The rebirth of Xavier Montsalvatge

Posted by Soledad Sánchez on February 2, 2012  |  Leave a comment

This year marks the centenary of the birth of one of the most esteemed composers of our editorial house, the prolific Xavier Montsalvatge.

Numerous events will be performed during 2012 to honor his career and work.

TRITÓ joins tribute with a double-disc reissue released by our label in 2002. It brings together the masterpieces of the composer’s catalog (not the most performed): Sortilegis, Sinfonietta-Concerto, Metamorfosi de concert, Impromptu en el Generalife, Hommage à Manolo Hugué and the Concierto del Albayzín.

At that time, the album had been conceived not only as a tribute to the composer in his ninetieth year, but above all as a gift from a group of friends to the Maestro. It brought together many of the ideas that had emerged in conversations we had with Xavier Montsalvatge during his life.  Llorenç Caballero

This project would have been unthinkable without the presence of some of the great musicians of our time as Alicia de Larrocha, James Martin, Josep Colom and the Cadaqués Orchestra with Gianandrea Noseda as conductor.

Today our purpose is more ambitious, we want to help the music to appreciate and claim Montsalvatge from other countries, especially across the Atlantic.

Capilla del Sol: Latin-American colonial music is no longer in danger

Posted by Soledad Sánchez on August 25, 2011  |  Leave a comment

The growing interest in the revival and new performance of the Latin American colonial repertoire is illustrated by the recent proliferation of recordings. Despite the difficulties encountered in accessing reliable versions of this repertoire, there are plenty of ensembles that have worked directly with the sources to make recordings.

Until just over five years it would have been hard to find two hundred CDs of colonial music, most of it of poor technical and musical quality, or taking a more modern approach that was too general. But this does not detract from the merit of these performers and researchers, who initiated and promoted the appearance of more rigorous groups. While it was common then to choose a varied repertoire without any particular logic, we now find it somewhat more difficult to accept lay, missionary, cathedral and parish repertoires in the same collection, furthermore originating in latitudes and altitudes thousands of miles apart and composed by anonymous or known composers such as Zipoli, Salazar, Padilla Gutierrez, Ceruti, Juan de Araujo, Sumaya, Torrejón y Velasco and Esteban Salas (just to mention a few).

But something is changing. Specialisation and the expectations of the public require performances better adjusted to the context in which the works arose, better prepared and, above all, better performed.

If we go back a decade we find that the growing awareness of the existence of a vast repertoire as yet undiscovered by the recording labels led to the emergence of some projects that have lasted until today. Although highly questionable in concept and of barely acceptable quality, it is worth recalling the work carried out by the Repsol YPF programme for Music of Latin America, which began in 1998 with the release of a box set with several titles with music from Cuba, Argentina, Guatemala, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico and Brazil.

Similarly the French label K.617 has released, as part of its Baroque Latin-American series, approximately forty monographic albums of colonial music. In this collection, the consistency of the criteria used to prepare the different albums is worthy of note.

In 2005 Bolivian Baroque released its first album, recorded by the Ensemble Florilegium led by Ashley Salomon, fruit of Piotr Nawrot’s research and publications. They have released three recordings so far, which display a certain tendency towards the creation of a stereotyped product with a Eurocentric treatment. Lamentably, the quality of the music has declined from the first album to the latest.

Recently, I was surprised by the quality of the music on a recording released by the Ensemble Caprice from Canada under the direction of Matthias Maute. However, once again, the choice of repertoire does not seem to follow any kind of logic that links the pieces together, apart from the mere fact of all coming from Latin America. Furthermore, it does not avoid the clichéd and idealised versioning of the repertoire, where the music has to grab the attention and possess obvious “Latin-American” traits.

Following in the footsteps of pioneers such as Robert Stevenson and Curt Lange, who initiated the revival of the repertoire and the study of the archives of the colonialist cathedrals, there are now specialists working hard all the world, such as Piotr Nawrot, Geoffrey Baker, Bernardo Illari, Miriam Escudero, Lauro Ayestarán, Dante Andreo and Javier Marín. The results of their research provide data that bring us closer to this music and draw attention to its idiosyncrasies. Some recent groups respect these idiosyncrasies by adapting their performances to the different contexts, periods, styles, genres and languages and by trying to produce more careful versions, though no less novel for being so.

La Capilla del Sol is a consolidated Argentinean ensemble that has taken a critical, unbiased approach to colonial music since its beginnings, in 2004. The musical excellence of its members, supported by the thorough research carried out continuously by its director, Ramiro Albino, has paved the way for several concerts by the group in Latin America. Recently, following a European tour (Slovenia, Czech Republic and Spain) the group received very good reviews.

Keeping a careful eye on the editions, using the original sources and taking a creative approach to performance has resulted in music that is alive and full of interest. By merging their specialized training in early music and the folk repertoire, the members give the group a distinctive sound.

The album titled Como pudieran en cualqueir catedral could never sound monotonous, not even to ears unfamiliar with Latin American colonial music. The contrast between the selected works lies in their functional differences, which are, in turn, reinforced by the musical re-creation. In this case there is a guiding principle that links the pieces: the hypothetical reconstruction of a Mass at the Jesuit Missions of Bolivia.

Emulating the procedure followed in the mission chapels, works were selected from missionary archives, which were then transcribed by the musicologists Piotr Nawrot, Sylvia Leidemann, Enrique Godoy and the director of the group, Ramiro Albino; all pieces that were part of repertoire of the Missions of the Chiquitos and Moxos.

As might be expected, the interpretation and recuperation of the sources in an edition and the preparation of a new version requires specific training. In the case of the reconstruction of the colonial repertoire, the performers run into the difficulty of having to “clothe” the music. Some seemingly simple pieces turn out to be extremely difficult to recreate without deep analysis. Other pieces have only survived as fragments and the musicologists chose to reconstruct the missing parts and use additional documentation to obtain further details on the use and ways of the percussion and other instruments, on the natural register of the voices and on how to adorn the music.

Likewise, they have to imagine its possible hybridization with local rhythms, instruments and ways of playing. One of the good points of this album is that there is no sign of contrivance or of an excess of imagination. Nothing seems arbitrary and at the same time the works are imbued with their own character, which distinguishes them from works with a similar structure and function composed in Europe.

It is a real pleasure to listen to this technically polished, high-level recording, with a quality still difficult to find in CDs of colonial music. The similarity in the timbre of voices and their perfect union, and the naturalness of the instrumental performances, gives the pieces a fresh atmosphere that I consider very appropriate if the aim is to reconstruct the spiritual and symbolic context. There are no clichés that fuel the expectations of the listeners; neither is the discourse simplified to bring it closer to the audience. Quite simply, this is a well thought-out, solidly argued and technically sound product.

Capilla del Sol

I hope this work by the Capilla del Sol is only the first in a series of recordings where we will be able discover other repertoires and the associated new approaches, so that they obtain the international acceptance they deserve. Colonial music is consolidating its place in concert programmes everywhere, seeking to re-establish the cultural bond that has united Europe and America for centuries.

CD “Como pudieran en cualquier catedral”

CAPILLA DEL SOL

Adriana Sansone, Silvina Sadoly, Soledad Molina, Isabel Barrios (sopranos) / Cecilia Pahl (mezzo-soprano) / Paul Tavaglino (alto) / Diego Zorah (tenor) / Alicia Moran, Virginia Llansa (violins) / Maria Jesus Olondriz (cello) / Evar Cativiela (guitar, vihuela) / Federico Ciancio (harp) / Cristina Garcia Banegas (organ) / Eduardo Rodriguez (bassoon) / Sergio Bazán (percussion) / Ramiro Albino (flute and direction)

Buenos Aires, 2010

This CD was produced with no profit motive in mind and its distribution is free.

Our conductors (IV). Sir Neville Marriner

Posted by Cristina Martí on August 17, 2011  |  Leave a comment

In this fourth entry we continue our overview of the conductors who have recorded with Tritó. On this occasion, we call to mind Sir Neville Marriner, who has been principal guest conductor of the Cadaqués Orchestra since 1992.

Sir Neville Marriner studied violin at the Royal College of Music in London and the Paris Conservatoire. In 1949 he joined the Martin String Quartet and founded the Jacobean Ensemble with Thurston Dart and the Virtuoso String Trio, and worked with legendary directors such as Toscanini, Furtwängler, Cantelli and Karajan.

In 1959 he founded the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, where he was concertmaster and later chief conductor. He has also conducted the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra.

He has been decorated twice for his work on behalf of music: he received a CBE in 1979 and was knighted in 1985. In addition, the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields with Sir Neville Marriner has received the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement in recognition of their accomplishments as concert performers.

Sir Neville Marriner’s most prolific period in terms of recordings with the Cadaques Orchestra and Tritó was when he was chief conductor, releasing albums with works by Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, with the voice of Ainhoa Arteta, such as the Obertura de los esclavos felices, works by Fauré and Gounod, and a CD with three fantastic compositions by Stravinski, Montsalvatge and Prokofiev (Pulcinella Suite, Sortilegis and the Classical Symphony respectively). In addition, he has recorded Pulcinella in its full version in a concert for which David Nel·lo wrote and narrated a tale of imagination set in the city of Tifna, with princesses, good and bad characters, and elephants.

Sir Neville Marriner has conducted works by Mozart with the Cadaqués Orchestra on numerous occasions, resulting in three albums: the Sinfonias concertantes, a double CD with four concertos, for flute (K.313), for oboe (K.314), for clarinet (K.622) and for bassoon (K.191, and, lastly, the Concertos 1 and 2 for flute and the Concerto for flute and harp on a CD which has just been re-released with a more modern design. On this latter album, the solo flutist is Jaime Martín, currently chief conductor of the Cadaqués Orchestra, and the harpist is Bryn Lewis. In the case of another great composer, Beethoven, Sir Neville Marriner has recorded his Symphonies 1,2,5 and 6 with Tritó on two fantastic CDs.

Last but not least, the three Sinfonias Concertantes by Danzi, Fernando Sor’s Overtures and Symphonies and the works of the contemporary composer Joan Guinjoan, Sincrotó and Alba, are the three other recordings that the period when the Cadaqués Orchestra performed under the baton of the brilliant English conductor has left for posterity.

Neu Records, on CD because there’s no alternative

Posted by Marcel Soleda on June 27, 2011  |  Leave a comment

On 14 June the CD “Blanc” was presented at the Palau de la Música Catalana, the first release from the new Catalan label Neu Records, containing the collected choral works of the composer Bernat Vivancos. This double CD was produced in collaboration with Catalunya Música and the ICIC, and performed by the Latvian Radio Choir conducted by Sigvards Klava.

Thee are many things about this new project that we like:

To begin with, in my opinion, the excellent choice of material for the first recording in the collection, Blanc, which contains a work of extraordinary delicacy and high quality, in a style reminiscent of Arvo Pärt, James McMillan and Olivier Messiaen, and which definitely proves that Spanish contemporary works are at the forefront of the current European scene. Contemplative, transcendent music which, in the words of Norwegian composer Lasse Thoresen, “is like a city of angels: blissful sounds populated by saintly spirits hiding between the notes as birds in a tree.” He couldn’t have put it better.

We also like this label’s bold commitment to Catalan contemporary music, a commitment they themselves mention in their own presentation: “Neu Records is a newly created independent label devoted to making recordings of contemporary music in high definition surround format, and also to providing a platform for interaction between Catalan and international performers and composers at the highest level.”

Listening to CDs recorded by Neu Records is different to going to a concert, because it they place the listeners at the heart of the sound experience.

We note their special interest in the exploration and development of new formats and higher sound quality beyond the conventional CD or mp3, employing high-quality Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 (24bits/96kHz). They explain that in contrast to the concept of the classical concert, i.e. the stage in front of the audience, there is no particular reason why contemporary music concerts should respect this tradition in terms of spatial layout, and therefore they put the listener on the centre stage among the musicians. Listening to CDs recorded by Neu Records is different to going to a concert, because it they place the listeners at the heart of the sound experience.

However, what stands out most – and what I personally think it is their biggest selling point – is the new approach to the recording project beyond the sale of hardware. Unlike most classical music labels, their web takes a rather different approach, not so focused on the cold promotion of the CD and subsequent redirection to third-party outlets, real or online, but open to the promotion of extra materials (scores) and additional information, and purchase in a choice of different quality formats, one of which is the CD format itself. This new approach, quite innovative in the field of classical music labels in Spain, suggests that for them the sale of compact discs is no longer the main and sole objective. It even seems as if they were only still doing so because they have no choice.

Neu Records is, then, a project for the 21^st century, high-quality, sophisticated, bold, innovative, and made in Catalonia. We wish the company the best of luck in this venture.

Commitment to music, by Javier Pérez Senz

Posted by Javier Pérez Senz on June 9, 2011  |  Leave a comment

There are things that stir the music-lover’s memory, which bring back reminiscences of that irreplaceable experience which consists of listening to live music in its natural environment, the auditorium. For many fans, the recent recording of the symphonic rhapsody Catalonia, by Isaac Albéniz, at the hands of Jaime Martin and the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC) will come as a pleasant surprise: the discovery of a score that exudes freshness, simplicity and melodic charm. For others, it will imply the rediscovery of a work that would be an obligatory part of the concert repertoire in any civilized country, but here, sadly, is not.

Its audition allows listeners to refresh their impressions and memories of great conductors and composers who, throughout their careers, demonstrated their belief in the value of this piece by their acts, without getting caught up in the widespread and sterile debate about Albéniz’s poor reputation as an orchestrator. Certainly, it is a marvel of refinement, but, when performed with full conviction of its merits, the listener is immediately captivated by the simplicity, the melodic inspiration and eternal freshness that permeate the Catalan composer’s music.

I am speaking of legendary musicians, such as the Russian Igor Markévitch, especially in his wonderful period of artistic involvement with the Orquesta Sinfónica de la RTVE; the Romanian Georges Enescu, stalwart defender of a piece that he often programmed, and all over the world; and Eduard Toldrà, the brilliant Catalan violinist, conductor and composer who, in 1944, created the Orquestra Municipal de Barcelona (now the OBC, which has at last recorded Catalonia), and who was a fervent promoter of the Spanish repertoire.

A greater commitment to music is needed and less obsession with attendance figures and box office takings.

There is a need for concert programmers who really believe in Spanish music.

The list includes musicians who are active at this time, such as Antoni Ros Marbà, a passionate perfomer of Albéniz and, in a very special way, of Toldrà, who was his teacher, Jesús López Cobos and José de Eusebio (thanks to his enthusiasm we now know more about the Camprodón musician’s operatic legacy than ever before; the recording discussed today includes an orchestral suite from Pepita Jiménez revised by him), and on his first CD with the OBC, Jaime Martin,

Albéniz had and has eloquent supporters. Why, then, is Catalonia still rarely heard in concert halls? Difficult question. First of all, there is a need for concert programmers who really believe in Spanish music. It is pointless to include just four or five pieces in a whole symphonic season; nor is the Spanish share of the programmes sufficient; nor are there enough commissions, increasingly unambitious and scarce. A greater commitment to music is needed and less obsession with attendance figures and box office takings.

There is enough leeway to balance the offer using the more popular classics to attract the general public –it all depends on the programmers’ imagination. The regularisation of works such as Catalonia – and this piece is just one example because there are hundreds of scores in the same situation – requires a strong alliance between performers, programmers and the public.

The musicians with power – and the chief conductors of a symphonic ensemble have a lot of power – are the ones who ultimately have a greater say when it comes to choosing which works are programmed and which are left out: when a chief conductor wants to play a given piece, eventually it gets played.

Programmers, managers and artistic directors should limit themselves to doing their duty, because the revival and dissemination of the national repertoire is an obligation for all orchestras, auditoriums and the concert-going public.

As for the public, the greatest possible complicity is needed, using the media that now, more than ever, can arouse – if used with imagination and efficiency  – music-lovers’ curiosity, the desire to discover new and old scores, the possibility of expanding frontiers.

Spotify turns up the pressure

Posted by Marcel Soleda on April 15, 2011  |  Leave a comment

Later this week Spotify has announced changes in its subscription system that affect users of the Spotify Free and Open versions. If last year streaming was limited to a maximum of twenty hours per month, starting on 1 May this will be reduced to ten hours per month, and individual songs will be limited to a maximum of five plays per month.

The changes do not as yet affect users of Free or Open accounts created after 2 November 2010, who will enjoy the standard service for six months. After this time they will also be subject to these restrictions.

The blog entry written by the founder himself, Daniel Ek, says that by “making Spotify available to millions across Europe… people are listening to more music and from a wider range of artists than ever before, and are giving up on piracy.” Ek added: “This is exactly what we hoped would happen…. So it’s vital that we continue offering an on-demand free service… but to make that possible we have to put some limits in place going forward.”

Spotify has built a model that has managed to put order into the chaos and draw millions of users away from illegal downloading. For no other reason than this it deserves our praise.

Users’ reactions have been varied, although the first comment in the blog is categorical: “So long Spotify. It was nice knowing you. Guess I’ll go back to pirating music again then.”

At the moment Spotify is present in seven countries and boasts six million users, of whom one million have a premium account. The current catalogue contains over ten million songs and is continuing to expand at a steady pace.

Although it might not please those users who support the free-only format, the fact is that Spotify is up till now the best formula based on the model Freemium that finds a balance between advantages for all users and a fair system of financial returns for artists. Nevertheless, many music companies that agreed enthusiastically to the inclusion of their music in Spotify, because they expected huge profits, have now completely withdrawn their catalogues (this is the case of ECM and Naxos) on not seeing their expectations fulfilled (very inflated in some cases).

But not everything is restrictions, because the pay offer has been broadened to adapt to another type of customer:

Spotify Unlimited, which is similar to the Spotify Open service of a couple of years ago, offers unlimited music, without advertising and with the ability to connect from outside the country where the account was set up (useful for those who travel a lot). The main limitations are that it cannot be accessed on mobile devices and the audio quality is the same as in the Open version. It costs € 4.99/month.

Spotify Premium has no restrictions of any kind: it offers unlimited listening, is free of ads and runs on mobile devices. It also permits local storage that makes it possible to listen to songs even if you have no Internet access, works with domestic wireless devices and the audio quality is 320Kbps. The price is € 9.99/month.

In my opinion Spotify’s proposal is solid, consistent and honest. It is a model that has managed to put order into the chaos and draw millions of users away from illegal downloading and even persuade them to pay for the service. For no other reason than this it deserves our praise.

PS: Before long we will have news of Spotify’s American venture, the Swedish company’s new plan to penetrate the U.S. market, currently dominated by Groove Shark. This is a similar service, the difference being that it requires no installation or registration (all via web), and it lays claim to a massive twenty-eight million users.

Novelties on the Quindecim label

Posted by Cristina Martí on April 7, 2011  |  Leave a comment

We are pleased to report a new addition to Tritó’s list of suppliers, the Mexican label Quindecim, with recordings among the new CDs included in the catalogue just recently.

This label divides its production between different music styles and instrumental formats. For example, Quidecim offers three albums of Mexican music for piano, with works by many Mexican composers, such as Manuel M. Ponce, an exponent of Mexican musical impressionism in the first half of the 20th century, and composers from other countries who have developed their musical activities in Mexico, as is the case of the little-known Catalan composer Luís Jordá. The music on the three CDs is performed by the pianist Gustavo Rivero Weber.

The label also offers examples of music composed for different instrument formats: one containing romantic music for the violoncello, another with chamber music, a third with vocal music, and a CD presenting Mexican music for orchestra.

Quindecim also has an interesting catalogue of early music played in Mexico, with works by composers from both that country and this side of the Atlantic. The CDs in question are “Ars Nova. Navidad“, “La guitarra en el México barroco” and “Música virreinal Mexicana“, with works from the 16^th and 17^th centuries.

We hope you will enjoy this Mexican music, and that this start will serve to contribute minimally to the dissemination of the exciting repertoire that has built up, and continues to be built up, in Mexico.

The “Organ music in Catalonia” Collection

Posted by Cristina Martí on March 28, 2011  |  Leave a comment

We are pleased to present the new collection “Organ music in Catalonia”, a series of albums focusing on organ music written by Catalan composers and others who worked mainly in Catalonia: Fray Antonio Martín y Coll, Gabriel Menalt, Francesc Espelt and Josep Teixidor are some of the composers whose works can be found on the first two CDs in this series.

The first album, Catalan Organ Music XVI-XVII c., focuses on the Baroque repertoire, but linking it to the first examples of keyboard music written by Catalan composers. The CD features a recently published repertoire, including the Mass Versets by Francesc Espelt, and other works whose scores are about to be published on the Tritó label, all played by Andrés Cea. The scores of the works on the second CD, Catalan Organ Music XVIII-XIX c., are published by Tritó Edicions, except the “Glosas” by Teixidor and the pieces by Ponti.

You can find information about both CDs and audio samples here:

Catalan Organ Music XVI-XVII c.

Catalan Organ Music XVIII-XIX c.

Carles Magraner commemorates Tomás Luis de Victoria

Posted by Cristina Martí on January 25, 2011  |  Leave a comment

Carles Magraner’s new project coincides, in 2011, with the IV centenary of the death of Tomás Luis de Victoria. It will constitute the next CD to be released by the Capella de Ministrers ensemble.

© Pascual Ibáñez 06

This new repertoire, titled “Canticum Nativitatis Domini”, brings together Victoria’s complete works for instruments and voice for the Advent, Christmas and Epiphany liturgies.

It was during last December that the Valencia ensemble Capella de Ministrers, directed by Carles Magraner, recorded and presented this new repertoire in concert. The recording took place in the Church of Santa Maria de Requena and the concert in the Church of the Patriarca de Valencia, as part of the “XI Festival of Ancient Music: Music, History and Art”. The new album will be released in a deluxe edition in 2011 and will offer the opportunity to become acquainted with the least known works by the composer from Avila. Capella de Ministrers approaches Victoria’s music with an emotional expressiveness in keeping with its dramatic magnificence.

With this new title in the discography of Capella de Ministrers, Carles Magraner once again celebrates Tomás Luis de Victoria, considered the most famous polyphonist of the Spanish Renaissance. On the previous occasion it was with the “Requiem” programme focused on the 1605 Officium Defunctorum, which the mystical composer wrote in honour of the Empress Maria, sister to King Philip II.

In Andrés Ruiz de Tarazona’s programme notes for this repertoire we can read:
“…Capella de Ministrers lives up to its name and excels in enriching the polyphonic fabric, giving it solemnity. This occurs, for example, in the beautiful introduction to the Lectio, that brief recitation with a processional character, note against note, and with only four voices, and really overwhelming in its naked expressiveness…”

On this occasion, the pieces recorded comprise music written for the Advent, Christmas and Epiphany liturgies, with the focus on the motets, some as well-known as “O magnum mysterium” – one of the most famous of the entire sixteenth century – as well as other pieces that have rarely or never been released as recordings.

For this production Carles Magraner has banked on the extraordinary group of performers who usually accompany him, as well as a mixed vocal ensemble, alternating chorus and soloists. The solo voices will be Erika Escribá-Astaburuaga, Pilar Esteban, David Sagastume, Lambert Climent, Francisco Fernández Rueda and Tomás Maxé. For the recording he counted on the young ensemble L´Almodí Cor de Cambra.
See the Capella de Ministrers discography >

Tritó on Spotify

Posted by Cristina Martí on January 4, 2011  |  5 Comments

Did you know you can listen to the complete discography of Tritó on Spotify? To do so, just key in “label:tritó” in the search box and choose whatever you feel like listening to. It’s that easy.

While working on your computer you can enjoy composers such as Debussy, Montsalvatge, Guinovart, Arriaga, Albéniz and Guridi, traditional songs and great symphonic works; listen to the stories of Peter and the Wolf, Pippi Langstrump and the Tin Soldier; to the Orquesta de Cadaqués, the Joven Orquesta Nacional de España, Miguel Zanetti, Victoria de Los Ángeles.

Enjoy yourself!