Biblioteca de la Guitarra y Cuerda Pulsada

Biblioteca de la Guitarra y Cuerda Pulsada

Autor: Federico Monpou (1893 -1987)

Suite Compostelana (Frank A. Wallace, guitarra)

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Preview of Frank Wallace's coming recording OMAGGIO — music of Mompou,Villa-Lobos, Tárrega and de Falla. Wallace's recordings and editions are published by Gyre Music at http://www.gyremusic.com. See program notes below.

Suite Compostelana by Federico Mompou, 1893-1987
Written: 1962 for Andrés Segovia

01) Preludio
02) Coral
03) Cuna
04) Recitativo
05) Canción
06) Muñeira

Suite Compostelana by Federico Mompou concluded my senior recital at SF Conservatory of Music in 1974. I fell in love with this evocative piece thanks to Segovia’s first recording, a rare LP that included two full suites, the Mompou as well as Suite in Modo Polonico by Tansman. Like many of my generation, I was attracted to the complete suites and sonatas that Bream and Williams recorded in the 60’s. Segovia’s 1965 recording was a departure from his usual miniatures and single movements.

I am not sure what each movement meant to Mompou or Segovia, but the Prelude is clearly an homage to Albeniz. For me, it sets the mood of a beautiful and ancient landscape, mountainous, green and with rugged coastline to both the north and the west. The Coral (Chorale) is Mompou’s rendition of the tradition of singing in the great medieval Cathedral of Santiago, mythical home of the remains of St. James, patron saint of Spain and central attraction for the pilgrims over the past 1,000 years. The next three movements are exquisite lyrical and textural pieces—Cuna is a lullaby; Recitativo refers to a Baroque form that is inspired by speech rhythms and should be quite free and dramatic (many modern interpretations are too metrical); and Canción is the Spanish word for song… whether a lilting work song or a passionate personal expression is up to the performer. Muñeira is commonly a very fast 6/8 peasant’s dance from Galicia frequently performed on gaita, a local bagpipe, thus its frequent use of drones. Wikipedia says muñeira means millstone or miller’s wife, while others say the word comes from an Arabic name. Suffice it to say it is clearly of peasant, rural origin.

Though Segovia did show his love and respect for this piece by recording the entire suite, its lack of an over-arching shape has always bothered me. It seems weakened by too many slow movements in the middle and not enough development of form and content. The concluding peasant dance, though a relief from the multiple slow movements, comes abruptly to my ear. So you might ask why am I recording the piece now, 40 years later? Simply put, it’s a gorgeous collection of music and guitar writing. From a brief survey of other recordings, you will find my tempos somewhat faster than most in order to create an arc to the piece as a whole. I find many interpretations to be extremely cautions and pedantic. For example, the guitaristic opening phrase seldom has melodic shape and the upper drone is equally loud as the melody in many recordings.

Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, the eponymous subject of this work, is full of energy. It is one of the world’s great pilgrimage sites and longtime home of Música en Compostela, a festival where Segovia taught for many summers. I attended the masterclass in 1972; when my wife-to-be, Nancy Knowles, was there in 1977 we decided in a transatlantic phone call to get married. We returned with John Fleagle in 1982 to perform a concert of medieval music for the Música en Compostela festival with our ensemble Trio LiveOak.

 

 


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