From Al-Andalus to the Americas - An Odyssey of Spanish Song
CDE 84647 (Meridian Records, CD)
FIRST RELEASE (28 June 2024)
Tracks: 33
Booklet pages: 20
℗ 2024 Meridian Records
© 2024 Meridian Records
Reviewer: Amber Lin and Jeffrey Neil
Review of From Al-Andalus to the Americas - An Odyssey of Spanish Song published on 2 July 2024
Christine Moore Vassallo, soprano
Jorge Robaina Pons, piano
Pablo Giménez Hecht, guitar
Anthony Robb, flute
Rachel Beckles Willson, oud
Philip Arditti, darbuka
American soprano Christine Moore Vassallo was inspired to make this album by her interest in the connection of Arabic, Middle Eastern and North African music regions to Spanish music as well as her own Middle Eastern Arabic background. It's an intoxicating journey starting from the earliest beginnings of Spanish classical music crafted during Andalusia's artistic golden age of the 'Moorish' period and includes the original voice and piano setting of Antón García Abril's rarely performed Canciones del Jardin Secreto, on which Christine was coached by the composer himself. Joining her on the album are Spaniards Jorge Robaina Pons on piano and Pablo Giménez Hecht on guitar, as well as Britons Anthony Robb, Rachel Beckles Willson and Philip Arditti on flute, oud, and darbuka, respectively, bringing a range of colour to the songs. The album opens with the beautiful 'Lamma bada yatathanna' - a poem (mouwashshah) from the Andalus period set to music most likely during the Ottoman era, followed by 'Paseábase el rey moro' - a sixteenth century elegaic song which foretells the end of Moorish rule in Spain. A set of popular Sephardic songs, Canciones Sefarditas by Manuel Valls, lead on to Canciones Españoles Antiguas - Andalusian folk songs by the great poet, artist and composer, Federico Garcia Lorca, who viewed Arab-Andalusian culture as central to his identity. Graciana Tarragó arranged many Spanish folk songs, including a large number for the eminent soprano Victoria de los Angeles and this one, 'Jaeneras que yo canto', utilises a classical guitar and vocal arrangement to depict flamenco style and flair. Enrique Granados is considered one of Spain's greatest composers and his beautiful and stirring mini song cycle La maja dolorosa is one of his finest works. Antón García Abril's tender Canciones del Jardin Secreto are set to Arabic-language texts (including one by a celebrated female poet), all but one translated into Spanish, written during the eight-hundred-year Al Andalus period, as well as during what is considered the 'Golden Age of Islam', centered in Baghdad, of the ninth and tenth centuries. Then follows the lyrical and romantic Poema en forma de canciones by Joaquín Turina, and the album ends in Latin America with Cinco Canciones Populares Argentinas, five folk songs by Alberto Ginastera. Born in Sacramento, California, Christine is a versatile soprano. Her international career includes opera performances and concerts throughout the US and Europe. Her Middle Eastern background involves a rich history of ancestors on her mother's side in Egypt and Lebanon, and she has performed on several occasions with artists from Egypt, Syria and other countries in the region.