Jorge Rojas Music

Like its esmeralds, this a gem of Colombian music unknown to many but deeply appreciated by few. Listen once to this music and you will fall in love with it. Trio Morales Pino started around 1899, I recommend this albums: De Mi Tierra, Tiple Guitarra y Bandola, Recuerdos del Pasado, Colombia en Mi Violin, Meridiano Bogota.

It just another example of the variations in Colombian music. Simply beautiful.

si te gusto el primer cd de Jorge Rojas, este por seguro te va a encantar .

There is no question that this is one of the saddest operas and probably one of the best Spanish operas. Sadly, it is rarely performed. And, there are very few recordings of the work and now I know why: the suitable singers needed are hard to find. The late Eduardo Mata was an energetic conductor with a sense for flavor and excitement. He toured this opera throughout North and South America with many notable orchestras and some of the same cast members that appear on the recording. However, in this recording Mata rushes the most beautiful passages of the somewhat dramatic score, allowing the singers little leeway with their performances.

De Falla wrote the part of Salud for a solid and flexible soprano, which Marta Senn is not. Her voice sounds worn and, furthermore, she's a lyric mezzo! She has no business doing any role but Carmela, which Elizabeth Almenar does beautifully. Because the score is so rushed, Marta Senn is able to get away with changing words to accommodate her difficulties. In addition, she frequently gets flat, which she covers up with her throbby voice, making the note sound powerful. She has no sense of compassion and warmth when she sings the love passages and her dying and mournful scenes are sterile.

Marta Senn is probably the reason why this recording is not a success. That, and the major fact that the music is driven like a truck driver on the freeway, with no time to enjoy anything. This is not the way de Falla wrote this Spanish piece. And unfortunately for this recording, Salud is really the only role with any substance, with two showstopping arias that require controlled dramatic phrasing. Moreover, the opera calls for two fantastic dance scenes, which can only really be appreciated in a performance.

I said "dramatic score" because it really is. Just listen to the opening, full of dark foreboding. Mata even said on a radio interview that there are influences of Tristan unt Isolde in the orchestra undertones.

Abuela is required to tenderly sing to her lovelorn granddaughter and darkly warn the Uncle not to do anything wrong. She must have hefty chest tones, for she has to cut through the orchestra in her bottom register on her most beautiful passages. Cecilia Angell does this very well. You can tell she is singing from the heart and from the many times she has performed this role with the cast, it is in her blood. She has a lush and large mezzo-soprano voice and you can tell she has great chemistry with Latin music. Her fiery temper is palpable.

William Alvarado has a rich baritone voice and you can really feel his anger towards his niece's lover. Fernando de la Mora has a somewhat small but good tenor voice, also with a chocolate-Latin timbre that's perfect for this work.

Perhaps one day de Falla and his underrated piece of music will be done justice. Could it be from Denyce Graves and her interpretation of Salud with the Dallas Opera? Alas, I think not. It sounds like a cloned version of Ms. Senn's.

This is not the uncut original version. Many scenes have been removed from this DVD version, unknowingly, as sad as that is. Laguna doesn't know what they are putting out. Sad... Find an old VHS version and you will get to see the film the way it was intended to be seen. Sexy and Funny. This version is just a waste.