Mac McClure's admiration for the music of
Federico Mompou and his like-minded friends is sincere, and his comprehensive understanding of their work is remarkable for an American pianist. Yet despite his earnest intentions and eagerness to promote this little-played music, he may have miscalculated the effect of placing
Mompou's rarefied and evanescent piano works in a jumbled mix with more extroverted pieces by less-gifted Spanish composers, who seem too pedestrian to be in the same company. Programming
Mompou's music with more delicate fare might have been a better notion; but the jaunty, picturesque miniatures by Xavier Turull,
Carlota Garriga, Ricard Lamonte de Grignon,
Manuel Blancafort, and others only break the mysterious spell that
Mompou creates and unnecessarily interrupt it for the sake of contrast. Listeners may benefit from an acquaintance with the above-mentioned composers, and such figures as
Oscar Esplá,
Joaquín Nin-Culmell,
Antoni Massana,
Frank Marshall,
Juan Torra, and
Carlos Surinach; but an album of
Mompou's quiescent music is an awkward place for such an omnium gatherum. Aside from the confusing profusion of composers, this disc is pleasant in mood;
McClure's playing is sensitive and smooth in the
Mompou pieces and cheerfully buoyant in everything else. The sound quality is fine overall.