MARCH 2018 | Viento de Plata: Jesús Bal Gay & Rosa García Ascot | Paula Ríos, piano; Eva Juarez, soprano | Columna Musica 1CM0345

MARCH 2018 | Viento de Plata: Jesús Bal Gay & Rosa García Ascot | Paula Ríos, piano; Eva Juarez, soprano | Columna Musica 1CM0345

By RAY PICOT

Following on from last month’s article by Prof. Eva Moreda Rodríguez, I thought it would be interesting to throw a spotlight on two lesser-known musicians from the era of Lorca and the Generacion del ’27, notably Rosa García Ascot (1902 - 2002) and Jesús Bal y Gay (1905 - 1993) through a particularly interesting and worthwhile album devised by the Spanish pianist, Paula Ríos. These two composers were not particular prolific, but they were important and their connections with Falla and Lorca place them at the centre of musical activity in Spain before the Civil War.

This album is an excellent starting place to explore this music, with pioneering performances from pianist Paula Ríos - who many may recall from her excellent ILAMS lunchtime concert last year - , and superbly supported by the soprano, Eva Juárez. All the known piano music of García Ascot and Bal y Gay is brought together with two song collections by the latter, with no less than ten world premiere recordings. The album’s title is taken from a line in a poem by Lorca dedicated to García Ascot for her birthday, and this music is indeed a refreshing ‘wind of silver’.

Firstly some background: Rosa García Ascot had been discovered by Felipe Pedrell, who recommended her to Granados. Through her with studies with Falla in piano and composition she developed her own style and considerable reputation as a performer. To quote from Nancy Lee Harper’s book Manuel de Falla: His Life and Music, 'Falla too was a piano teacher for many years, although he seldom gave lessons after his rise to fame. Rosa García Ascot, later married to composer-musicologist Jesús Bal y Gay, benefited from Falla’s pedagogical counsels, such as in the interpretation of his Concerto or in Noches, appearing with Falla in a two-piano version of this work'.

In her excellent album notes, Paula Ríos points out that Falla had remarked that even Ravel would have liked her as his pupil. García Ascot was an important musician in her own right and well known for her authoritative performances of Falla. She is also strongly associated with the composers and musicians of Generacion del ’27 (which is how she met Bal) and more importantly as a member of Grupo de los Ocho, in 1930. Sadly it appears that there are no surviving commercial recordings by her. During the Civil War, the couple, who had married in 1933, departed Spain, leaving many of her scores behind, which were lost or destroyed when her home was occupied. According to Paula Ríos, in addition to solo piano works she wrote a piano concerto, which has survived in an incomplete score, and an orchestral suite. The couple lived for a while in Cambridge, as Bal had been offered a teaching post, and at end of the Civil War voluntarily joined other Spanish exiles in Mexico, after first receiving an invitation from Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Later, after a successful sojourn in Mexico where García Ascot taught, the couple returned to Madrid in 1965, but according to Paula Ríos her life was hard and, though she lived to 100, she lost the will to compose. The couple also wrote an interesting joint biography, Nuestros Trabajos y Nuestros Días.

This album contains seven collections/solo pieces by García Ascot, which is her entire completed piano output currently available, having been gathered together by family and friends, of which the best known is the attractive Petite suite of 1932. This piece sparkles in Paula Ríos’ hands and though it harks back to the golden era of Scarlatti and Soler, it is so well written, teeming with invention. Just sample the delightful 'Allegretto', which is truly caught on the wing in this performance. An 'Alemana' played later inhabits a similar stylistic world, but one is caught by surprise with the angular and more modernistic 'Preludio', written in 1938. Surprisingly this is her sole published work from this collection; interestingly marked ‘Tempo di Pasodoble’ there is no frivolity on display but rather a brilliant Bachian outburst of contrapuntal invention, which is played with great virtuosity and clarity. The remaining pieces show great sensitivity to their subject matters, and a typical lightness of pianist touch, and though individually quite short and delightful, when played here with such a natural touch by someone who clearly knows their Chopin. We have an impressionistic dolls' scene, an attractive lullaby, two children’s pieces and a delicate instrumental evocation in 'La guitarra'. Overall, García Ascot's music shows a lack of frivolity and an underlying seriousness of purpose, but not at the detriment of poetic engagement. It is not surprising that as a pianist the composer writes very pianistically - these works would make most attractive recital pieces and do not deserve their neglect. Paula Ríos tells me that she has copies of many drafts, which contain wonderful ideas and motifs, but which were not developed and sadly remained incomplete. Clearly this is music that means a lot to the performer and it is hard to imagine it in better hands.

Rather cleverly, the García Ascot pieces are interlaced by four pieces for solo piano by Bal y Gay, which are quite different in style and in some respects bolder and stylistically erring towards neo-classicism; it is not surprising he found a kindred spirit in Stravinsky, whom he got to know during his exile in Mexico. His music really does communicate a serious side, and is rarely decorative. He was an intellectual, with wide musicological interests which included collecting Spanish folksongs, in particular from his native Galicia. Bal undertook extensive musicological studies and his invitation to Cambridge was as a lecturer in Spanish culture. In Mexico, Bal was very busy as a writer, critic, teacher and researcher and wrote music intensely over a period of some 20 years from about 1930. He may not appear to be as well known as other Spanish composers of his time, but his music is very well written and has resulted in some excellent recordings in recent years. However, this is the first time we hear all his piano music and the two sets of published songs.

We start with two movements from a Suite which may or may not have originated as a piano work rather than a transcription of an orchestral piece. It is an attractive work with an antique trajectory which is stylishly projected by Paula Ríos who does well in reconciling its more modern tendencies. Later, Bal renounced the work and withdrew it from his catalogue. More successful from that time is the succinct song cycle on six poems by Amado Carballo, with brief stanzas, expressively pronounced by the expressive soprano of Eva Juárez, against a spare accompaniment, which is almost Webernesque in intensity. A later cycle of four songs, written eleven years later is more typically florid and attractive, but not without harmonic querks. These rare but worthwhile pieces are performed with dedication and a complete understanding of the idiom and the composer’s intentions. Lyrics in Spanish are included in the booklet.

The more outward looking Epitalamio (1939) has clear overtones of Falla which are superbly caught by Paula Ríos, who then contrasts these with the more intense declamatory Epigrama written ten years later. The Album Leaves written around this time are more approachable with three female dedicatees, including 'Para Rosita', his wife, which is very interesting in its neoclassical idiom. Bal’s music shows much restraint but is very well thought out and mostly avoids obvious derivations. Throughout, the well-judged performances draw you into these short pieces, making this a most interesting and rewarding album. A triumph for the two musicians, with the clever juxtaposition of two composers who shared common musical ideals, but stylistically quite different. The recording is excellent, with good booklet notes, which help make this album warmly recommended.


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News News Archive Concert Reviews CD Reviews Musicology Newsletter	MARCH 2018 \| Viento de Plata: Jesús Bal Gay & Rosa García Ascot \| Paula Ríos, piano; Eva Juarez, soprano \| Columna Musica 1CM0345 MARCH 2018 \| Viento de Plata: Jesús Bal Gay & Rosa García Ascot \| Paula Ríos, piano; Eva Juarez, soprano \| Columna Musica 1CM0345 By RAY PICOT Following on from last month’s article by Prof. Eva Moreda Rodríguez, I thought it would be interesting to throw a spotlight on two lesser-known musicians from the era of Lorca and the Generacion del ’27, notably Rosa García Ascot (1902 - 2002) and Jesús Bal y Gay (1905 - 1993) through a particularly interesting and worthwhile album devised by the Spanish pianist, Paula Ríos. These two composers were not particular prolific, but they were important and their connections with Falla and Lorca place them at the centre of musical activity in Spain before the Civil War. This album is an excellent starting place to explore this music, with pioneering performances from pianist Paula Ríos - who many may recall from her excellent ILAMS lunchtime concert last year - , and superbly supported by the soprano, Eva Juárez. All the known piano music of García Ascot and Bal y Gay is brought together with two song collections by the latter, with no less than ten world premiere recordings. The album’s title is taken from a line in a poem by Lorca dedicated to García Ascot for her birthday, and this music is indeed a refreshing ‘wind of silver’. Firstly some background: Rosa García Ascot had been discovered by Felipe Pedrell, who recommended her to Granados. Through her with studies with Falla in piano and composition she developed her own style and considerable reputation as a performer. To quote from Nancy Lee Harper’s book Manuel de Falla: His Life and Music, 'Falla too was a piano teacher for many years, although he seldom gave lessons after his rise to fame. Rosa García Ascot, later married to composer-musicologist Jesús Bal y Gay, benefited from Falla’s pedagogical counsels, such as in the interpretation of his Concerto or in Noches, appearing with Falla in a two-piano version of this work'. In her excellent album notes, Paula Ríos points out that Falla had remarked that even Ravel would have liked her as his pupil. García Ascot was an important musician in her own right and well known for her authoritative performances of Falla. She is also strongly associated with the composers and musicians of Generacion del ’27 (which is how she met Bal) and more importantly as a member of Grupo de los Ocho, in 1930. Sadly it appears that there are no surviving commercial recordings by her. During the Civil War, the couple, who had married in 1933, departed Spain, leaving many of her scores behind, which were lost or destroyed when her home was occupied. According to Paula Ríos, in addition to solo piano works she wrote a piano concerto, which has survived in an incomplete score, and an orchestral suite. The couple lived for a while in Cambridge, as Bal had been offered a teaching post, and at end of the Civil War voluntarily joined other Spanish exiles in Mexico, after first receiving an invitation from Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Later, after a successful sojourn in Mexico where García Ascot taught, the couple returned to Madrid in 1965, but according to Paula Ríos her life was hard and, though she lived to 100, she lost the will to compose. The couple also wrote an interesting joint biography, Nuestros Trabajos y Nuestros Días. This album contains seven collections/solo pieces by García Ascot, which is her entire completed piano output currently available, having been gathered together by family and friends, of which the best known is the attractive Petite suite of 1932. This piece sparkles in Paula Ríos’ hands and though it harks back to the golden era of Scarlatti and Soler, it is so well written, teeming with invention. Just sample the delightful 'Allegretto', which is truly caught on the wing in this performance. An 'Alemana' played later inhabits a similar stylistic world, but one is caught by surprise with the angular and more modernistic 'Preludio', written in 1938. Surprisingly this is her sole published work from this collection; interestingly marked ‘Tempo di Pasodoble’ there is no frivolity on display but rather a brilliant Bachian outburst of contrapuntal invention, which is played with great virtuosity and clarity. The remaining pieces show great sensitivity to their subject matters, and a typical lightness of pianist touch, and though individually quite short and delightful, when played here with such a natural touch by someone who clearly knows their Chopin. We have an impressionistic dolls' scene, an attractive lullaby, two children’s pieces and a delicate instrumental evocation in 'La guitarra'. Overall, García Ascot's music shows a lack of frivolity and an underlying seriousness of purpose, but not at the detriment of poetic engagement. It is not surprising that as a pianist the composer writes very pianistically - these works would make most attractive recital pieces and do not deserve their neglect. Paula Ríos tells me that she has copies of many drafts, which contain wonderful ideas and motifs, but which were not developed and sadly remained incomplete. Clearly this is music that means a lot to the performer and it is hard to imagine it in better hands. Rather cleverly, the García Ascot pieces are interlaced by four pieces for solo piano by Bal y Gay, which are quite different in style and in some respects bolder and stylistically erring towards neo-classicism; it is not surprising he found a kindred spirit in Stravinsky, whom he got to know during his exile in Mexico. His music really does communicate a serious side, and is rarely decorative. He was an intellectual, with wide musicological interests which included collecting Spanish folksongs, in particular from his native Galicia. Bal undertook extensive musicological studies and his invitation to Cambridge was as a lecturer in Spanish culture. In Mexico, Bal was very busy as a writer, critic, teacher and researcher and wrote music intensely over a period of some 20 years from about 1930. He may not appear to be as well known as other Spanish composers of his time, but his music is very well written and has resulted in some excellent recordings in recent years. However, this is the first time we hear all his piano music and the two sets of published songs. We start with two movements from a Suite which may or may not have originated as a piano work rather than a transcription of an orchestral piece. It is an attractive work with an antique trajectory which is stylishly projected by Paula Ríos who does well in reconciling its more modern tendencies. Later, Bal renounced the work and withdrew it from his catalogue. More successful from that time is the succinct song cycle on six poems by Amado Carballo, with brief stanzas, expressively pronounced by the expressive soprano of Eva Juárez, against a spare accompaniment, which is almost Webernesque in intensity. A later cycle of four songs, written eleven years later is more typically florid and attractive, but not without harmonic querks. These rare but worthwhile pieces are performed with dedication and a complete understanding of the idiom and the composer’s intentions. Lyrics in Spanish are included in the booklet. The more outward looking Epitalamio (1939) has clear overtones of Falla which are superbly caught by Paula Ríos, who then contrasts these with the more intense declamatory Epigrama written ten years later. The Album Leaves written around this time are more approachable with three female dedicatees, including 'Para Rosita', his wife, which is very interesting in its neoclassical idiom. Bal’s music shows much restraint but is very well thought out and mostly avoids obvious derivations. Throughout, the well-judged performances draw you into these short pieces, making this a most interesting and rewarding album. A triumph for the two musicians, with the clever juxtaposition of two composers who shared common musical ideals, but stylistically quite different. The recording is excellent, with good booklet notes, which help make this album warmly recommended. 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