Bretón: Songs & Piano Trios [Double Album]

IBS Classical presents an ambitious recording devoted to Tomás Bretón (1850–1923), a central figure in the emergence of a modern Spanish musical identity. Conceived as a double album, this release brings together two complementary—and still largely overlooked—facets of his output: the intimate world of art song and the structural richness of his chamber music.

Volume 1 offers a carefully curated selection of songs for voice and piano, centred around the Six Poems by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1887), alongside works such as Désir and La castañera. In these pieces, Bretón engages directly with the European Lied tradition, revealing a refined expressive language in which the vocal line moves between lyrical introspection and an almost operatic breadth, supported by a highly prominent and virtuosic piano part . This repertoire places him in dialogue with composers such as Schubert, Schumann and Liszt, while maintaining a distinctive voice rooted in Spanish poetry.

Volume 2 explores Bretón’s chamber music through the Piano Trio in E major, a work of extended gestation that reflects both his cosmopolitan outlook and his deep understanding of the Austro-German tradition. The programme is completed by the Quatre morceaux espagnols (1913), late works in which Bretón tentatively engages with the evolving musical language of early twentieth-century Spain . Together, these works trace an arc from Romantic classicism to a subtle openness towards modern Spanish idioms.

The recording brings together a distinguished group of performers: soprano Natalia Labourdette and pianist Victoria Guerrero, acclaimed for their work in the Lied repertoire, alongside violinist Carles Civera and cellist Alejandro Olóriz, both highly active in the symphonic and chamber music scenes.

Recorded at the Manuel de Falla Auditorium in Granada, this double album not only revives a repertoire of remarkable quality but also repositions Bretón beyond his well-known association with zarzuela, presenting him instead as a composer deeply committed to the renewal of Spanish music and fully engaged with the broader European tradition.

A release that invites a rediscovery of Bretón through the dual lens of song and chamber music—two complementary languages at the heart of his creative voice.

Natalia Labourdette – Soprano
Victoria Guerrero – Piano
Carles Civera – Violin
Alejandro Olóriz – Cello