The Whole Music Experience

World   The Ultimate Guide to Spanish Folk   Compilation Arc Music I have known for several years about the diverse folk music traditions coming from the provinces of Spain.   From the haunting strains of Galician Celtic fare to the fiery strums of Andalusian flamenco to early music traditions, and the music of the Jewish and Moor populations, we could spend a lifetime discovering Spanish folk traditions.   While hardly an exhaustive compilation, The Ultimate Guide to Spanish Folk Music whets our appetites, though some of the tracks sound too modern too my ears, while others such as Doa’s revisit to the early music song, Levou-se a fremosa has me swooning a bit from its enchanting vocals and hurdy-gurdy. Compiled by radio hosts, Juan Antonio Vásquez and Araceli Tzigane (for Mundofoniás--national radio of Spain), we hear music from Majorca, Barcelona, the Canary Islands (which is new for me), Galicia, Extremadura, Asturias, Valencia and accor...

Franca Masu 10 Anys Aramùsica Once in a while a new diva crosses my path which is the case with Sardinian jazz vocalist Franca Masu who sings her repertoire in the Catalan language.   So not only am I discovering a new vocal talent (to my ears), but I also discovered a Catalan connection to the Italian island of Sardinia.   If you go back hundreds of years, you’ll discover a goldmine of cultural and language connections in the Mediterranean, but for the sake of this review my goal is to pique your curiosity.   Closet anthropologists similar to me will dig right in. Franca Masu marks the first female Sardinian vocalists I have listened to, but she’s not the first chanteuse that I’ve reviewed that sings in the Catalan language, Mariana Rossell (Barcelona) and Maria del Mar Bonet (Majorca) come easily to mind.   Masu weds jazz vocals with traditional instruments on her live album 10 Anys . Masu’s vocals alternate between sedate/tender on Aquamare and ...

Marina Rossell Clàssics Catalans… Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona World Village Only an accomplished vocalist/folkloric interpreter could open a concert with a fragile love song sung a cappella ( Touch Me ) and nearly bring the house down. However, Mariana Rossell, a Catalan folkloric specialist delivers a commanding performance ripe with heartfelt emotions. On her CD,  Gran Teatre Del Liceu  from the concert released in 2009 on World Village, I could already hear Rossell’s immaculate phrasing, and felt amazed at the life she breathed into 100 year old songs. The DVD concert offers an hour and half of sheer pleasure as the collection of songs reflecting about love, death, patriotism for Catalonia, and defiance. And if that’s not enough, Rossell treats each story as if they’re her own and she’s a consummate storyteller too. The DVD, Clàssics Catalans provides the entire sold-out concert along with a 30 minute documentary about a handful of the songs Rossell perfo...

Pablo Casals (1876-1973) J.S. Bach Suites for Cello Volume 1 Great Recordings of the Century EMI I first heard about the Catalan cellist Pablo Casals in the Canadian film, 32 Short Films about Glenn Gould . The Glenn Gould character produced a radio documentary where he interviewed the great cellist. Glenn Gould did for J. S. Bach’s keyboard pieces what Pablo Casals had done for Bach’s Cello Suites and that was to remove the stigma of overly academic from Bach’s masterpieces. And in the hands of virtuoso interpreters such as Gould and Casals, the piano sonatas, and Cello Suites took on a new vivacious life. Bach’s music had been reconsidered and accepted by a broader public. Pablo Casals was born in the Catalan region of Spain (also home of the early music interpreter/performer Jordi Savall and his family), in 1876 and by the age of 5, he showed an aptitude for music. His musical training began with keyboards, but he would later fall in love with the cello. He was perfo...

Marina Rossell Gran Teatre Del Liceu De Barcelona Classic Catalan Songs World Village Catalan/Spanish vocalist and songwriter Marina Rossell marries Lorca-like poetry, with traditional Spanish instruments and heartfelt vocals on this live recording. This delicious collection of songs, (23 in all), combines the taste of the sea, with sensual images and longing. And similar to other international vocalists, Mariana Montalvo, Tania Libertad, Arja and Claudia Bombardella, Rossell's repertoire on Classic Catalan Songs , travels the gamut from cabaret-style to spiritual and national hymns, to love songs that would cause troubadours to blush. These songs come to us from a September 11, 2008 (a Catalonian holiday), performance at Gran Teatre Del Liceu De Barcelona (Grand Theatre of Licea of Barcelona), and judging from the photographs that pepper the cover and liner notes, this performance was a grand event. The entire theatre with its many tiers was filled to the brim. Th...