#ClassicsaDay #HispanicHeritage Week 4

 September 15 kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month. The Classics a Day team has also made it their theme for September. The challenge is to post video performances of Hispanic composers. The posts can be on any social media platform you choose. 

We recently completed a month of posts featuring Mexican composers. This month, I'm sharing music by Hispanic composers further south. Here are my posts for the fourth and final week of #HispanicHeritage.

09/25/23 Marcos Coelho Neto (1763–1823): Maria Mater Gratiae

Neto was the son of a former enslaved person. His talent as a trumpeter and composer took him far. At age 23 he oversaw the production of three operas for the royal wedding of João VI and Carlota Joaquina.

09/26/23 Augustin Barrios Mangore: Prelude in A minor

Paraguayan Barrios is considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He wrote over 100 original works for the guitar and over 300 transcriptions. Virtually all his music is regularly performed.

09/27/23 Teresa Tanco Cordovez: Serenata para orquesta de curedas

Columbian pianist Cordovez had a successful career concertizing in Europe. Her compositions were mostly inspired by the music of her native land.

09/28/23 Ernesto Lacuona: La Comparsa

In a sense, Lacuona was the George Gershwin of Cuba. He was equally at home writing popular and classical music. He was immensely popular as a performer and composer in both North and South America.

09/29/23 Gisela Hernandez: Two Cuban Dances

Cuban composer Hernandez founded Ediciones de Blanck Publishing and was a member of the Grupo Minorista. Her music draws on Afro-Cuban music traditions.

Next month

Chorinho Celebrates the Music of Brazil

The title for this release is worded very carefully. "Music for Viola and Piano from Brazil." All the works are indeed by Brazilian composers. But they're not all for viola and piano. Some are, and some are for the viola or piano as a solo instrument. 

I don't there was any intent to deceive. It's just a case of accurately describing something in as few words as possible. And I think it makes for a much more effective program. The solo pieces allow each performer to shine. And they provide variety to the sound of the album. 

Both performers are top-notch. Georgini Rossi plays with a clear, warm sound. Her performance of Ernani Aguair's "Meloritmias No. 5 for solo viola" is especially fine. She articulates the interwoven lines effectively, making them easy to follow. 

Heitor Villa'Lobos' Valsa da dor is masterfully performed by Silvie Cheng. Waltz though it may be, Cheng understands Villa-Lobos' heritage. She gently distorts the melody -- a slight pause here, a little rush there. It brings out connections between the piece and Brazilian dance music. 

I wasn't familiar with all the composers on this release. But after hearing their music, I'm keen to explore further. All seem to use Brazilian folk music as a starting point. But not all incorporate it to the same extent. Chiquinha Gonzaga's Lua branca is very close to folk music. 

While Brenno Blauth's Sonata for Solo Viola seems about as far away from folk music as one can get. And yet there are moments when it peeks through. 

An imaginative program of music that for me both enlightened and entertained. 

Chorinho: Music for Viola and Piano from Brazil
Georgina Rossi, viola; Silvie Cheng, piano
Navona Records NV 6537

Mengyiuyi Chen Performs Mel Bonis with Subtlety

Mélanie Bonis was a talented pianist and composer. At age 16 she attended the Paris Conservatory. While there, she studied with César Franck. She attended classes with  Gabriel Pierné and Claude Debussy. 

It's significant that Debussy was her classmate. I'd describe Bonis' music as Debussy-adjacent. Much of it has the Impressionist aesthetic. 

Harmonies are sometimes vague and don't suggest motion to a climax. Her melodies aren't foursquare, but flowing. Phrases are as long -- or as short -- as they need to be. 

The selections in this release span Bonis' career. Bonis published her Mazurka, Op. 26 when she was in her late 20s. Her Transcription of Faure's "Claire de Lune" was done in 1933, four years before her death. 

There's a remarkable consistency to Bonis' style across the decades. Over time the influence of Impressionism faded only slightly. And her work is consistent in its quality. 

Pianist Mengyiuyi Chen performs admirably. Bonis requires a certain degree of subtlety, and Chen has it. Phrasing is often nuanced rather than fully articulated. Her use of the pedal is strategic and effective. 

Bonis wrote about 150 works for solo piano. There's a lot to choose from for volume two! 

Mel Bonis: Complete Music for Solo Piano, Volume One
Mengyiuyi Chen, piano
Toccata Classics TOCC 0361

Lorenzo Perosi Piano Quintets -- Masterful Chamber Works

Lorenzo Perosi was an incredibly talented composer. And one who still hasn't completely gotten his due.  was well-known and well-respected during his lifetime. 

Perosi was part of the Verismo school of composers. Puccini, Leoncavallo, and Puccini all considered Perosi a friend and musical equal. Debussy, d'Indy, and Massenet also admired his work.

Toscanini was a supporter, and both Carosuo and Gigli performed his songs. So why is Perosi so little known outside his native Italy? Probably because Monsignor Lorenzo Perosi was a cleric. 

The theater was a problematic arena for Perosi. And so he was the only Verismo composer who didn't write opera. And opera is what made the Verismo composers' reputation worldwide. 

But Perosi didn't just compose sacred music. He was prolific and wrote a great deal of secular orchestral and chamber music. This release features two of his five piano quintets. It also includes the first of his three numbered string trios.

The quintets date from 1931. Lorenzo had a gift for melody. To me, these quintets have a Schubertian quality. The music just seems to flow from one lushly beautiful theme to the next. Perosi doesn't push the envelope on technique, but that's not his point. The instruments sing and sing in conversation. And that's the point.

The String Trio No. 1 in C minor does the same, albeit on a smaller scale. Perosi was well familiar with polyphonic writing (thanks to his day job). Here lines weave in and out almost continually. The three instruments come together to punctuate the start of new sections. 

The Roma Tre Orchestra Ensemble with Matteo Bevilacqua takes the right approach to this music. Perosi didn't write operas, but his aesthetic centered on the human voice. His music wants -- and needs to -- sing. The players lean into the lyricism, creating some truly wonderful sounds. 

Also included are several string trio sketches and exercises from Perosi's student days. And yes -- they're definitely worth hearing. Even as he was learning his craft, Perosi was a master craftsman.

Lorenzo Perosi: Piano Quintets Nos. 3 & 4
String Trios
Matteo Bevilacqua, piano; Roma Tre Orchestra Ensemble
Naxos 8.574484

#ClassicsaDay #HispanicHeritage Week 3

 September 15 kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month. The Classics a Day team has also made it their theme for September. The challenge is to post video performances of Hispanic composers. The posts can be on any social media platform you choose. 

We recently completed a month of posts featuring Mexican composers. This month, I'm sharing music by Hispanic composers further south. Here are my posts for the third week of #HispanicHeritage.

09/18/23 André da Silva Gomes (1752–1844): Missa em Sol maior

Gomes is one of the earliest native Brazilian classical composers. Most of his music was written for the church. He wrote over 130 works, although many were lost over time.

09/19/23 Juan Manuel Olivares (1760-1797): Stabat Mater

Oliveres was one of the first native Venezuelan composers. He's credited with composing the first chamber music in the country. Most of his major works were written for the church, like the Stabat Mater.

09/20/23 Enrique Iturriaga (1918-2019): Sinfonia Junin y Ayachucho: 1824

Peruvian composer had a career in popular music before turning the classical compositon. He studied with Arthur Honegger. Iturriaga was director of the National School of Music and later the National Conservatory of Music in Peru.

09/21/23 Jacqueline Nova (1935-1975): Asimetrias for flute and percussion

Nova pioneered electroacoustic music in Columbia. She hosted a contemporary music radio program, and established an ensemble to perform works by living composers.

09/24/23 Luis Humberto Salgado (1903-1977): Sinfonia No. 1 Andina

Salgad strove to incorporate Ecuadorian music into his classical works. He even developed a four-movement symphonic form based on Ecuadoran folk dances. This is the form he used for his first symphony.