Federico Mompou's "Música callada" was described by Stephen Hough as "the music of evaporation," a strategy that involves music trying hard not to assert its presence.
Compositional Technique
Mompou's music often features a distinctive "metallic chord" (G flat, C, E flat, A flat, D), which became a compositional signature appearing in his works around 1916.
Performer Biography
Sir Stephen Hough, the pianist on this album, is a highly acclaimed musician who has won numerous awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship in 2001 and a knighthood in 2022.
Composition History
Mompou's "Música callada" was composed between 1959 and 1967, and published in four volumes, becoming the last piano music he published during his lifetime.
Composer Biography
Mompou's mother was of French origin, and her family owned the Dencausse bell foundry, which influenced the bell sounds found in his music, including "Angelico."
Composer's Artistic Vision
The title "Música callada" (Silent Music) was borrowed from the Spanish mystic St John of the Cross, whose work explores the philosophical contradiction between "silent music" and "sounding solitude."
Compositional Technique
Mompou's "Música callada" consists of twenty-eight miniatures, each designed to reveal the essence of its material rather than developing it in a traditional sense.
