Abstract
My new album, Mompou: Misteriós, Transcriptions for Guitar, Vol.1, is dedicated to the compositions of Federico Mompou (1893-1987), a composer and pianist of profound sensitivity. His contemplative and poetic music mirrors his life, one of introspection.
Federico Mompou's music is a journey into an exploration of listening. An intimate listening between the musician and his instrument. A secret conversation.
This intimacy led Mompou to write primarily for his instrument, composing with the contact of the piano's vibrating keys. He rarely explored other sound worlds beyond the piano and only did so through his friendships with other musicians. It was from two of these friendships that two pieces for guitar were born.
Brilliant Classics published my recording of Mompou's original guitar compositions in 2018; this new album, part of a series of four recordings, further expands that exploration, exploring his piano compositions reimagined for the guitar by James Beneteau and me.
Through studying Mompou's writings preserved in the Biblioteca de Catalunya and listening to his recordings, the transcription process has become a journey of discovery into an interpretive world. Transcribing is a form of interpretation that deals with losing. It means choosing.
To do this, the interpreter is required to delve deep and be actively involved in the creative process.
It is precisely from this difficulty of translating the poetic world born on the piano to a small and fragile guitar that insights into Mompou's interpretive world emerged. Mompou opened the doors to new artistic research for me that looks at the connection between sound, time, and intuition.
I believe that the true interpreter, the true artist, has the rights to the work he is playing. Here you have the music: what does it suggest to you? What feelings does it convey?
Federico Mompou
Federico Mompou's music is a journey into an exploration of listening. An intimate listening between the musician and his instrument. A secret conversation.
This intimacy led Mompou to write primarily for his instrument, composing with the contact of the piano's vibrating keys. He rarely explored other sound worlds beyond the piano and only did so through his friendships with other musicians. It was from two of these friendships that two pieces for guitar were born.
Brilliant Classics published my recording of Mompou's original guitar compositions in 2018; this new album, part of a series of four recordings, further expands that exploration, exploring his piano compositions reimagined for the guitar by James Beneteau and me.
Through studying Mompou's writings preserved in the Biblioteca de Catalunya and listening to his recordings, the transcription process has become a journey of discovery into an interpretive world. Transcribing is a form of interpretation that deals with losing. It means choosing.
To do this, the interpreter is required to delve deep and be actively involved in the creative process.
It is precisely from this difficulty of translating the poetic world born on the piano to a small and fragile guitar that insights into Mompou's interpretive world emerged. Mompou opened the doors to new artistic research for me that looks at the connection between sound, time, and intuition.
I believe that the true interpreter, the true artist, has the rights to the work he is playing. Here you have the music: what does it suggest to you? What feelings does it convey?
Federico Mompou
| Original language | English (Ireland) |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 11 Apr 2024 |