Bretón: Songs & Piano Trios Natalia Labourdette; Victoria Guerrero; Carles Civera; Alejandro Olóriz

• Tomás Bretón (1850 - 1923): Seis poesías de Bécquer:
• 1 Bretón: I. Saeta que voladora (rima II) 02:44
• 2 Bretón: II. Cendal flotante de leve bruma (rima XV) 03:21
• 3 Bretón: III. Cuando miro el azul horizonte (rima VIII) 04:07
• 4 Bretón: IV. Cuando en la noche te envuelven (rima XXV) 04:05
• 5 Bretón: V. Cuando entre la sombra oscura (rima XXVIII) 03:57
• 6 Bretón: VI. Al ver mis horas de fiebre (rima LVIII) 04:30
• Volverán las oscuras golondrinas:
• 7 Bretón: Volverán las oscuras golondrinas (rima LII) 03:31
• Désir:
• 8 Bretón: Désir 01:54
• La Castañera:
• 9 Bretón: La Castañera 04:49
• Piano Trio:
• 10 Bretón: Piano Trio: I. Allegro comodo 12:09
• 11 Bretón: Piano Trio: II. Andante 08:01
• 12 Bretón: Piano Trio: III. Allegro molto 07:21
• 13 Bretón: Piano Trio: IV. Allegro energico 08:26
• Quatre Morceaux Espagnols:
• 14 Bretón: Quatre Morceaux Espagnols: I. Danse Orientale 04:16
• 15 Bretón: Quatre Morceaux Espagnols: II. Boléro 04:37
• 16 Bretón: Quatre Morceaux Espagnols: III. Polo Gitano 03:37
• 17 Bretón: Quatre Morceaux Espagnols IV. Scherzo Andalou 06:33
• Total Runtime 01:27:58

Info for Bretón: Songs & Piano Trios

The soprano Natalia Labourdette and the pianist Victoria Guerrero present their second joint recording on the IBS Classical label, an ambitious double album entitled Tomás Bretón: Songs & Piano Trios. This new release explores the work of the Salamanca-born composer Tomás Bretón, highlighting his contribution to the development of the Spanish musical language between the Romantic period and the early modern era.

The album is divided into two discs: the first, Songs for Voice & Piano, is dedicated to the Lied repertoire, whilst the second, Chamber Music for Violin, Cello & Piano, explores his chamber music output. The latter features guest artists violinist Carles Civera and cellist Alejandro Olóriz Soria, completing a programme of great tonal and expressive richness.

Labourdette and Guerrero have formed an established Lied duo since their debut at the Schubertiada de Valdegovía in 2019. Since then, they have maintained a busy concert schedule at festivals such as Música d’Estiu in Menorca, Jóvenes Músicos Jerezanos en Europa and the Festival Internationales Liedkonzert in Berlin. Their first recording, petite MORT (2022), was presented at prominent concert series including those at the Sala Turina in Seville, the Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao and the Teatro Liceo in Salamanca.

This second recording project focuses on the figure of Tomás Bretón (1850–1923), a key composer in the construction of a Spanish musical identity. In a European context marked by the rise of Romantic nationalism following the revolutions of 1848, Bretón stood out for his firm commitment to elevating instrumental music in Spain, at a time dominated by zarzuela.

The vocal repertoire on the album includes the Six Poems by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1887), a highly lyrical song cycle influenced by the German Lied tradition, in which echoes of Schubert, Schumann and Liszt can be heard. These works reflect Bretón’s ability to integrate Spanish poetry into a European musical language, combining lyrical introspection with vocal drama.

The chamber repertoire, meanwhile, includes the Trio in E major for violin, cello and piano, a mature work that demonstrates the composer’s cosmopolitanism, as well as the Quatre morceaux espagnols (1913), in which Bretón subtly engages with the new nationalist trends that would shape composers such as Albéniz, Granados and Falla. With this work, the performers not only revive a rarely performed repertoire, but also help to highlight the figure of a composer who strove to position Spanish music on the European scene beyond the clichés. Natalia Labourdette and Victoria Guerrero will present this new recording through a recital tour of various Spanish cities. The opening concert will take place on 14 June in Madrid, as part of the chamber music series Conciertos Salón del Ateneo, in a special event that will kick off the promotional tour. The tour will then continue to cities such as Seville, Granada and Vigo, amongst others.

Natalia Labourdette, soprano
Victoria Guerrero, piano
Carles Civera, violin
Alejandro Olóriz Soria, cello

Please Note: We offer this album in its native sampling rate of 48kHz, 24-bit. The provided 192kHz version was up-sampled and offers no audible value!

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Booklet for Bretón: Songs & Piano Trios