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Track(s) taken from CDA67954

Tres poemas, Op 81

composer
1933
author of text
the poem Tu pupila es azul is based on Byron's I saw thee weep

Sylvia Schwartz (soprano), Malcolm Martineau (piano)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
CD-Quality:
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Recording details: February 2012
All Saints' Church, East Finchley, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: February 2013
Total duration: 8 minutes 16 seconds

Cover artwork: An Allegory of Happiness by Julio Romero de Torres (1874-1930)
Museo Julio Romero de Torres, Córdoba / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘Guridi's 'High up on that mountain' … is a significant discovery, capturing the dark mysticism of Spanish culture with surprising turns and unexpected splashes of thick harmonic colour. Turina's Tres poemas are marvellous instances of songs that use nature descriptions to reveal intense inner states of being … the rest of the disc suggests the presence of a major artist’ (Gramophone)

‘Sylvia Schwartz is Spanish born, and these warmly seductive and rhythmically supple performances of a beguiling selection of songs by Granados, Turina, Montsalvatge and others are idiomatic and playful … Malcolm Martineau’s robust playing of the piano parts is a joy’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘Soprano Sylvia Schwartz's reputation as a rising star is confirmed by her Hyperion debut album, a programme of songs from her native Spain, finely accompanied by Malcolm Martineau. There's a tangy, lived-in quality in Schwartz's tone that is immediately appealing … a wide emotional range that easily encompasses the wit of Granados's Tonadillas en Estilo Antiguo, the operatic scale of Turina's Tres poemas and the reined-in political fury of Montsalvatge's Cinco canciones negras. There are some exquisite songs in Catalan too’ (The Guardian)

‘This is a delightful programme of early twentieth-century Spanish song full of the atmosphere and seductive charms of Spain … Martineau proves to be an instinctive Spaniophile in his enchantingly nuanced accompaniments. He brings us as close as it is possible in a purely aural medium to the sights and scents of Spain … ever the ideal accompanist, he does not so much prod and pull as envelop the singer, leaving her all the space in the world to root into the very soul of these richly characterful songs … making her recital debut on Hyperion, Sylvia Schwartz delivers these songs with impressive precision and security … a voice so clearly focused that it seems to shine through the music like a bright guiding light. She has reserves of passion and emotion, which wisely she holds back for the very few occasions where it is musically warranted, but she mostly presents clear, confident and unaffected performances, revealing a total command over every aspect of the music. The vocal timbre has a pleasing combination of purity and rich maturity which makes for some arresting singing … strong and compelling performances’ (International Record Review)

‘Schwartz shows a wonderful voice, warm responsiveness to the texts and perfectly idiomatic Spanish. The programme is well-chosen, showing variety of mood, style and soundworld: Guridi's Six Catalan Songs have never been done more vibrantly, more movingly on record. Martineau is, as ever, the perfect collaborator’ (Classical Music)

‘In Turina's Tres poemas, the soprano glides from sinuous habanera to a soaring paean to nature, moving from gentle breezes to fires and weeping willows’ (The New Zealand Herald)
Joaquín Turina, like Manuel de Falla, was a native of Seville, and also spent time in Paris, where he was influenced by French musical style. Although he studied with d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum and was greatly attracted by the music of Debussy, his compositions remained essentially Spanish. Albéniz encouraged him to seek inspiration from the rich heritage of Spanish folk music, and much of his guitar and vocal music is characterized by Spanish colour and rhythms. The Tres poemas date from 1933 and set three poems by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, whose Rima Turina had set a decade earlier. Bécquer lived for a time in Madrid, eking out an existence in journalism and translation work and churning out a number of zarzuela libretti long since forgotten. In 1858 he fell in love with Julia Espín, the muse of a number of his Rimas—unrequitedly, as the texts of songs by Albéniz, de Falla, Mompou and Turina tell us. His poems have often been described as ‘suspiritos germánicos’—a reference to Heine’s Buch der Lieder poems, which Bécquer knew partially through Gérard de Nerval’s translation of Lyrisches Intermezzo. Bécquer’s poems, however, lack Heine’s cynicism, as we see especially in Besa el aura, and also Olas gigantes, set both by de Falla and by Federico Mompou in his Bécquerianas (1971). Tu pupila es azul, the second of the Tres poemas, was originally entitled ‘Imitación de Byron’, inspired as it was by Byron’s ‘I saw thee weep’. Turina varies the vocal line of each stanza, and the accompaniment, which starts with a staccato motif based on simple chords, develops more virtuoso characteristics at the end of the third verse, when we hear romantic arpeggios and guitar-like music to accompany the vocal cadenza with which the song ends.

from notes by Richard Stokes © 2013

Comme Manuel de Falla, Joaquín Turina, sévillan de naissance, passa quelque temps à Paris, où le style musical français l’influença. Malgré des études avec d’Indy à la Schola cantorum et une forte attirance pour la musique de Debussy, il composa des œuvres fondamentalement espagnoles—Albéniz l’encouragea à s’inspirer du riche héritage folklorique national et nombre de ses pièces pour guitare et voix ont des couleurs et des rythmes espagnols. Datant de 1933, les Tres poemas expriment en musique trois poèmes de Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, dont Turina avait mis en musique Rima, dix ans auparavant. Bécquer demeura un temps à Madrid, vivotant de travaux de journalisme et de traduction et pondant à la chaîne des livrets de zarzuela depuis longtemps oubliés. En 1858, il s’amouracha de Julia Espín, muse de plusieurs de ses Rimas—un amour non partagé, comme en attestent les textes utilisés par Albéniz, de Falla, Mompou et Turina. Ses poèmes ont souvent été qualifiés de «suspiritos germánicos»—en référence à ceux du Buch der Lieder de Heine, que Bécquer connaissait partiellement à travers le Lyrisches Intermezzo traduit par Gérard de Nerval. Mais Bécquer n’a pas le cynisme de Heine, comme nous le montrent tout particulièrement Besa el aura et Olas gigantes, mis en musique par de Falla et par Federico Mompou, dans ses Bécquerianas (1971). Tu pupila es azul, le deuxième des Tres poemas, fut d’abord intitulé «Imitación de Byron», car inspiré du «I saw thee weep» byronien. Turina varie la ligne vocale de chaque strophe et l’accompagnement, qui part sur un motif staccato fondé sur des accords simples, se fait plus virtuose à la fin du troisième couplet—s’entendent alors des arpèges romantiques et une musique guitaresque, escortant la cadenza vocale conclusive.

extrait des notes rédigées par Richard Stokes © 2013
Français: Hypérion

Joaquín Turina stammte, ebenso wie Manuel de Falla, aus Sevilla und hielt sich ebenfalls eine Zeitlang in Paris auf, wo er von dem französischen Musikstil beeinflusst wurde. Obwohl er bei d’Indy an der Schola Cantorum studiert hatte und von der Musik Debussys besonders fasziniert war, behielt er in seinen Kompositionen im Wesentlichen einen spanischen Stil bei. Albéniz ermutigte ihn dazu, sich von dem reichen Erbe der spanischen Volksmusik inspirieren zu lassen und ein großer Teil seiner Gitarren- und Vokalmusik zeichnet sich durch spanische Klangfarben und Rhythmen aus. Die Tres poemas stammen aus dem Jahre 1933 und sind Vertonungen dreier Gedichte von Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, dessen Rima er zehn Jahre zuvor vertont hatte. Bécquer lebte eine Zeitlang in Madrid und schlug sich als Journalist und Übersetzer durch und schrieb zahlreiche Zarzuela-Libretti, die inzwischen längst in Vergessenheit geraten sind. 1858 verliebte er sich in Julia Espín, die Muse einer Reihe seiner Rimas, doch blieb seine Liebe unerwidert, wie die Texte der Lieder von Albéniz, de Falla, Mompou und Turina uns verraten. Seine Gedichte sind oft als „suspiritos germánicos“ beschrieben worden—es ist dies eine Anspielung auf die Gedichte in Heines Buch der Lieder, die Bécquer teilweise durch Gérard de Nervals Übersetzung des Lyrischen Intermezzo kannte. Bécquers Gedichte besitzen jedoch nicht den Zynismus Heines, wie es besonders in Besa el aura und auch Olas gigantes deutlich wird, die beide von de Falla und Frederic Mompou in dessen Bécquerianas (1971) vertont wurden. Tu pupila es azul, das zweite der Tres poemas, trug ursprünglich den Titel „Imitación de Byron“, da seine Inspirationsquelle „I saw thee weep“ von Byron war. Turina variiert die Vokallinie von Strophe zu Strophe und die Begleitung, die mit einem Staccato-Motiv beginnt, dem einfache Akkorde zugrunde liegen, entwickelt gegen Ende der dritten Strophe zunehmend virtuose Charakteristika, wo romantische Arpeggien und gitarrenartige Musik als Begleitung zur Vokalkadenz das Lied beschließen.

aus dem Begleittext von Richard Stokes © 2013
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

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