This disc originally was released more than a decade ago on the Spanish label Discobi, which enjoyed only limited distribution in the U.S. (and also exhibited rather shoddy production values). Its reissue on HM is welcome primarily for the choral works, which are genuine rarities and, as you might expect from Ernesto Halffter, very beautiful. The two psalms are particularly attractive and typically Spanish in their evocative combination of austerity (Psalm XXII) and exuberant, sensuous allure (Psalm CXVI). While the choral singing (and that of the solo quartet) is a touch rough-and-ready, the performances give a good idea of the music’s character.
Halffter’s deliciously vibrant Sinfonietta is both a crowning glory of Spanish orchestral music and a gem of 20th-century neoclassicism. In fact, it’s so wonderful that you can’t hear it without feeling sadness that the composer didn’t write more of the same. This is a decent but not great performance. The string soloists perform well, and Pérez balances the antiphonal snare drums intelligently against the ensemble–they act at times like a sort of percussion continuo, and their frequent presence can be annoying if not handled with sufficient discretion.
There are two significant problems, though. First, there is the omission of the first-movement exposition repeat, not something that matters much in most romantic music, but essential in a self-consciously neoclassical work such as this. Besides, it’s beautiful stuff, and all the more necessary (secondly) because of the extremely slow tempo that Pérez adopts for the ensuing Adagio. The result tends to undermine the work’s otherwise elegant proportions. Neither of these issues afflict the two major competing versions, on ASV and CPO, and if you don’t care about losing the choral works, go with the CPO release, which features more of Halffter’s orchestral music.
