Federico Mompou outlived most of his generation, yet his work remained obscure and did not receive much attention until after his death in 1987.
Mompou's rarefied music remained true to its origins in Catalan song and the French styles he adopted in his youth -- alternating between lyrical simplicity and impressionistic wonderment. Many of the pieces in Música callada (1959-1967) bear similarities to Satie, but the greater influence of
Debussy is apparent in the music, which is often spiced with added-note harmonies and polychords of ambiguous tonality. While the Primer cuaderno is thoroughly modal and placid, the Segundo cuaderno offers more chromatic possibilities, and
Mompou indulges in some unsettling, dense passages reminiscent of late Scriabin. The Tercer cuaderno and the Cuarto cuaderno are both quieter, mingling brief, song-like phrases with widely spaced pitches that are allowed to ring in sonorous haloes.
Mompou's own performance of this work is controlled yet passionate, within the narrow bounds he set out in the music. The volume rarely rises to fortissimo, but even at the softest dynamics,
Mompou plays in an intense reverie that is compelling. The sound of this disc is clear and full, and only a minimal amount of tape hiss is audible in the softest passages.