Blending melodies of his native Catalonia with the influences of Falla, Albéniz, and
Mompou, Manuel Blancafort created a large body of piano works that is appealing through its intimacy, simplicity, and serenity. Blancafort's lifetime spanned nine decades of changes in the arts, yet there are few signs in his music that he took any notice. In these works, dating from 1918 to 1921, there are no indications of experimentation, instability, or even a reaction to world events, such as World War I, which profoundly affected Blancafort's contemporaries. Instead, he offers unperturbed charm and fragile beauty, sweet cançons with impressionistic harmonies, and dynamics that rarely rise to forte. The Peces (6) brues, Jocs i danses al camp, Cants íntims I, and the Peces (8) are quite similar in their song-like constructions and spare voicings, and the dominant mood of all four sets is one of placid contemplation, broken only occasionally by joyous dance tunes. This is pianist
Miquel Villalba's second album of Blancafort's works for Naxos, following the 2002 release of Piano Music: Vol. I.
Villalba's sensitive playing is perfectly suited to these wistful works, and he shapes Blancafort's miniatures with generous pedaling, producing an aural halo that enhances these pieces and makes them seem from a distant time and place.