FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Albéniz & Casals & Mompou & Granados & Poulenc 2016: Centenary of the death of Granados JORDI CAMELL, piano

Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)

Córdoba (1894) (from Chants d’Espagne) Mallorca (Barcarola) (1891)

Pau Casals (1876-1973)

Piano pieces Intimate Page (1898) Two Romances Without Words (1894) Tempo giusto. Agitato ed espressivo Allegro in F-sharp minor (1893) Lullaby (1942) Prélude in C major (1946)

Frederic Mompou (1893-1987)

Variations on a Theme of Chopin (selection) (1957) Theme. Andantino (A major) Lento (D major, for the left hand) Andante dolce e espressivo (F major) Évocation. Cantabile molto espressivo (F sharp major)

Enric Granados (1867-1916)

Poetic Waltzes (1887) Introduction. Melodious. Noble Waltz. Slow Waltz. Humorous Allegro. Allegretto. Quasi ad libitum. Vivo-Presto. Tempo of Waltz El amor y la muerte (1911) (Ballad of Love and Death) from

F. Poulenc (1899-1963)

Hymne (from Trois Pièces, 1928) Toccata (from Trois Pièces, 1928) From the Mediterranean Sea. Program notes

Isaac Albéniz (Camprodon, 1860. ; Cambo-les-Bains 1909)

Aromatic Breezes. A little over a hundred years ago, upon penetrating the refreshing coolness of a middle-class home, dressed in a novice’s outfit he produced sounds on the piano as though they were light itself. His repertoire fluctuated between popular airs and Romantic opera arias. There, Isaac Albéniz, the child prodigy, the intense creator, was alpha and omega. During the 20th century Isaac Albéniz was considered, exclusively, the composer of Iberia. Other works of his were acknowledged, though undervalued, and were dismissed in the wake of the hurricane. Recently however, works by the composer from Campodrón –operas, , songs and sonatas– have been re-evaluated. Now our captured piano reveals the warm, Mediterranean days illuminated. The times were complex when Felipe Pedrell searched for a national musical identity while the last of the Spanish colonies vanished. Albéniz played the Frenchman and Brit but his heart remained Iberian. This has led to interpretations that focus on the folkloric aspect rather than the depth of his music. With Cantos de España (1891-1894), a new creative concept is forged in which rhythms are generated from dissonant chords, reminiscent of the guitar, and a markedly horizontal writing gives the work extraordinary profundity. The Impressionist school owes Albéniz that all-too-human anguish which seeks the limits of tonality. “Córdoba” illuminates a new path charged with frothy brilliance and far-away sonorities of great virtuosity, not unlike Mussorgsky’s.

Enric Granados (Lleida, 1867. Catalonia; , on the sea, 1916)

Granados: the incurable romantic, the piano-poet, the Spanish Chopin, the handsome, likeable, dreamy-eyed artist, staunchly supported by a long-suffering wife despite flings and affairs. Distracted, improvisatory, passionate, joking, un-arrogant, always sure it would work out in the end. The proverbial struggling-composer, scraping a salary from teaching and overlooked theatre works, barely supporting his six children… Between two ‘Spanish’ extremes, his many piano works have virtually nothing of the castanet or guitar. Most are charming and well-crafted miniatures, usually modelled rather obviously on late 19th-century European maestros. The lovely “Poetic Waltzes” (Schumann, Papillons op.2?), which Granados played to concert acclaim throughout his career. He was an outstanding , admired by the French for his subtlety and restraint, but by the Spanish for his fire and passion, and left some piano-roll recordings which show his facility for improvisation.

“El amor y la muerte” (Ballad of Love and Death). One of the most outstanding pieces from Goyescas is El Amor y la Muerte, a work of high emotional content, savage but at the same time mysterious, whose rich and profound expression compensates for any of criticisms commonly levelled at Granados in relation to the lack of formal proportion and weak structural design in his music. The importance the composer attached to this work is shown by the program notes he wrote from the first performance of the work at the Sala Granados on May 30, 1915, in which he makes frequent references to it: “All the themes of Goyescas-Los majos enamorados are found in this ballad. The first section is based on the melodic theme of Coloquio en la reja. Three great emotions appear in the work: intense pain, nostalgic love, and the final tragedy-death. This ballad opens with the theme that was a love theme and appears here in all its force in the low register of the piano. When the lover falls mortally wounded, the theme which had been a love theme earlier in the work appears and which is used, with a slight variation, to convey the bitterness felt by the grieving maja.

Pau Casals (El Vendrell-Tarragona, 1876. Catalonia; San Juan de Puerto Rico, 1973)

Revealing a hidden secret, that’s a clear attempt to salvage our heritage of hitherto unknown Catalan music and set things to rights. Pau Casals is renowned as one of the best and most gifted cellists of all time and also, from a human point of view, as a great figure who symbolised and defended, against all obstacles, the ideals of peace and fraternity at the important and historic time (the history of the 20th century) he happened to live in. However, people were still largely unaware of him as a composer and his work had not been published. This work is being carried out by Jordi Camell, who has reviewed the manuscripts for the first publication and has recorded this complete work for World Premiere Recordings. In the text for the booklet accompanying this recently released CD, Jordi Camell says:

“We are dealing with a piece of music close to central European 19th Century romanticism, surprisingly distant from the language of our country’s folkloric roots or French music of that time. Harmonically rich, overflowing in counterpoints, it isn’t salon music and is well beyond being simple accompanied melody; intimate delicate and sensitive music that contradicts the stereotype image of an impulsive and temperamental Casals. It’s as if, through the piano, he found the peace, rest and introspection that served to balance his turbulent professional and personal life. What would have happened if Casals hadn’t become a real genius at the cello? If he hadn’t been so close to the works of art he performed (this is usual among many musicians who pause reverentially in front of a blank sheet of paper before writing any notes), would he have developed even further his compositional talent? We will never know. But from an artist who wrote this music for piano without it being his main instrument, we could have foreseen a splendid future as a composer.”

Frederic Mompou (Barcelona, 1893; Barcelona, 1987)

Mom-who? You might ask. Mompou was not exactly a composer with self-promotion at the forefront of his thinking. Catalan-born, long-lived, he wrote predominantly for piano and for voice. And through a century that saw more than its fair share of turmoil and upheaval he turned ever more inwards. Beginning where the likes of Satie, Fauré and Debussy left off, mixed with the heady sound-world of Scriabin and Chopin, Mompou developed and refined those ingredients over the decades to create a language like no other. The style the composer himself calls 'primitivista' involves currently no bar lines, key signatures or other such paraphernalia of 'organized' composition. However the latter's cynicism here finds expression in genuine innocence and wonder. “Variations sur un thème de Chopin”, one of Mompou's larger piano works, is based on Chopin's Prelude in A Major, Op. 28 No. 7. It started out as a piece for cello and piano, written in collaboration between Mompou and the cellist Gaspar Cassadó. Work on this version of the piece started in 1938, but was abandoned. Mompou completed the full set of 12 variations in 1957 and the music was published as Variations on a Theme of Chopin.

Albéniz, Granados, Casals and Mompou: personal relationships

Albéniz and Granados. On doctor’s recommendation, the 1st of April of 1909 Albéniz left Paris and settled in Cambo-les-Bains balneary (Basque Country). The end was coming and the authorized morphine doses could hardly ease his suffering. An emotional encounter took place at the beginning of May when he received the visit of his dear friend Enric Granados. They embraced, according to direct testimonies, while neither of the two was able to articulate a single word, being overwhelmed by the emotion. Afterwards, they engaged in a long and loving conversation. Albéniz asked him to play something on the piano. Granados started to play “La maja y el ruiseñor”, an unknown piece at that time. While playing, since he wanted to give his friend a surprise, without saying a word, he stopped the music and started to play the “Mallorca” Barcarole, a little piece conceived during the trip that both took to the Balearic Islands. It was a way to remember, without saying anything. That day in the company of Granados was one of the last in which Albéniz maintained lucidity. He died the 18 of May around 8 in the evening, a few days before turning 49 years old. His death was deeply felt.

Albéniz and Casals. After having listened him playing at the “Cafè Tost” in Barcelona in 1890, when Casals was only 14 years old, his expressive style impressed Isaac Albeniz and caught his attention. Therefore, he decided to help and promote him. That’s why he wrote a letter of recommendation addressed to the Count of Morphy, the private secretary of Queen Regent in Madrid, Maria Cristina. As a consequence of this important contact, Pau Casals had the opportunity to play in several occasions in the Royal Palace and received a grant to study composition and violoncello in Europe. Casals considered Albeniz as one of his best friends. In the book Joys and Sorrows: Reflections by (Albert Eugene Khan, Nova York: Simon and Schuster, 1970), he says about Albeniz: “he was not only a great artist and an excellent pianist, but also an amazing person!”

Granados and Casals. In 2016 we celebrate the centenary of Enric Granado’s tragic death in the wreck of the Sussex ferry, in the English Channel, which was sunk by a German warship during the First World War. Granados was returning from New York, where the premiere of his opera Goyescas had took place at the Metropolitan House. In that city he had met Pau Casals who, before Granado’s arrival, had been taking charge of the first rehearsals of the opera with the orchestra. With Casals, before the premiere the 23rd of January, Granados gave a concert in the society “The friends of Music”. The friendship between Granados and Pau Casals was very close; it has been documented through preserved letters, scores and objects. They met in Barcelona in 1891. Granados, who was ten years older, became his best friend and, on a personal level, he was like an older brother to him. Their great friendship lasted until Granado’s premature death. Some time later, Joan Alavedra, a great friend of Casals, wrote: “…every time Casals plays the Goyescas interlude, with this sad sigh at the end of the piece, he seems to be saying “Goodbye” to his friend”.

Granados and Mompou. Mompou was born in Barcelona to the lawyer Frederic Mompou and his wife Josefina Dencausse, who was of French origin. His brother Josep Mompou (1888–1968) became a painter. His sketch of a simple farmhouse appeared on the covers of all of Frederic's published music. Mompou studied piano under Pedro Serra at the Conservatori Superior de Música del before going to Paris, to study at the , which was headed by Gabriel Fauré. Mompou had heard Fauré perform in Barcelona when he was nine years old, and his music and performing style had made a powerful and lasting impression on him. He had a letter of introduction to Fauré from Enrique Granados, but it never reached its intended recipient. Here is the letter that Granados wrote to Fauré recommending Mompou: “Mon Cher Maître: Je l’honneur de vous présenter Monsieur Mompou qui va à Paris pour travailler son piano (si c’est possible) au Conservatoire. Mr. Mompou va avoir 18 ans et il voudrait rentrer avant l’âge marqué par le Conservatoire. Encore que Mr. Mompou n’est pas mon élève, je m’intéresse beaucoup à lui. Si c’est possible, mon cher Maître, je vous serai reconnaissant de ce que vous puisiez vous intéresser à mon recommandé. Recevez, cher Maître, mes souvenirs et mon admiration de toujours. J’attends avec impatience vos préludes pour les faire travailler à mes élèves. Toujours à vous de vive affection. E. Granados”