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Audio Samples
Blancafort, Manuel : Nocturnes (5), for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Hommage a Faure, for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Tonades (2), for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Sardana simfonica, for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Obsessio, for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : La verge de Palau Solitar, for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Tres consejos de Turina, for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Elegia, for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Peces petites per a mans menudes, for pianoAlbum Summary
Blancafort, Manuel : Nocturnes (5), for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Hommage a Faure, for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Tonades (2), for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Sardana simfonica, for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Obsessio, for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : La verge de Palau Solitar, for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Tres consejos de Turina, for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Elegia, for pianoBlancafort, Manuel : Peces petites per a mans menudes, for piano- Miquel Villalba (Piano)
Notes & Reviews:
This is the fifth and final volume of Manuel Blancafort's complete solo piano works, a series which has drawn on many unpublished scores kindly made available to Miquel Villalba by the composer's family and contributed to the work of recovering, conserving and publicizing the composer's legacy. From the first two 'Nocturnes' of 1930 and 1931, to the other works composed during or after World War II, we hear the transformation of Blancafort's music from pieces inspired by his love of nature to works which pay tribute to fellow composers or are lovingly dedicated to his grandchildren.
Notes & Reviews:Recording information: L'Auditorium, Jafre, Spain (12/13/2008-12/14/2008).
Reviews
A moving end to a composers' life, and a great recording project
Those of us who have been following Miquel Villalba's amazing series of the complete piano music of the Catalan composer Manuel Blancafort won't be surprised by the continuing excellence in the music and playing on this disc. The CD includes Blancafort's final works for piano, most of them written after the Spanish Civil War. Sadly, it's the last in this important series from Naxos. Sadly as well, it documents a general decline in Blancafort's situation, compared with happier pre-war times. Reading the revealing liner notes by Villalba, one feels the composer becoming increasingly tired of life as the century moves on. But even though he didn't write very much music for piano in these years, there seems to be no corresponding decline in his inspiration.
Blancafort's music seems to grow out of the Catalonian soil, as the composer is immersed in the musical traditions of his country going back to medieval times, with the additional inspiration of the nature in the countryside. But there is also the key influence of the French piano composers, most notably Ravel and Debussy. The Hommage a Faure makes this clear, though even in the traditional Catalan dance Sardana simfonica you can hear impressionistic techniques.
There's a melancholic and nostalgic tone to many of these pieces, which is evident in the Elegia he wrote in 1983 for his friend Frederic Mompou, another of the great Catalan composers. Even some of the "Simple pieces for little hands" Blancafort was writing for his grandchildren when he died are very sad. This is moving, heart-breaking, music.
Submitted on 02/11/11 by Dean Frey
Submitted on 02/11/11 by Dean Frey
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Works Details
Blancafort, Manuel : Nocturnes (5), for piano - Performer: Miquel Villalba (Piano)
- Notes: L'Auditorium, Jafre, Spain (12/13/2008-12/14/2008)
- Running Time: 5 min. 51 sec.
- Period Time: Modern
- Written: 1930-1942
Blancafort, Manuel : Hommage à Fauré, for piano - Performer: Miquel Villalba (Piano)
- Notes: L'Auditorium, Jafre, Spain (12/13/2008-12/14/2008)
- Running Time: 3 min. 21 sec.
- Period Time: Modern
- Written: 1942
Blancafort, Manuel : Tonades (2), for piano - Performer: Miquel Villalba (Piano)
- Notes: L'Auditorium, Jafre, Spain (12/13/2008-12/14/2008)
- Running Time: 2 min. 26 sec.
- Period Time: Modern
- Written: 1943
Blancafort, Manuel : Sardana simfònica, for piano - Performer: Miquel Villalba (Piano)
- Notes: L'Auditorium, Jafre, Spain (12/13/2008-12/14/2008)
- Running Time: 5 min. 19 sec.
- Period Time: Modern
- Written: 1949
Blancafort, Manuel : Obsessió, for piano - Performer: Miquel Villalba (Piano)
- Notes: L'Auditorium, Jafre, Spain (12/13/2008-12/14/2008)
- Running Time: 2 min. 41 sec.
- Period Time: Modern
- Written: 1954
Blancafort, Manuel : La verge de Palau Solitar, for piano - Performer: Miquel Villalba (Piano)
- Notes: L'Auditorium, Jafre, Spain (12/13/2008-12/14/2008)
- Running Time: 4 min. 32 sec.
- Period Time: Modern
- Written: 1978
Blancafort, Manuel : Tres consejos de Turina, for piano - Performer: Miquel Villalba (Piano)
- Notes: L'Auditorium, Jafre, Spain (12/13/2008-12/14/2008)
- Running Time: 2 min. 58 sec.
- Period Time: Modern
- Written: 1983
Blancafort, Manuel : Elegia, for piano - Performer: Miquel Villalba (Piano)
- Notes: L'Auditorium, Jafre, Spain (12/13/2008-12/14/2008)
- Running Time: 3 min. 50 sec.
- Period Time: Modern
- Written: 1983
Blancafort, Manuel : Peces petites per a mans menudes, for piano - Performer: Miquel Villalba (Piano)
- Notes: L'Auditorium, Jafre, Spain (12/13/2008-12/14/2008)
- Period Time: Modern
- Written: 1986
