Song of the Stars

 

What a wonderful program!

Sure, this is a rather strange mix of instrumental chamber music and choral music, with a variety of 20th Century Spanish composers, but what a discovery!

The star of the show is the 16-minute Song of the Stars from Granados. It is a showcase for solo piano, no surprise as the composer was a virtuoso pianist, but also pipe organ and chorus. It is indeed a strange concertante piece.

The mix of pipe organ and piano is new to me, especially from a Classical Music angle, but it is a fine combination. The percussiveness of the piano contrasts nicely with the wind sounds of the organ.

There are two pieces for violin and piano here as well. They are not too much more than Romantic Era parlor works, but provide some contrast to the primarily choral program.

The choral works are mostly sacred motets, written in a Renaissance polyphonic, conservative 20th Century style. Pablo Casals, a famous cellist, is represented by Nigra Sum for choir and piano. It is an absolute masterpiece, along with his O Vos Omnes, although these performers are a little swifter than I would prefer.

At the time of this recording, Manuel Oltra was a living composer, later passing in 2015, and his choral music covers a distinct modern sound. Instances of chord clusters and shimmering dissonance, elements which have taken over the 21st Century choral world, is beautifully sung, another surprising contrast to this program.

I can't say anything here is a must-hear, but I was enchanted with this program. It is a live performance from the Church of the Ascension in New York, where you will catch the occasional throat clearing or cough, and the applause is kept in at its conclusion.

A review from 2024

The draw of this album is Enrique Granados’ Song of the Stars, a curious mix of piano solo, pipe organ, and chorus. It is purely Romantic, yet I have heard nothing like it from Granados before, so there is an aspect of forward-looking innovation as well.


There are also two purely instrumental works included. The Romanza from Granados for violin and piano is mere parlor music, but his Religious Scene adds organ to the duet, bringing it curiously out of the Salon.

 

The rest of the album is dedicated to choral music, mostly sacred, and from a host of 20^th Century Spanish composers. The famous cellist Pablo Casals has two choral masterpieces to his name; the O Vos Omnes and Nigra Sum, the latter of which is included here. In addition we get his Hail Mary church sequence, which is quite different than the well-known motets.

 

Enric Morera’s El Rossinyol and Manuel Blancafort’s Canto de Amor lean more towards modern madrigals. The most recent compositions, Manuel Oltra’s Eco and Preludio have that 21^st Century, chord cluster, light dissonance which has been so popular over the last 30 years in the choral world.


If you are up for a striking mix of Catalan-based compositions, this is a wonderful discovery. The 15 minute Song of the Stars from Grandos is the star here, but there is much more for lovers of choral music. The instrumental pieces are odd inclusions, but most welcome.

 

The Voices of Ascension under Dennis Keene sing beautifully, even if their vibratoless female sections are not to my particular tastes. This is a live recording, so expect a few throat clearings, but the organ from New York’s Church of the Ascension is a delight.

 

 

 

Nothing here is exotically Spanish, but this program is a nice mix of sacred choral music and instrumental chamber music.

At least stop by for Granados' Song of the Stars.

 

 

 

 

 

Find more Granados recordings HERE!

 

 

Nothing here is exotically Spanish, but this program is a nice mix of sacred choral music and instrumental chamber music.

At least stop by for Granados' Song of the Stars.