FALLA LE PARISIEN
Maya Villanueva, soprano

David Saudubray, piano

(2023, Klarthe Records)

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“For everything that refers to my profession, my homeland is Paris.” - Manuel de Falla

 

This disc illustrates, by putting into perspective the melodies and certain pieces for solo piano, the evolution of Falla's language (1876-1946), from a post-romanticism inherited from Albéniz to a resolutely modern and almost "impressionist" language. closer to Debussy, Dukas or Ravel. It’s a true aesthetic journey through Falla’s life.

 

The Parisian period is the ferment of this evolution. Falla arrived in Paris in 1907, expecting to stay there for only a few weeks. he will stay there for seven years! With numerous artistic and friendly encounters (Debussy, Ravel, Dukas, Delage, to name a few), his Parisian life enriches his musical aesthetic by stripping it of its sentimental excesses to move towards an evocation that is both clearer and sharper. of Spain which is reminiscent of Ravel's Alborada del Gracioso or Debussy's La Puerta del Vino.

 

The seven popular Spanish songs, as well as Andaluza from the Four Spanish Pieces for solo piano, constitute the peaks of this aesthetic. The musicologist of the time Louis Aguettant declared about the Four Spanish Pieces: “There is something of French clarity there, it is an art of perfect style”. Falla's intimacy with France and its composers is magnificently materialized by the Three Melodies on poems by Théophile Gautier, in French, of course, and whose third piece, Seguidille, is dedicated "to Madame Claude Debussy".

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“The fact that Manuel de Falla composed several songs is still little known. Yet,[…] one can hardly escape the charm of these songs, especially since the performers, soprano Maya Villanueva and pianist David Saudubray, are one hundred percent convincing.

Villanueva's luminous and flexible soprano, which responds very easily and carries wonderfully, is ideal and conveys exactly the atmospheres that the music and text need. The pianist is also first rate, always managing to clearly represent the fine distinction between Spanish and French impressionism while carrying his singer with his hands.”

Pizzicato Mag, Supersonic

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"great class of performers and in particular of the soprano Maya Villanueva, this CD is a success[...] beauty of timbre, clarity of pronunciation in one, variety of colors and rhythms in the other."Classical music & Co

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