Paraphrasis (MXVIII-21, 2016)
Bonae Artis Cultorem Habeas
(Find [in Bach] a cultivator of true art)
When we paraphrase something, we rework a primitive material while maintaining its original meaning and structure even after it has been changed. To rework language, we use different words; for music, new instruments can be used to alter the shades and textures in the original material. Transcription and arrangement (for instrumental music) and parody (usually for vocal music) are the terms that encompass musical paraphrasing, literally transferring one piece to a new receiving environment which, whether or not the medium is changed, broadens or simplifies the original text.
Thanks to several motivating agents, this practice of «musical recycling» has nourished and will continue to nourish the pages of the History of Music. Its use has sometimes served as a pedagogical resource to grasp a new style, and other times as a response to an audience eager to consume the latest in musical innovation. Similarly, composers have resorted to this reworking technique when, hurried by the deadlines, they have had to respond immediately to the demands of their work. Furthermore, transcriptions have allowed repertoires to be extended for certain instruments which, for whatever reason, did not feature in the original literature. This in turn satisfied the performers’ personal interest.
Nous Cants (Discmedi, 2017)
chamber music with organ by Ignacio Ribas Taléns
By recording Torre de la memoria for English horn and organ, Miscelánea XVIII-21 has been given the lucky chance to collaborate in this beautiful album that compiles all chamber works featuring organ composed by our beloved fellow, composer and organ player Ignacio Ribas.
In the words of Ignacio: “These new songs featuring organ originate from the human species’ innate need of singing, the need of telling things with music beyond the mere speech. This work is certainly an instrumental way of singing, but it feels, indeed, like singing. The topics addressed in this compilation are those of time and memory, which always anchors an echo of life experiences and tries to foreshadow what will come next; also, the fleeting nature of life, which incites poetic recreation in the present through the act of singing."
Hasta romper el corazón (2017) - Until your heart will break
(Institución Fernando el Católico-Diputación Provincial de Zaragoza)
The purpose of the collection “Órganos Históricos en Aragón” –Historic Organs in Aragón– (Jesús Gonzalo, artistic direction) is to give prominence to the restored heritage organs in the Aragonese autonomous community. The organ employed by Miscelánea XVIII-21for this recording is the one at the cathedral of Roda de Isábena (Huesca); the instrument was built by Fray Martín Peruga in 1653, remodelled by Tomás Sánchez in 1785 and restored by Frédéric Desmottes in 2007. Committed to the recovery of the Hispanic musical heritage, Francisco with his Baroque oboe and Saskia on the organ propose a personal view of the 18th-century Galant Spain. They do it through an exquisite sample of the scant original repertoire for oboe and basso continuo from that period, through some transcriptions and, of course, through a fantastic gathering of keyboard music composed by those authors who decided to get on board the train of modernity.