First off, I am sorry that I've uploaded a lot of recordings lately. Several pieces just got ready at around the same time and I had to take advantage of some free time I had this weekend and a couple of the past weekends. The other things I'm practicing won't be ready to record for a few weeks, so this will be it from me for a little while.

So....yes...here is some more Mompou. I thought I'd just put up both books 3 and 4 so as not to bore people to death. Book 3 consists of five pieces - I like no. 20 the best. Book 4 consists of 7 pieces and I like no. 24 the most. I found it interesting that as I made it toward the end of this set, I was hearing more and more 'pretty' harmonies; like Mompou was making up for all the other dissonances.

If anyone is interested, here is the information from the CD cover describing the music:

The third volume, with only five pieces, was first performed in 1965. The first, Lento, the seventeenth of the whole work, seems to suggest a funeral march. The second, in spite of the indication Luminoso, with reference to the opening motif leads to a more bitter mood, giving prominence to a perhaps significant element from the third piece of the first volume. The nineteenth piece, Tranquillo, is a sad meditation on a single motif, maintained with a calm sameness of tone found also in the following piece. This, the twentieth, Calme, has a central section that momentarily takes on a harsher character, but returns at once to the desolation of the opening. The last piece of the third volume, altogether the most sombre of the whole work, Lento, offers a full gamut of 'metallic' sounds, like bells of different kinds and sizes heard at different distances.

The fourth volume was first performed in 1972 by the great Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha in the festival at Cadaqués. The first piece, Molto lento e tranquillo, includes various melodies in different registers combined with the sound of bells in which Mompou took such pleasure. The following piece, Calme, avec clarté, seems to recall from the past a popular song in a slower tempo. In the following piece, Moderato, a tortuously unwinding passage is heard in alternation with a section full of luminous feeling. The thinning of the textures in the first section of the next piece, with no tempo indication, is replaced by the clarity of outline of the serious central part, before a return to the opening mood. The prolonged and earnest discourse of the twenty-sixth piece, Lento, is followed by the Lento molto of the next, in the abstract mood of various earlier pieces, although towards the end there is a melody in a clear B flat minor, a vivid contrast with the intense dissonances of the rest of the piece. The last piece, Lento, starts with a hymn, followed by passages of varied character that grow harsher in expression. A return to the serenity of the opening hymn brings an ending of the greatest simplicity to a work that deserves to be considered Mompou's musical testament. In the words of the composer: 'This music has no air nor light. It is a gentle throbbing of the heart. It does not seek to reach beyond some minutes in space, but to try to penetrate the great depths of our soul and the most secret regions of our spirit'.

Mompou - Musica Callada no. 17 "Lento"
Mompou - Musica Callada no. 18 "Luminoso"
Mompou - Musica Callada no. 19 "Tranquillo"
Mompou - Musica Callada no. 20 "Calme"
Mompou - Musica Callada no. 21 "Lento"

Mompou - Musica Callada Book 3 complete


Mompou - Musica Callada no. 22 "Molto lento e tranquilo"(dedicated to Alicia de Larrocha)
Mompou - Musica Callada no. 23 "Calme, avec clarte"
Mompou - Musica Callada no. 24 "Moderato"
Mompou - Musica Callada no. 25
Mompou - Musica Callada no. 26 "Lento"
Mompou - Musica Callada no. 27 "Lento molto"
Mompou - Musica Callada no. 28 "Lento"

Mompou - Musica Callada Book 4 complete

Hi Monica,

These are just as beautiful as the previous Mompou recordings you posted. I have no idea why you are apologizing for posting them -- why apologize for donating great music for free for the enjoyment of the public?

You do prepare and record a pretty big quantity of music. It's quite impressive. I'm curious what your process is for working on repertoire, how much time you take for learning the notes of a piece, how much time you take for learning a piece once you're past the notes stage, what you do with a piece after you have recorded it?

You definitely do not have to apologize for putting up more Mompou! Had time only for listening to the 3rd volume and I loved it. I'll get back to #4 later in the week.
His knack for getting new timbre's for the piano is really something, and you've grown into it well. Our instrument has been pretty static for the past century (i.e., no one has added any new pedals or keys or "bells and whistles"), so this is refreshing.

BTW, things had been pretty slow lately in the Audition Room, so there's doubly no reason to apologize; instead, we're thanking for you for giving us some listening. And for getting the recording number on the front page unstuck!

Hi Monica,

I had a listen to a few in books 3 and 4. Congratulations on complete set, no doubt a large chunk of Mompou's total Oeurve! I understand what you mean now, that the pieces get darker. But there is a lot of different shades here in these pieces, even if the color is grey! I haven't listened to all of them, but will have to make time in the next week. Look forward to listening to all of them! Maybe I'll download the large file and listen to it as I go to bed

Thank you for listening, Heather, Stu, and Riley. I just don't like 'seeing' myself very much and felt that maybe everybody else was getting tired of seeing me here in the Audition Room too. So thank you very much for the kind words!

@Heather - I listen to classical piano music everyday and also attend quite a few piano concerts. If I hear a piece that grabs me, I rush home to get the music and put it up on my piano. I love that part - especially if the music is satisfying all the way to the end after I've read through it the first time. If so, then that's my next piece to learn. The time it takes me to learn all the way depends if I want to memorize it or not. I know this sounds pretty vain, but on some of my videos I want to be seen playing without my glasses on. But that means I have to memorize the music. Although there was one time with one my four-hand collaborations where I had music up on the stand and it looked like I was reading off it, but I wasn't. I actually couldn't see a single note because I didn't have my glasses on, I was just faking it....haha..but the other person had music on the stand and so I had to, as well. Other than that, one thing I've learned over these years is that when I think I'm ready to record something, I should put that thought aside and wait another week. The recording always comes out better. Although I still get impatient many times and record too soon - then I usually have to re-do it....grrr...
So anyway, I practice every day. At night about 1 1/2 hours, and several hours on weekends. Unfortunately, once I record something, I forget it shortly thereafter. I sure wish my brain was big enough to keep everything in there indefinitely!

@Stu - What you say here about Mompou - "knack for getting new timbre's for the piano is really something" is interesting. Not too long ago, I didn't like music filled with as much dissonances as what is in this particular set. Although these pieces are pretty short, they weren't easy for me to learn because I had to check every single chord to see if they were right (they didn't sound right to me....at first). Then after awhile, I'd be practicing one of the pieces and I'd make a mistake on one of the harsh dissonant chords, but my ear would catch the mistake because it sounded wrong in the wrong way, versus wrong in the right way. Not sure if that makes sense.... But I think learning this music somehow trained my ears to accept dissonant music more.

@Riley - Yes, there are some very dark pieces in the set, but then there are some exquisitely beautiful ones too. Those are later on in the 4th book. And actually, this set is not that large of a chunk. I think Mompou's Cancion y Danzas is the largest set. Although I could be wrong - maybe his Preludes is...I've never listened to them before. But also I think his Variations on a theme by Chopin, while not larger than the Cancion y Danzas, is fairly long too and is also a terrific set!
Funny - you listening to the whole set while sleeping - don't blame me if you get awakened abruptly and/or have strange dreams.

Hi Monica,

Please do not apologize for posting so many pieces. You are a trailblazer at the Piano Society.
The Mompou pieces are beautiful and your interpretations are both thoughtful and educational.

Thank you,
Kaila

Hi Kaila,
Thank you very much!

Hi Monica,

I had a listen to your recordings of these last two complete books as I went to bed. No bad dreams!

I really like your phrasing, some phrases seem to stop abruptly, or continue on, only to end with a puzzling cadence. I don't have the score but I imagine it looks quite lacking of the classical tradition. Are there no key signatures?

These pieces are as interesting as they are enigmatic! I get the feeling as I listen to them that I am walking down a street I've never been down before in my life, at night. A curious sensation, certainly. These pieces don't really sound like anything else I've heard. An interesting mix of atonality and tonality.

Enjoyed these!

Hi Riley. Happy Valentine's Day to you! Do they celebrate Valentine's day in China?

Yes, Mompou's music sometimes looks a little 'different'. Some scores don't even have any bar lines! But in this particular set, everything is mostly marked and the player has clear instructions on how to play the music. Regarding key signatures, many of the pieces do not have one but I'm not sure if you could then say the piece is in C-major, or A-minor, because it just sounds so different. One thing though, there are a million accidentals!

I'm glad you didn't have any nightmares.

Thanks Monica. Yes, it's celebrated, but lukewarmly. It comes after the high point of the Spring Festival, the big "v-day" is in August. It's called "Qixi" or The Night of Sevens. So called, it falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Nice Romantic-Composers banner, 我喜欢他！(I like it) They also have a singles day in November.. for the less fortunate!

What does 我喜欢他 mean? Maybe 'happy valentine's day'...?

That 'singles day' reminds me of a growing movement, here in the US anyway, that's called 'Anti-Valentine's Day'. It's on February 15th. There are anti-Valentine's parties everywhere. I think it's funny. Here is a sweet little card that reflects the day.

Pretty funny! But this card is only practical for staying single, or perhaps to ensure a matter-of-factly breakup..



Pinyin is Wo Xihuan Ta or pronounced, "Wo See Huan Ta." simply meaning I like he/she/it. In this case, it. There's your free Chinese lesson for the day. Go ahead and thank me, you're welcome.

Thank you for the lesson, Riley! I think that is the first Chinese I have ever learned.