"ALMA DE ESPANA".(Review)

Teresa Berganza [] "ALMA DE ESPANA" Songs of Granados and Guridi; Falla-Arizcuren: El Amor Brujo. Cello Octet Conjunto Iberico, Arizcuren. Texts and translations. Ambroisie AMB 9908

In the mid-1970s, when the artistry of mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza stood at its zenith, she recorded six of the twelve Tonadillas of Enrique Granados (1867-1916) and three of the six Canciones Castellanas of Jesus Guridi (1886-1961) on LP for DG. Now, twenty-five years later, she brings us both collections complete. This time, the piano accompaniments are replaced by a cello octet, conducted by the arranger, Elias Arizcuren.

The Tonadillas are concise songs, many of them inspired by the art and personality of the great painter Goya. One of these, "La Maja de Goya," is preceded by a spoken narrative relating how a jealous husband surprised the painter as he was completing his notorious "Naked Maja," but on discovering the beauty of the painting, the model's spouse decided to leave Goya and the alluring subject alone, presumably for the glory of art. (A likely story!) Not all the Tonadillas are of equal merit, but these songs of Spain indeed reveal the soul of the nation through miniatures ranging from hot-blooded passion to impish humor. In one of the Tonadillas (No. 8), Berganza is charmingly partnered by her daughter, Cecilia Lavilla. Harmonically somewhat more advanced, ...