Palomo: My Secluded Garden

Palomo (Artist, Composer), Maria Bayo (Artist), Pepe Romero (Artist), Romero Guitar Quartet (Artist), de Burgos (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: de Burgos
• Composer: Palomo
• Audio CD (June 30, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: NAXOS SPANISH
• ASIN: B0027DQHL4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,478 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

American Record Guide, Gil French, November 2009

For opera fanatics who become obsessed with comparing voices, I can't think of a better album than this to expand their horizons.

Lorenzo Palomo was born in 1938 but writes here in a purely 19th-Century style-- and gloriously so! In Mi Jardin Solitario, 11 songs in 26 minutes set to exquisite, brief poems by Celedonio Romero (the father of the clan), the music for soprano and solo guitar flows from the rhythm of the poetry. It is highly lyrical, widely varied, very subtle, and deeply moody, confirming my prejudice that the Spanish character is essentially sober and melancholic with an edge of tragedy, like Greek widows doomed to wear black after their husbands' demise. It's also incredibly beautiful and moving.

Madrigal and Five Sephardic Songs serve up more soulful longing but with a Sephardic(Jewish) edge to the harmony and style, more in the rhetorical style of chant. One of the lullabies modulates up one-half step so subtly and gorgeously that you become aware of it only after it happens.

In both song sets Maria Bayo is ravishing. Her luscious voice reflects the meaning of the texts with a lucid voice that has almost an Eastern European edge to it, while quintessentially Spanish in style. Pepe Romero serves up a kaleidoscope of sensitivity the best guitar playing I've heard in years. Here is beauty and soulfulness through and through.

The 34-minute Concierto de Cienfuegos, written in honor of Celedonio Romero, is named after the town in Cuba where he was born; the third (final) movement is filled with infectious can't-sit-still Cuban rhythms. Each movement has an utterly integral form and never wears out its welcome, especially in this performance. The guitars are spread out across the stereo spectrum in a manner that gives each of them its own identity yet unites them into an integral ensemble. Also, Palomo writes with a considerably richer orchestral palette than does Joaquin Rodrigo, and Frühbeck de Burgos shows it off brilliantly.

The engineering for both the songs and the concerto couldn't be better. It's rich, warm, superbly balanced, embracing, and free of gimmickry, leaving the performances entirely in the hands of the artists.