ABOUT “LANDSCAPES”

The title Landscapes, though not wholly original, seems fitting and evocative for this album. The four pieces form an intimate landscape of my musical personality; I have lived with these works for a long time and I feel a deep connection to them. The pieces themselves could be seen as individual and distinct landscapes, although not too literally. The Cassadó is the most obvious in this regard; anchored strongly as it is to its geography, with clear musical influences. The opening chords of the Crumb remind me of heat mirages you can see on a desert horizon or could also suggest the image of a cold and desolate winter street. Bach brings us back in time, and totally inwards, with a noble and tragic discourse full of drama and emotion. Magrané’s Tombeau paints yet a different kind of a landscape; more abstract, with its kaleidoscopic sigh of transparent sonorities, juxtaposed with deep colours and poignant lyricism.

For a couple of years now, I have been completely obsessed with photography. Like, really obsessed. And in the booklet of this album, I seize the opportunity to showcase four of my photographs, relating each one to a specific piece. The images are not necessarily landscapes, they are intended simply to provide another gateway to the music in a way that feels personal and totally subjective.

To bring everything together, Silvie Rothkovic has written a set of four poems inspired directly by this recording and by the photographs. Silvie Rothkovic seemed an obvious choice for this collaboration as she has a strong link to the world of music. I find the language in these works incredibly touching, and these poems, with their vulnerable and expressive handling of fragmented gestures and ideas, beautifully fitted to the spirit of this project.

Pau Codina