It was only this year
that the choral and orchestral music
of this little known Basque composer
was first being reviewed
with much enthusiasm in these pages
and in the pages of music magazines.
Naxos recorded these works over four
years ago and have been sitting on them
all that time before releasing them
in their ongoing ‘Spanish Classics’
series. Well, arguably Donostia is not
Spanish and ‘Classics’? Well, hardly
although the music does have the potential
for that epithet, given time and exposure.
Padre Donostia (born
Jose Gonzalo de Zulaica) was, to quote
the useful booklet essay by Santiago
Gorostiza "not only one of the
greatest Basque composers of sacred,
symphonic and stage music, but also
a highly influential collector and expert
in his native region’s folk music".
In addition, he had been ordained and
at the age of fifteen, having been sent
to the Capuchin College in Lekaroz in
Navarre, joined the Order. On his ordination
as a priest he took the name you see
above. He nevertheless made a prosperous
career in music starting with studies
in Paris from 1920. Later his music
was played all over the world but especially
in South America which he regularly
visited. From this period there are
three stage works on religious or spiritual
subjects, but his greatest achievement,
to quote again, "was to bring prestige
to traditional Basque music ...... and
a perfect balance between the assimilation
of tradition and the huge influence
of impressionistic contemporaries, Debussy
and Ravel".
On this CD you can
hear, folk-inspired pieces with simple
melodies as in the Basque Preludes No.
1 ‘Improvisation’ (a tune not unlike
‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’). Impressionist
landscapes also feature, as in Number
18 ‘Landscape of La Soule’. There are
also neo-classical pieces as in the
‘Andante para una sonata’ and the Homage
to Arriaga, the early 19th
Century Spanish composer.
The Twenty-One Basque
Preludes are melodious and varied pieces
which could become classics - several
of them being within the reach of the
good amateur. They fall into four books
and took four years to complete. The
traditional melodies are allowed to
shine through. Donostia adds interesting
rhythmic patterns, impressionist recitatives,
like a muezzin-melisma from a mosque
and children’s melodies found in their
games. The whole is imbued with a nostalgic
lyricism. Some are short and amusing
like ‘Grandfather’s Tale’ and some are
dances like the witty ‘Dance of the
Blackbird’. As we listen through the
Preludes it becomes apparent that the
composer’s classical roots are being
slowly abandoned in favour of impressionist
ones.
I am not clear when
the eight shorter pieces on this CD
were composed but the booklet seems
to imply that they are of the same period.
Of especial interest for my taste is
the intriguing ‘Nostalgia’. Who would
nowadays dare call a piece ‘Nostalgia’?
It opens with a series of arpeggiated
seventh chords over a repeated pedal
figure. After almost two minutes it
is suddenly interrupted by a dance-like
rhythm broken up by almost randomly
placed interjected chords before gradually
ambling into the first idea again. There
is something hypnotic here and quite
original and very personal going on
- a quality lacking in some of the other
pieces.
The recording is excellent
and conveys the warmth of the music.
The performances by Jordi Maso, a Catalan
musician with an eclectic discography
already to his name, seems to have a
clear understanding of its aims and
is totally in character.
To sum up, this is
attractive if undemanding music here
given every chance to shine.
Gary Higginson
Jordi Maso (piano) 