Sisters of the Moon
Susana Gómez Vázquez (piano)
rec. 2023, Auditoriode Zaragoza, Sala Mozart, Zaragoza, Spain
Eudora EUD-SACD2407 [52]

The inspiration for this recording and its title was the surrealist painter Leonora Carrington and her paintings the sisters of the moon as well as the constellation, the seven sisters or the Pleiades, handmaidens of the goddess Artemis who were turned into stars to conceal them from the hunter Orion. Vázquez tells us that to the Incans they were the mothers of the universe but I note that other cultures associate them with femininity; the Tuareg berbers call them daughters of the night and Ukrainian tales describe seven maidens who were placed in the heavens for honouring the gods in their earthly life. She finishes with a harvest spiritual in the form of Florence Price’s E minor Fantasie nègre pointing out that the Pleiades are not visible in America at harvest time and so these stars become part of the earth symbolised by the composer but again, another culture,that of the Andes associated the constellation with abundance and harvest and closer to home an alternative name for the stellar cluster in Ukrainian culture is that of a grain or hay store.

The booklet goes further into mythology and symbolism but what of the music chosen? Recitals of all female composers are becoming more abundant and I applaud that – I have made some wonderful discoveries as a result over the last few years. One is the French composer Hélène de Montegeroult who was respected enough as a teacher to become the first female professor of keyboard at the Paris Conservatoire. Her skill may have even saved her life: according to legend it was only a lavish improvisation upon La Marseillaise before the revolutionary tribunal that spared her from the guillotine, a great story if it is true. The études recorded here are just two of 114 that she included in her Cours complet pour l’enseignement du forte-piano, a course that also includes nearly a thousand exercises. We tend to think of études pre-Chopin as more technical works rather than recital pieces but either of these would be welcome on the stage. The G major étude is a brief but dazzling study in bringing out a melody over swift arpeggios while its more substantial G minor companion reminded me, certainly in mood, of the opening of Alkan’s Sonatine, a more advanced work but surely he was familiar with these études. Two decades later Fanny Mendelssohn, or Fanny Hensel as she became, was writing her magnificent cycle das Jahr, thirteen pieces depicting the months with a chorale epilogue; the entire work is quite an achievement coming in at just under an hour and features some remarkable writing. Ms Vázquez selects two serenades, June and September from the set both of which ably demonstrate her creative genius and technical ability. In the score both are headed by lines from Goethe on the theme of love which is such a part of this recital; Do I hear gentle plaints of love is part of the preface to June and flow, flow dear river, never will I be happy for September. June is in two sections, a melancholy introduction and a lilting serenade in which the pianist is instructed to imitate a guitar and which grows quite passionate before repeating in a dramatic setting under a cascade of arpeggios. September is more concise, the river of its inspiration swirling around an inner voice melody.

From the mid 19^th century to American romanticism of the early 20^th century and the music of Amy Beach. The more I hear of her piano music he more impressed I am with her breadth of creativity and imagination along with challenging but immensely idiomatic writing. Her two Hermit Thrush pieces are a popular draw for pianists and I seem to have come across a few versions recently. Once again they are works inspired by poetry, in this case the works of John Vance Cheney and John Clare, though as they were written at the MacDowell Colony, a woodland retreat in new Hampshire, the sound of the native thrushes that surrounded her was the real spark. Ms Vázquez captures the almost dream-like state of A hermit thrush at eve magnificently with adept pedalling and a wonderful sense of line. The bird’s calls appear almost as if the pianist half pauses in their playing to the try to capture the elusive sounds in the nearby woods. A hermit thrush at morn is a melancholy slow waltz and Beach gives the impression that the birdsong suddenly moves the listener to improvise in a more free, fluid and exuberant style before a return to the tranquil mood and the duet of bird and pianist. A composer who taught many Americans musicians – and a whole lot more it must be said – was Nadia Boulanger and ms.  Vázquez plays her three Petites pieces. The first continues in the same key as A Hermit Thrush at Morn and is a moderately sprightly little pastorale that seems to hark back to an earlier age while the second has a sad little melody over a gently syncopated accompaniment. I love the third piece, its enigmatic series of chords and hints of chinoiserie almost create an evocation of the Pleiades itself; certainly I could imagine it setting the scene for some cosmic stellar display.

The energetic dance that is Festívola by Alicia de Larrocha is a far cry from the Gallic restraint of Boulanger’s short pieces. De Larrocha described her forty or so compositions as sins of youth and all date from her early studies, beginning around her eighth year and continuing into her time with Frank Marshall. They were published and collected into four volumes by the Spanish publisher Musica Boileau but a fifth appeared later containing Carles Marigó’s transcription of a live performance of Festívola that de Larrocha gave at the International Piano Archive’s 1970 benefit concert. It was the only one of her compositions that she still played and was simply called Dance in the programme; the publishers changed the title as there was already a piece with that name in the collection. It is a delightful piece full of high spirits, constant time changes and a nostalgic heart.

We are right up to date with the next three works. I am entranced by Le Sette Sorelle dal Cielo, the seven sisters of the sky by Spanish composer Iluminada Pérez Frutos, written for the Tenerife Planetarium. The electroacoustic sounds provide a suitably cinematic feel to the work with the kind of sustained pads of sound and ethereal not-quite-voices that depict the depths of interstellar space in so many science fiction moves. The piano has an almost improvisatory role against this backdrop of sound, swirling arpeggio figures and long held chords that fade in and out of the texture. Though there are recognisable if brief motifs this is for the most part a free flowing structure that has a hypnotic feel. Ms Vazquez seems to take this as a starting point for her own Interludio, ode to Kassia though the swish of sound here is created by fingers across the piano strings rather than by artificial means. The work is based on a hymn by the Byzantine-Greek composer Kassia and the opening is a meditation on that music though the lines begin to overlap and grow in energy; perhaps this evokes church bells pealing? It feels like bells are in there somewhere, especially with the single note repeated underneath a recap of the opening motif. Apparently the final bars contain a pre-echo of the main theme of the following piece, Claudia Montero’s Rondo though my ears are unable to find that – it is not as clear as the link at the opening. Rondo is a lively dance in polyrhythmsthat contain clear references to Latin-American dance rhythms; more reflective, darkly hued passages feature in the breaks between the repeats of this very passionate little rondo.

We travel back in time to Florence Price’s grand Fantasie négre in E minor, the first of four that she wrote. It is a highly virtuosic work after the fashion of Liszt and Gottschalk and is based on two themes, the spiritual Sinner, please, don’t let this harvest pass and another melody, possibly original, that forms a short central section. The main theme appears in various guises, increasingly challenging right up to the presto coda and with some wonderful turns of harmony along the way, including a delicious side slip into the keys of D flat and G flat before settling in G major. It brings the recital to a terrific close.

Susana Gómez Vázquez is a completely new name to me but I note that this is her second disc; her first received a guarded review from Nick Barnard. I have not heard that disc yet but can agree with him on the style of the booklet. Not a lot is said of the music and while I applaud the inspiration the links are occasionally tenuous; other than the obvious are the Pleiades metaphorically embodied by the composers who feature on this album? I won’t hazard to say but on the strength of the performances and repertoire I hope to hear more – it’s a little cracker of an album.

Rob Challinor

Contents
Hélène de Montegeroult (1764-1836)
Cours complet pour l’enseignement du forte-piano
Piano étude No.37 in G major (pub.1816)
Piano étude No.111 in G minor (pub.1816)
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)
Das Jahr: 12 Characterstücke (1841)
No.6 June
No.9 September
Amy Beach (1867-1944)
A Hermit Thrush at Eve Op.92 No.1 (1921)
A Hermit Thrush at Morn Op.92 No.2 (1921)
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979)
Petites pieces por piano (1914)
Alicia de Larrocha (1923-2009)
Festívola
Iluminada Pérez (b.1972)
Le Sette Sorelle dal Cielo for piano and electroacoustic
Susana Gómez Vázquez (b.1995)
Interludio (Oda a Kassia) (2023)
Claudia Montero (1962-2021)
Rondo
Florence Price (1887-1953)
Fantasie nègre No.1 in E minor (1929)