[USED:Cond.AB] Song of The Stars -A Celebration of Catalan Music : Keene / Voices of Ascension, etc

SONG OF THE STARS
Works by Granados, Casals, Blancafort etc.

CASALS (1876-1973): Rosarium Beatae Virginis Mariae
CASALS: Recordare, Virgo Mater
GRANADOS (1867-1916): Salve Regina
CASALS: Nigra sum
MORERA (1865-1942): El Rossinyol*
GRANADOS: Romanza
MORERA: Ave Maria*
GRANADOS: Escena religiosa*
BLANCAFORT (1897-1987): Cant d'amor*
OLTRA (b. 1922): Eco*
OLTRA: Preludio*
GRANADOS: Cant de les estrelles (Song of The Stars)*

Douglas Riva, piano
Kark Kruczek, organ
Erica Kiesewetter, violin
Voices of Ascension / Dennis Keene

*World Premiere Recordings

Digital Recording: 03/2007, New York

A rich musical heritage and vibrant contemporary culture intersect in Catalunya in north-eastern Spain. Granados's long-lost masterpiece Song of the Stars is comparable to a virtuoso piano concerto with chorus and organ rather than orchestra, gloriously combining Romantic-Modernista poetry with post-Wagnerian harmonies. The internationally famous cellist Pau Casals also composed a small body of very beautiful music, including the deeply spiritual choral works on this disc. Morera's The Nightingale and Blancafort's Love Song are evocative of their Catalan texts, while Oltra's Echo and Prelude explore themes of memory and hope through images of nature. ( NAXOS )