written for the instrument, with decided overtones of Ravel. Urania
starts with a jaunty fugue, but this is very quickly interrupted by swinging
jota rhythms and proceeds joyously. Falla in his later years became
more neo-classical and desiccated as he aged. Turina seems to have stayed
true to his original style, with a slight cooling as befits depictions of
Greek goddesses. These pieces, like Ravel, would seem to beckon for orchestration,
perhaps as part of a presentation of the whole work.
The slightly earlier En el cortijo (On the farm) was given the subtitle
Impresiones andaluzas, and reflects the atmospheric writing of the
earlier Jardins d’Andalousie and Quartier de Santa Cruz.
The influence here is very decidedly Debussian, with passages in the opening
movement and the third both reminiscent of La cathédrale engloutie.
Broad chorale-like melodies are surrounded by figurations. The first movement
then erupts into lighter glissandos and trills reflecting the title
Night in the countryside. The second movement, In the shadow of
the farmhouse, also has hints of Debussy but now it is a Spanish golliwog
who dances his cakewalk. The third movement leads directly into a depiction
of Horsemen galloping across the plains which owes nothing to Liszt’s
Mazeppa.
Martin Jones for Nimbus produced a superb recording of a selection of Turina’s
piano music, but as noted above none of the works on this disc were included
in that collection. Masó therefore has the field to himself, and he
does the music proud. His playing is superlatively responsive and idiomatic.
The recording has sufficient bloom to lend romantic enchantment to Turina’s
visions of his beloved homeland. This is unjustly neglected music which deserves
attention.
Paul Corfield Godfrey
Unjustly neglected music which deserves attention.