Eduard Toldrà (1895-1962): La Rosa als Llavis (The Rose on the Lips)
Ricard Lamote de Grignon (1899-1962): Cants Homèrics (Homeric Hymns)
Narcís Bonet (b. 1933): Haidé
Frederic Mompou (1893-1987): Combat del Somni (Struggle in the Dream)
Elisenda Fábregas (b. 1955): Imitació del foc (Imitation of Fire)
Joan Comellas (1913-2000): Les Paraules Sagrades (The Sacred Words)

Many recordings can be found that feature instrumental and vocal Catalan music, including an early 1990s Sony release featuring tenor José Carreras singing Traditional Catalan Songs, as well as a recording by Victoria de los Angeles. Music of Catalonia, a region in northeastern Spain, dates back to the Middle Ages and includes the famous Llibre Vermell de Montserrat. Unfortunately, periods of obscurity have overshadowed this music's popularity and curtailed its chances to flourish. Add the fact that the native Catalan language differs from the Spanish, so rare are the singers who can understand and perform it.

What makes this new recording distinctive is that it brings together a collection of "art songs" by Catalonian composers written in a traditional classical style with piano accompaniment more in line with composers like Brahms or Ravel, and some bearing the influence of jazz, modernism and French or American styles. One of the highlights for me is the highly lyrical song cycle Haidé by Narcís Bonet who studied with Nadia Boulanger. It also goes without saying that Frederic Mompou's highly original harmonic style is a pleasure to listen to. And the Eduard Toldrà title song Visca l'amor from his song cycle 'La Rosa als Llavis' sounds like a cross between Debussy and Satie, particularly in the piano part. There's even a world premiere presentation on this recording of Elisenda Fábregas' Imitació del foc actually commissioned by Muñoz and Glouchko. She studied at the Julliard School of Music. Oddly enough the final song of her cycle sounds a bit like something Manuel de Falla would have written.

Tenor Isaí Jess Muñoz who has been recognized for his efforts behind the dissemination of Iberian and Latin American art song, is gifted with a voice and diction perfectly suited to the style and character of these songs. There's a finely controlled power behind his mid-range notes, and a delicate and airy quality to his high register which blend seamlessly with the piano part. Known for her great skills as an accompanist, Russian-born pianist Oksana Glouchko is the winner of many competitions, and now works as a collaborative pianist and coach at the University of Delaware. She provides excellent support throughout with dynamically nuanced and highly expressive pianism.