THE TRAVELLER

'His music even exceeds the brilliance of the man,
travelling a path through an intense musical atmosphere
interacting so bounteously with his creativity.'

BASIL RAMSEY encounters Jesús Villa-Rojo,
a composer from Spain

Jesús Villa-Rojo has much less of a profile outside Spain than he deserves. He appears to compose as one with an iron discipline, releasing his music only after it satisfies his own meticulous standards. Should we react to that with a toss of the head and declare that such standards are common to all composers, our musical education has yet to be completed. Jesús Villa-Rojo was born in 1940. His studies were continued in Italy, and a later string of international awards gave an inkling of his worth. He holds various posts which proclaim his quality and the breadth of his musical interests.

His music even exceeds the brilliance of the man, travelling a path through an intense musical atmosphere interacting so bounteously with his creativity. This CD is a vital key, otherwise Villa-Rojo remains but a name amongst so many.

Four works are provided, but two are not dated in the notes, making his progression less clear. Concierto 2 for cello and orchestra is possibly the earliest with completion in 1983. A characteristic of Villa-Rojo's musical personality is well illustrated by its opening track. No dazzling parade of orchestral colour, an almost plain score, but the timing of events precise and the cello slowly wakening from sleep [listen - track 2, 03:23 - 04:22].

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To listen to the aural illustrations in this review, you may need to download RealNetworks' realplayer G2.