An Exciting New Release

Deutsche Grammophon announced via Twitter this evening that soprano Patricia Petibon's new album of Spanish songs and arias, which is entitled Melancolia: Spanish Arias and Songs, is to be released in the United States on November 21, 2011. I have high hopes for this album after becoming enthralled by Petibon's previous release of Rosso: Italian Baroque Arias. Though this recording is not quite so specialized as Rosso was, I expect all of the flavor that Spanish music would immediately conjure in the minds of anyone who is remotely familiar with music would hope to find. Indeed, that was one of the main reasons for my infatuation with Rosso, for her performances were breathed with fresh, vivacious life, and they did not sound like a plain reading of text in the least amount. Every track from that album was imbued with a passion that I have rarely found matched in other performances of Baroque music, in which many artists are concerned with what is thought to be the most strict of styles. Her renditions almost left caution to the wind, and the effect was rapturous for my ears. Without any question Baroque music should be performed to that degree of expression every time it is proffered in a program.

The track list for this new disc is as follows.

           Enrique Granados

1. La maja dolorosa II: Ay majo de mi vida
   Tornadillas No.2
2. Cancion de Cuna
   Cinco canciones negras No. 4
3. Canto negro
   Cinco Canciones negras No. 5
   
   Joaquin Nin y Castellanos
4. El vito
   Veinte cantos populares espanoles II No. 8
   
   Heitor Villa-Lobos
5. Aria (Cantilena)
   Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5
   
   Joaquin Turina
6. Cantares
   Poema en forma de canciones No. 3
   
   Geronimo Gimenez
7. La tarantula e un bicho mu malo (Zapateado)
   from La tempranica
   
   Rafael Calleja Gomez/ Tomas Barrera Saavedra
8. Adios, Granada
   from Emigrantes
   
   Manuel de Falla
9. Vivan los que rien!
   from La Vida breve, Act 1
   
   Federico Moreno Torroba
10. Petenera
    from La Marchenera
    
    Enrique Granados
11. El mirar de la mija
    Tornadillas No. 7
    
    Jose Serrano Simeon
12. Marinela, Marinela
    from La cancion del olvido
13. Ogunde uarere
    
    Nicolas Bacri
    
    Melodias de la melancolia, Op. 119
    for Patricia Petibon, World Premiere Recording
14. 1. A la mar
15. 2. Silencio mi nino
16. 3. Hay quien dice
17. 4. Solo

As my readers can easily gather from this diverse choice of material, this promises to be replete with life and fervor for the music. Most of these compositions are plucked from the Romantic era of music, which lasts approximately between 1850 to 1900, which indicates lush orchestrations and greater emphasis on the music over the voice, but I am anxious to discover how Petibon shall make these selections entirely her own.

For those who are unfamiliar with Patricia Petibon, she is best known as a skilled interpreter of the baroque repertoire, but last season brought a bold departure from that music with her run of performances as Berg's Lulu in Salzburg over the summer. Opera News also had a review of this new territory for Petibon, and she was the cover subject for the August 2010 issue.

On this newest release under Deutsche Grammophon label, the soprano is joined in collaboration by the Orquestra Nacional de Espana under the baton of Josep Pons, and, if Petibon's previous artistry is to be of any indication to our minds is hope for this recording, we can safely dare to hope for superlative results from this latest offering. I look forward to hearing this recording with excellent anticipation of exquisite musicology and interpretation.

Please accept my ingratiation for reading my continued blog posts, and I hope that all of my readers are immensely blessed of late. I pray God's continued providence upon all of you.
-Tyler.