At first glance this looks like another recording of Falla’s earthy ballet Love the Magician. But it’s actually an intriguing exploration of that work’s roots in the music of Spain’s past, all rescored for a winningly diverse combination of voices and baroque instruments. A folk song from Castille opens the disc, and everything is reimagined: Rodrigo’s guitar concerto has added vocal riffs; two Scarlatti sonatas become guitar improvisations, and various miniatures by Falla himself are reconnected to the traditional music of the time. María José Pérez’s earthy singing animates the music of Dimitrie Cantemir, while Falla’s instrumental Pantomima is very eloquent. Curious, quirky, but performed so well as to compel attention.
