La ciencia vuelve a España: Iberia, Libro I

[Todd]

The last time I applied my usual scientific rigor to Spanish piano music, it was with the second greatest Spanish piano composition.  Time to apply the same pristine, world-beating research and listening standards to the first greatest work.  Obviously, that is Iberia.  Here, though, I wanted a quicker hit, and as it happens, with four dandy books on offer, I could select one and zip through the comparisons in shorter order, four or five or more recordings in a row.  The first book would suffice as I have yet to hear any recording where the first book rocks while the other three fall flat, or vice versa.  Too, this allows the inclusion of a couple big names who did not lay down the full set.  Here, rather than going for the more precise and unassailably accurate ordinal ranking, web approved tiering will be used in an effort to stay fresh and, more importantly, hip.  (Kids today most definitely say hip.)  After donning my finest Georgian sea island cotton white lab coat, I got down to a-listenin'. 




Might as well start off with a known S tier recording.  (Maybe S+ or even god tier, really.)  The mighty Esteban Sánchez looms large in this repertoire, and revisiting this recording for the first time in a minute reminds the listener why.  The cruddy sound cannot mask Sánchez's basically infinite nuance, with effortless rubato, delicate or powerful dynamic gestures as needed, sense of ease or tension, and harmonic bliss.  And that's just in the first thirty seconds of Evocación.  Just as the listener settles into a movement, it ends.  The listener wants, craves, needs more.  The rhythmic fluidity in El Puerto is simply unsurpassed; it positively beguiles.  Oh my.  Corpus Christi en Seville positively thrills.  Listening ass thoroughly kicked. 

[Todd]

Having established a baseline of sorts, it's time to meander through recordings, which obviously includes lesser recordings.  To wit, Miguel Basalga's recording, in pristine recorded sound, lacks the infinite flexibility and nuance of Sánchez.  Not bad at all, the languid Evocación sort of shows the differences.  The tempi are more foursquare, the dynamic contrasts nice but not as flowing/natural/organic, or whatever word one likes.  Basalga's rubato in El Puerto sounds more forced, perhaps cruder than Sánchez's.  Again, it's not at all bad, it just lacks something.  The same goes for Corpus Christi en Seville.  C tier.

[Florestan]

Corpus Christi en Seville.

It's Corpus Christi en Sevilla (Spanish). The original French title is actually Fête-Dieu à Séville. Just saying, sorry for the interruption, carry on.

[Todd]

Peter Schaaf's creative commons licensed recording displays a nice, languid, leisurely feel in Evocación, which drifts along, with ample fluidity and grace.  El Puerto has nice, if not spirit enlivening rhythm.  Schaaf is at his best when he variegates dynamics, which are very nice, thank you.  Corpus Christi en Seville has some nice dynamics, but it lacks the effortlessness and flow of Sánchez.  C Tier.

[Todd]

Rosa Torres-Pardo's live recording displays attractive tone and more attractive rubato and balances nicely between languid and (slightly) energized in Evocación.  Some of the right hand playing is really quite lovely, though lovelier still awaits in other takes.  Corpus Christi en Seville displays fine rhythm and rubato, though dynamics are often somewhat constrained – though not by any means all the time.  In the loudest passages, clarity suffers a smidge, but it is within acceptable bounds.  C tier.

[hopefullytrusting]

Rosa Torres-Pardo's live recording displays attractive tone and more attractive rubato and balances nicely between languid and (slightly) energized in Evocación.  Some of the right hand playing is really quite lovely, though lovelier still awaits in other takes.  Corpus Christi en Seville displays fine rhythm and rubato, though dynamics are often somewhat constrained – though not by any means all the time.  In the loudest passages, clarity suffers a smidge, but it is within acceptable bounds.  C tier.

But if you include all the paratextual materials - this is an A (or S tier) set.

[Todd]

The great Claudio Arrau laid down the first book back in the day, and it doesn't take long to hear the greatness.  Quick overall, one doesn't feel it in the opening to Evocación, which displays oodles of nuance, fantastic dynamic gradations, and a leisurely feel.  Sure, one can sense some of the notes being spun off more quickly, but it's the feel that matters, and it feels good.  As a master, he offers a masterclass in how to crank up dynamics with a sense of ease sans hardness.  El Puerto has a slow-ish, beefy feel to it, and kick ass rhythm.  Corpus Christi en Seville is quick, nimble, and rhythmically snappy as all get out until the coda.  A tier.

[Todd]

Jumping to another incomplete set, Danny Boy's recording gets a shot.  While not particularly slow overall, the first couple minutes of Evocación sounds almost impressionistic, with luxuriant rhythm and a few little passages where tiny voicing differences tickle the ear.  The faster playing in the middle is fine, but it barely interrupts the gorgeous languidness, or languid gorgeousness, depending on how one considers it.  Like Arrau, Barenboim's El Puerto is slow-ish and heavy, but with greater tonal richness.  As performed, recorded, and mastered, the playing often borders on the quasiorchestral.  Corpus Christi en Seville, not especially fast overall, starts slow and quirky and small and builds up quickly to a quasi-orchestral fiesta before backing way off, with musical strands just wafting along.  Then more fiesta arrives, turns something nearing harsh, then fades back again, drifting into the gloaming.  This is Iberia at sundown.  A Tier.

[Florestan]

LOL

 

[Todd]

Luis Fernando Pérez, closely miked with breathing accompaniment, displays constantly fluid tempo adjustments and hints of tension more than languidness in  Evocación.  Yes, indeed, as in his other recordings, Pérez displays subtle dynamic gradations that at least match and really mostly surpass the variety in his tempo selections.  The more turbulent middle section aside, this is mostly about gentler musical flow.  El Puerto is quick, vibrant, pointed, rhythmically vital, but it also lacks the subtlety of the opener, at least until the coda.  Corpus Christi en Seville starts off comparatively heavy, almost like musical stomping, and Pérez hardly slows or softens for nearly three minutes.  The mostly emphatic approach – as recorded and mastered – makes me wish that the microphones would have been placed more distantly placed to allow for more breathing room.  Never forget that recording technique matters.  B tier.

[Todd]

Edmund Battersby emerged out of nowhere in the survey of Goyescas to be a top ten contender, so naturally it had to be determined if he could work the same magic here.  Evocación starts off with supple, gentle playing, where the p-pp range seems to posses nearly limitless gradations, and at times it almost sounds like a Spanish lullaby.  The dreaminess of the movement almost overwhelms in its beauty.  El Puerto maintains a more rounded tone that most of the versions up to this point, but it also has a bit of rhythmic swagger and ease to it, as well.  Battersby adopts an unvirtuosic approach to the movement, which in itself impresses.  Corpus Christi en Seville keeps the same style, and as recorded, it almost sounds like the una corda was held down throughout, or the engineer tamped down hard edges.  The result is a supremely impressionistic approach.  Unique and often captivating, it doesn't rise to the same heights as his Granados, but Battersby does good work.  B tier.

[Todd]

Nelson Goerner benefits from a superb black and white album cover, which is not nothing, and even more so from impressively flexible playing.  Rubato and dynamic gradations are delivered with polish and fluidity throughout Evocación.  Goerner coaxes some truly lovely tone from his instrument.  Deep, rounded bass notes and fluid energy pour forth elegantly in El Puerto, as does some delightfully gentle right hand playing, with an insistent but not overbearing rhythm permeating the whole movement.  Corpus Christi en Seville has a more vibrant rhythm with striking, incisive playing that never assumes a hard edge.  Digital dexterity ain't nothing to sneeze at, neither.  A tier.

[Todd]

Sally Christian plays Evocación with nice clarity and decent rhythm, but something is missing.  It sounds kind of flat, kind of uninvolving.  It don't evoke a thing.  Ditto El Puerto.  Corpus Christi en Seville unfortunately sounds ragged and unstable.  D tier.

[Todd]

The feeble, Cervantes inspired cover ends up something of a harbinger for the recording.  Unwin plays more ably than Christian, but clarity and decent rhythm end up the strong points of Evocación.  El Puerto has much more pep and drive, but it sounds more rushed than evocative, and while it can be hard to describe what constitutes idiomatic playing, this recording doesn't have whatever it might be.  It's too obviously virtuosic.  That last trait becomes almost obnoxiously obvious in Corpus Christi en Seville, which while dashed off with ivory tickling aplomb, more or less misses the mark totally.  There's little to no nuance.  D tier.

[ritter]

The point about the citiy's name in Spanish ending in "a" rather than "e" has been made (a week ago, actually). That's enough.

[ritter]

Members (be it the OP or others) may wish to continue this stupid discussion, and resubmit posts that have been deleted, as long as they wish. And the moderators will take the appropriate action.

It's unbelievable that members find pleasure in contaminating a thread that is clearly insightful re. its topic.

[ritter]

Se acabó la tontería.

If members persist, the thread will be locked.

[Todd]

Antonio Ortiz's live recording finds the pianist, recorded in less than ideal sound, bringing a very Spanish feel to the music.  By that is meant that Ortiz brings appealing rubato and dynamic gradation to the playing, sort of letting the music unfold at a comfortable pace, speeding up gracefully and quickly, and just generally delivering a proper sounding Evocación.  El Puerto starts off somewhat slowly, with much the same feel as the opener, but as the piece progresses, Ortiz revs up, displays fine dexterity, and plays with a bit of oomph.  (The screaming kids in the distance hint at this maybe not being recorded in a stuffy, fancy person venue.)  Corpus Christi en Seville grooves nicely, with sweet accenting and some bustle to it, and some perhaps not ideally tidy playing in the knottiest passages.  C tier

[Todd]

From one not well known pianist to another, Paul Verona's take starts with an Evocación that sounds slower than it is, with a dark-ish tone that sort of makes it seem like a musical reminiscence most of the time.  El Puerto has enough vigor and swagger to please, and the way he stretches out certain passages works nicely.  His tone lends an almost Rachy sound to some of the playing.  Corpus Christi en Seville adds a bit more oomph and scale in the most dramatic passages, and he also dramatically slows the playing way down, bring the playing to a halt in a couple places in a surprisingly effective manner, and then he brings a Barenboimy quasiorchestral vibe to the loudest playing in the back half.  C tier.