Spanish Music Collection

Nowhere in the recording catalog is there a collection that brings together the very best of music from Spain. This unique 25-CD box joins together the biggest works by some of Spain’s most preeminent composers such as Albeniz, Granados, Falla and Rodrigo, as well as numerous pieces by lesser known names (absolutely fabulous composers like Donostia, Guridi, and Orbón!). Don’t miss this unbeatable collection.

SELECT REVIEWS OF SOME OF THE INDIVIDUAL DISCS IN THE SPANISH MUSIC COLLECTION:

José: Sinfonia Castellana / Posada, Naxos 8557634 -- Sinfonia castellana is gorgeous: a rich amalgam of folk music, impressionistic harmony, Read more and Falla's soulfulness in four ingratiating movements...The performances are all excellent...Vivid sonics illuminate José's real gift for evocative scoring. An unusually beautiful disc.

Guridi: Sinfonía Pirenaica, Naxos 8557631 -- Guridi works on an epic scale here...the tunes are beautifully scored and obstinately memorable. In short, the symphony deserves to become a popular work in the Romantic nationalist tradition...this performance is outstanding. Certainly this is one of the most impressive and important releases in Naxos' Spanish Classics series, and I couldn't recommend it more highly.

Blancafort: Piano Music / Miquel Villalba, Naxos 8557332 -- If you're familiar with Mompou's exquisite miniatures for piano, you'll know what to expect from that composer's younger, lesser-known colleague Manuel Blancafort…Pianist Miquel Villalba's pearly, singing tone and sensitive musicianship are all you could wish for… this is a perfect disc to accompany a rainy afternoon or a lazy weekend morning.

Donostia: Piano Music / Masó, Naxos 8557228 -- if we go by Jordi Masó's masterful, fluid performances, I imagine that these works must be as grateful to perform as they are delightful to hear... The conservative idiom characterizing the piano music of Padre José Antonio Donostia (1886-1956) draws upon the more whimsical side of his contemporaries Debussy and Ravel, as well as Chabrier's effervescent keyboard writing, Grieg's rustic lyricism, and Fauré's linear refinement. Traditional Basque folk songs provide the basis for the 21 Basque Preludes plus the six shorter works that fill out this disc.

Palomo: Andalusian Nocturnes, Naxos 8557135 -- Lorenzo Palomo writes in a bright, picture-postcard Spanish idiom: the melodic twists and modal tunes, the castanets, the guitar’s flamenco strumming and its imitation by the orchestra are all familiar... The works on this CD show off Palomo’s orchestral mastery... The sound is spacious and full...a distinguished issue of likeable music... his music does what he intended it to do: beguile and entertain.

For more details and reviews of some of the individual discs in this set Click Here.

Spanish Music Collection

For many, the Spanish classical canon begins with the music of Isaac Albeniz, composer and pianist of the titanic set of Spanish impressions he titled Iberia. Though Spain produced many significant composers during the Renaissance and a handful in the Classical era, most found work in other countries, notably Italy. Spain imported many of its finest composers – such as Domenico Scarlatti – from Italy as well. However, the late 19th-century nationalist trends gave rise to Albeniz and Enrique Granados. Like Albeniz, Granados was a brilliant pianist. His ten Danzas Espanolas, published in Barcelona, became instantly successful. Inspired by the work of the great painter Francisco Goya, Granados produced the ambitious Goyescas, a mammoth piano suite that is regarded as the instrumental embodiment of the Spanish spirit. One of the important Spanish piano works was later made into an opera.

The Andalusian Joaquin Turina was one of the vanguard figures in the second generation of Spanish nationalism. His Sinfonia Sevilliana is a loving evocation of his native city, marked by buoyant rhythms and bright colors. Like Turina, fellow Andalusian Manuel de Falla spent several years studying in Paris, where he could count among his friends Debussy, Ravel and Dukas. The one-act El Amor Brujo was an early ballet success. His El Sombrero de Tres Picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) was a commission from the ballet impresario Serge Diaghilev and his Ballets Russe, with set design by Picasso. His innovative Harpsichord Concerto trades Spanish idioms for a more objective neo-classicism likely learned from his friend Stravinsky. Falla left Spain for good after Franco’s victory in the Spanish Civil War and died in Argentina.

Jesus Guridi was one of the principal musical exponents of Basque nationalism as evidenced in his songs, principally the Ten Basque Melodies. His large-scale Sinfonia Pirenaica captures the soul of the Pyrenees and combines symphonic logic with the descriptive nature of a tone poem. Fellow Basque Jesus Arrambarri was better known as a conductor though he composed a fine quantity of orchestral music. Padre Jose Antonio Donostia was one of the principal folksong collectors of the Basque region and composed a body of music as well, with some lovely piano miniatures. Though born in Spain, Julian Orbon is more associated with Cuba, where he made his home for a time. Joaquin Rodrigo has enriched Spanish music in particular through his concertos for guitar, compositions for which he is best known abroad. He spent the years of the Spanish civil war in Paris, where he studied, though his subsequent career principally centered on Madrid. Rodrigo’s fame rests with the beautiful Concierto de Aranjuez, for guitar and orchestra, from 1939, followed in popularity by his Fantasia para un gentilhombre, written for Andres Segovia. He composed several guitar concertos, concertos for other solo instruments and numerous works, all in an accessible style that has remained consistent throughout his career. A great variety of works by Lorenzo Palomo, Joaquin Serra, Andres Isasi and Rodolfo Hallfter round out this celebration of Spanish music.

– Sean Hickey Read less

1. Suite Iberia by Isaac Albeniz

2. Basque Songs (8) for Soprano and Orchestra by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri

3. Elegia "In Memoriam" by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri

4. Gabon-zar sorgiñak by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri

5. Impromptus (4) for Orchestra by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri

6. Ofrenda by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri

7. Viento sur: Intermedio by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri

8. Fantasia española by Jesús y Gárate Arámbarri

9. Peces de joventut by M Blancafort de Rosselló

10. Cançons de muntanya by M Blancafort de Rosselló

11. Notes d'antany by M Blancafort de Rosselló

12. Cançons (12) for Piano by M Blancafort de Rosselló

13. Preludios vascos (Segunda serie) by José Antonio de Donostia

14. Andante para una sonata vasca (alla classica) by José Antonio de Donostia

15. Nostalgia for Piano by José Antonio de Donostia

16. Menuet basque for Piano by José Antonio de Donostia

17. Prière plaintive à Notre Dame de Socorri by José Antonio de Donostia

18. On the Banks of the Ter by José Antonio de Donostia

19. Homenaje a Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga by José Antonio de Donostia

20. Preludios vascos (Prima serie) by José Antonio de Donostia

21. Tiento and Song by José Antonio de Donostia

22. Illeta by Francisco Escudero

23. Canciones populares españolas (7): no 1, El paño moruno by Manuel de Falla

24. El sombrero de tres picos: Dance of the Corregidor by Manuel de Falla

25. El amor brujo: Pantomime by Manuel de Falla

26. El amor brujo: Canción del amor dolorido "Love's Sorrow" by Manuel de Falla

27. Mazurka for Piano in c by Manuel de Falla

28. Serenata for Piano in E minor by Manuel de Falla

29. Obras Desconocidas (3) for Piano: no 1, Canción by Manuel de Falla

30. Psyché by Manuel de Falla

31. Homenaje "Le tombeau de Claude Debussy" by Manuel de Falla

32. Soneto a Córdoba by Manuel de Falla

33. Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin and Cello by Manuel de Falla

34. Canciones populares españolas (7): no 5, Nana by Manuel de Falla

35. Canciones populares españolas (7): no 6, Canción by Manuel de Falla

36. Canciones populares españolas (7): no 7, Polo by Manuel de Falla

37. Canciones populares españolas (7): no 3, Asturiana by Manuel de Falla

38. Canciones populares españolas (7): no 4, Jota by Manuel de Falla

39. El sombrero de tres picos by Manuel de Falla

40. El amor brujo by Manuel de Falla

41. La vida breve: Dance by Manuel de Falla

42. Goyescas for Piano, Op. 11 by Enrique Granados

43. Danzas (12) españolas for Piano, Op. 37 by Enrique Granados

44. Así cantan los chicos by Jesus Guridi

45. Una Aventura de Don Quijote by Jesus Guridi

46. Canta el gallo tempranero by Jesus Guridi

47. Melodías (10) vascas by Jesus Guridi

48. En un barco fenicio by Jesus Guridi

49. Sinfonia Pirenaica (Pyrenean Symphony) by Jesus Guridi

50. Amaya: Espatadantza (Sword Dance) by Jesus Guridi

51. Don Lindo de Almeria Suite, Op. 7b by Rodolfo Halffter

52. Obertura festiva, Op. 21 by Rodolfo Halffter

53. La madrugada del panadero, Op. 12 by Rodolfo Halffter

54. Paquiliztli, Op. 46 by Rodolfo Halffter

55. Obertura concertante, Op. 5 by Rodolfo Halffter

56. Symphony no 2 in G minor, Op. 23 by Andres Isasi

57. Suite no 2 in E major, Op. 21 by Andres Isasi

58. Sinfonia Castellana by Antonio José

59. Evocaciones by Antonio José

60. El mozo de mulas, Op. 3: Preludio by Antonio José

61. El mozo de mulas, Op. 3: Danza popular by Antonio José

62. Marcha para soldados de plomo by Antonio José

63. Suite ingenua for Piano and Strings by Antonio José

64. Concerto Grosso for String Quartet and Orchestra by Julian Orbón

65. Versiones sinfónicas (3): no 1, Pavana by Julian Orbón

66. Versiones sinfónicas (3): no 2, Organum-Conductus by Julian Orbón

67. Versiones sinfónicas (3): no 3, Xylophone by Julian Orbón

68. Danzas sinfónicas by Julian Orbón

69. Una primavera andaluza by Lorenzo Martinez Palomo

70. Tientos by Lorenzo Martinez Palomo

71. Plenilunio by Lorenzo Martinez Palomo

72. Del atardecer al alba o Recuerdos de juventud by Lorenzo Martinez Palomo

73. Nocturnos de Andalucía by Lorenzo Martinez Palomo

74. Concierto en modo galante for Cello by Joaquin Rodrigo

75. Concierto de estio for Violin by Joaquin Rodrigo

76. Concierto como un divertimento for Cello by Joaquin Rodrigo

77. Cançoneta for Violin and Strings by Joaquin Rodrigo

78. Concierto andaluz for 4 Guitars and Orchestra by Joaquin Rodrigo

79. Concierto de Aranjuez for Guitar by Joaquin Rodrigo

80. Fantasía para un gentilhombre by Joaquin Rodrigo

81. Concierto para una fiesta for Guitar by Joaquin Rodrigo

82. Concierto madrigal for 2 Guitars by Joaquin Rodrigo

83. Piezas (5) infantiles for 2 Pianos by Joaquin Rodrigo

84. Zarabanda lejana y villancico by Joaquin Rodrigo

85. Soleriana by Joaquin Rodrigo

86. Preludio para un poema a la Alhambra by Joaquin Rodrigo

87. Música para un jardín by Joaquin Rodrigo

88. Homenaje a la Tempranica by Joaquin Rodrigo

89. Juglares by Joaquin Rodrigo

90. Concierto heróico for Piano by Joaquin Rodrigo

91. A l'ombre de Torre Bermeja by Joaquin Rodrigo

92. Piezas (4) for Piano: Caleseras "Homenaje a Chueca" by Joaquin Rodrigo

93. Piezas (4) for Piano: Fandango del ventorillo by Joaquin Rodrigo

94. Puigsoliu by Joaquim Serra

95. Impressions camperoles by Joaquim Serra

96. Symphonic sketches (2) by Joaquim Serra

97. Variations (5) for Piano and Orchestra by Joaquim Serra

98. Romantica by Joaquim Serra

99. Sinfonia sevillana, Op. 23 by Joaquin Turina

100. Danzas fantásticas, Op. 22 by Joaquin Turina

101. Ritmos, Op. 43 "Fantasia coreográfica" by Joaquin Turina

102. La processión del Rocio, Op. 9 by Joaquin Turina

103. Le Cid: Ballet music by Jules Massenet

104. Don César de Bazan: Act 3 Intermezzo "Sévilliana" by Jules Massenet

105. Sevillana, Op. 7 by Sir Edward Elgar

106. Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

107. Recuerdos de Castilla "Souvenir d'une nuit d'été à Madrid" or "Second Spanish Overture" by Mikhail Glinka

108. Capriccio brillante on the theme "Jota aragonesa" by Mikhail Glinka

109. España by Emmanuel Chabrier