{"product_id":"mompou-piano-music-vol-5","title":"Mompou: Piano Music, Vol. 5","description":"\u003cb\u003eA delightful disk.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e I have never understood why some people call Mompou “the Spanish Satie” for his music is so different as to be from another planet. True, both of them can write music of almost virginal purity, but nowhere does Satie show the kind of high spirits that you can find in the seventh section of the  \u003ci\u003eDon Perlimplin\u003c\/i\u003e ballet. This work is a real find. Until now I’d only heard an orchestral Suite but here is the complete score. It’s a fine piece, totally Mompou - Montsalvatge only created the second and eleventh sections and added a few linking passages, he also orchestrated the work - and there’s none of the spirituality of other works, such as the  \u003ci\u003eMusica callada\u003c\/i\u003e. Extrovert Mompou? Yes, and why not? There’s much Spanish colouring à la Falla and Granados, and, the note tells us, a whiff of Poulenc, but breathe and you’ll miss it. No matter. This is a major discovery and with such a persuasive performance as this it might just make some concert promoter give us the orchestral version. \u003cbr\u003e    \u003cbr\u003e   \u003ci\u003eBallet\u003c\/i\u003e is a collection of 12 miniatures, all, but the opening Prelude, playing for around 60 seconds. There’s no development, simply statement and thoughtful discourse. Despite their brevity these are very satisfying and compelling pieces. \u003cbr\u003e    \u003cbr\u003e  The rest of the programme is more miniatures, but ones which stand alone, and include Mompou’s only three chamber works. The  \u003ci\u003eGlossa\u003c\/i\u003e and  \u003ci\u003eFantasia\u003c\/i\u003e on  \u003ci\u003eAu clair de la lune\u003c\/i\u003e are both studies on the children’s song. The  \u003ci\u003eRomanca\u003c\/i\u003e was written for the third anniversary of his engagement to his future bride. Mompou was obviously not a man to rush into things, for they didn’t get married for another 13 years!  \u003ci\u003eModerato expresivo\u003c\/i\u003e was later reworked and it appeared as no.18 in the  \u003ci\u003eMusica callada\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e    \u003cbr\u003e  And so to the chamber music.  \u003ci\u003eAltitud\u003c\/i\u003e for violin and piano was written whilst the composer was living in Paris and there is a distinct French feel to the piece.  \u003ci\u003eEl pont\u003c\/i\u003e is a late reworking, not a transcription, of a piano piece (1947) (available on Naxos 8.554727) in homage to Casals for his centenary. The final  \u003ci\u003eComptines I - III\u003c\/i\u003e are so short as to be lost after the other pieces which seem gargantuan by comparison - “the ant’s a centaur in his dragon world”, as Pound wrote. They are a most enjoyable finale to a delightful disk. The performances are very good and the sound is excellent. Mompou deserves the audience which I hope that this disk, and the previous four in the series, will bring him. \u003cbr\u003e    \u003cbr\u003e  -- Bob Briggs, MusicWeb International  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49607864516888,"sku":"747313095674","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/1626561.jpg?v=1777842821","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/mompou-piano-music-vol-5","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}