Music of Silence and Wonder
D. A Wend | Buffalo Grove, IL USA | 02/24/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The music of Frederico Mompou is touched by the spirit of childhood - freedom from all rules. In his piano works, one has a feeling of a state of meditation, the music just happening and not bound to any kind of permanent media. Mompou does not follow the usual forms of development and counterpoint and has been compared with Erick Satie in the free style of his music, but Satie injects more humor into his music while Mompou remain introspective. If Satie is the child outside playing on a summer day, Mompou is the child looking out a window and watching.
There are many musical influences that one can detect in Mompou: Debussy, Chopin, Ravel and Scriabin come to mind. Mompou studied composition in Paris beginning in 1911, spending the years of the First World War in Spain, The four books called Musica Callada (Music of Silence) recorded on this disc were written between 1959 and 1967 and is his major piano composition. The books are meant to be a completed work and each book numbers its movements where the prior one left off. The music, overall, is meditative with occasional outburst of dramatic chord-clusters.
Book One (1959) progressed from quiet introspection to become dreamy. The music begins with a melody that sounds more like a practice exercise but the music quickly becomes more complex. The third movement marked Placide is like a lullaby and the fifth is rather plaintive and is followed by a captivating and moving cantabile. The Lento profound has a touch of despair with chords that remind one of Ravel's darker music from Gaspard de la Nuit. The somber music is followed by a short, playful movement the moves in the final piece simply marked Lento: a placid work that reminds me of a depiction of nature.
Book Two (1962) begins with music with a transinsdental feel to it as if depiction stars in deep space. Then, we are transported to a childhood game in a rare Allegro movement and are followed by a Scriabin-like Lento movement with astringent and mysterious chords. The next movement is marked Tranquillo but the peace is disturbed by some menacing chords before settling back to the tranquil but slightly unsettling opening melody. The following movements are austere and introspective giving way to the final movement marked Calme and begins with a glittering passage of light-on-water, reminiscent of Ravel that becomes a lovely exploration of a melancholy melody and evaporates into silence.
Book Three (1966) is the shortest of the books and begins with a Lento with bell-like chords followed by a movement with the interesting name Luminoso that is reminiscent of Scriabin. The music turns more introspective and searching; movement 20 marked Calme is a long meditation and the book conclusions with another Scriabin-like movement with repeating chords that evaporates into silence.
Book Four (1974) begins with two searching movements that have an improvised sound as if Mompou casually sat down and wrote the notes his fingers happened to play. Movement 24 is a Moderato that is warmer in tone and is followed by four Lento movements that return to more introspective music with a feeling of longing, particularly on movement 26. Movement 27 has a plaintive voice where two melodies have a sad dialogue and movement 28 concludes the book and is the longest of all. The music is a summing up of the music before it and begins with bold chords that give way to meditative music somewhat like Debussy. The opening chords return and the music fades away.
Haskell Small is a composer-pianist who studied with Leon Fleisher, William Masselos, Harry Franklin and Jeanne Behrend and is the piano department Chair at the Washington Conservatory of Music. Mr. Small is a marvelous interpreter of Mompou's music paying close attention to the subtle shadings and colors and the harmonic beauty of the score. He gives the music the necessary space and has the committed connection with the music that is so much a part of approaching Mompou. Federico Mompou may not be considered a "great" composer but his is a very individual voice that leaves us (hopefully) in thoughtful contemplation. Mr. Small has certainly achieved that end for me with an unforgettable performance where it almost seems that time stands still.
"
Haskell Small's Performance is No Small Thing
J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 02/26/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Thanks to the marvelous review by D.A. Wend -- I suggest you read it if you haven't already -- my remarks will necessarily be brief.
Federico Mompou (it's pronounced MomPO, not MomPOO as you might expect) was a Catalan composer who studied in Paris and lived much of his life there and in Barcelona. Although influenced by Debussy, Scriabin and Satie, the melodic outlines and much of the harmony are unmistakably Spanish. What makes his music so fascinating are its spare textures, incantatory introspection, generally slow tempi, bell sounds, lack of what is generally considered development, and its ability to utterly entrance the listener. I well remember the first time I heard any of his music, recorded by the composer himself for the Ensayo label in the 1970s when he was in his eighties, and I immediately fell under its (almost literal) spell. I have since collected about a dozen LPs and CDs, including the (almost) complete works played by the composer. Among those I treasure, besides the composer's own efforts, are those of Stephen Hough and Jordi Masó. I had heard of pianist Haskell Small, but was not familiar with his work. His performance of Mompou's music ranks with theirs. 'Musica Callada' ('Quiet Music') is Mompou's most extended work; although its component pieces are miniatures, it is designed to be played as a single work whose effect, when well played, is almost a religious experience, not unexpectedly as the composer's inspiration for the work was the writings of the Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross. It is difficult to play quiet, slow, spare piano music; the piano is, after all, a percussion instrument whose ability to sustain a singing line at a slow tempo requires some real technique, not to speak of the sensibility of a singer. Small has this ability. There is an inwardness to his playing that almost makes you feel as if you are overhearing the pianist playing a private performance not intended to be heard by others. And given Mompou's own inward personality, a shy intensity that is palpable, this is the perfect sensibility to bring to this music.
A strong recommendation.
Scott Morrison"
Track Listings (28) - Disc #1