CD review: Rosas de Pulpa, Rosas de Cal

Published: Sunday, July 18, 2010, 8:30 AM

By Michael Huebner — The Birmingham News 

Diane McNaron: The Music of Valdo Sciammarella.
Available at www.dianemcnaron.com

Five stars out of five

Composer Valdo Sciammarella is practically unknown outside his native Argentina. An Amazon search for recordings turned up three entries — scanty selections among other Latin American works.

Leave it to the adventurous Birmingham soprano Diane McNaron to shed long-overdue light on sumptuous vocal music by a 86-year-old composer. In fact, McNaron has devoted an entire CD to Sciammarella’s music, including three song collections, a suite of piano pieces and a piano quartet.

Sciammarella’s vocal collections on the album emanate from the sensual poetry of Gustavo Adolfo Becquer, Pablo Neruda and Francisco Javier, and his musical language falls right in line — romantic, evocative and visceral. The piano in the “Si al mecer,” the ethereal second song of “Cuatro Canciones,” portrays a delicate “whispering wind.” Yearning harmonies swell to emotional highs in “Volveran,” McNaron singing “ardent words of love” with heartfelt emotion. “Hoy como ayer” is set in minor-key angst in a slow tango rhythm.

The nearly voyeuristic sensuality of Pablo Neruda’s poem, “Campesina,” builds to soaring passion. Eight short settings of Francisco Javier’s poetry exhibit a vast romantic range in “Cantigas de amigo,” from the somber “Amigo, te auerdas?” to the reflective “Sonreias, amigo.”

McNaron gives each song a life of its own. Her bold interpretations may have opened a door for singers in search of great art songs. Pianist Heather Coltman provides balance and freshness with her sensitive accompaniment.

Another side of Sciammarella is represented in his instrumental music. A set of short piano pieces, played authoritatively by Coltman, vacillates from Stravinky-esque rhythmic play to unabashed dissonance. A piano quartet, featuring violinist Karen Bentley Pollick, violist Melanie Richardson Rogers and cellist Craig Hultgren, traverses from sweeping chromaticism to bouncy cabaret rhythms to a tense finale.