El Rebelde
Dasp, 2022
8/10
Andrew Garland, Javier Abreu and Jeremy Reger lend their inimitable and powerful skills to compositions by Gabriela Frank and Dmitri Shostakovich here, who transformed Spanish language song via their ingenuity to song craft.
“Cantos de Cifaryel MarDulce (Songs of Cifar and the Sweet Sea)” opens the listen with Garland’s soaring baritone that’s illuminated by Reger’s alluring piano across the diverse 8 chapters, and “Las Cinco Lunas de Lorca” follows with a duet that allows Abreu’s tenor to add another dimension to the emotive and powerful landscape.
The back half consists of “Cuatro Canciones Andinas” and “Spanish Songs by Dmitri Shostakovich, Op.100”, where the former if often tense and unfolds with a very expressive quality that details the assassination of Federico García Lorca in the Spanish Civil War, and the latter bounces with a charming energy but can also retreat to calm ebbs of beauty and gracefulness.
At nearly 70 minutes long, there’s much to absorb here, but the quality of the compositions and precise singing and piano prowess make for a captivating listening experience.
Travels well with: Maya Magub- Consolations; Variant 6- New Suns