Quince

Since the first releases of Café del Mar, where the Balearic spirit was reflected by music, millions of CDs have been sold worldwide. The different compilations keep alive the memories of Café del Mar, for whom have visited it, becoming a kind of identity mark. In 2008, CDM Music, celebrates 15 years of music, and for this occasion, this triple CD has been compiled (each CD encapsulates a five year period) containing a total of 42 songs. All the tracks are original and exclusive for this compilation, and you can find artists like Ludvig & Stelar, Dab, Rue Du Soleil, La Caina and many others.

Celebrated Canadian composer Andrew Staniland's latest recording project is comprised of three major vocal works: Peter Quince at the Clavier on the poetry of Wallace Stevens, Execution Songs based on a folk ballad, and Earthquakes & Islands, a collaboration with Toronto poet Robin Richardson. In each of these cycles, Andrew crafts a psychological journey. He weaves soaring vocal lines and innovative textures in the piano. He creates bold and soul-searching atmospheres, utterly and unmistakably his own. He is not afraid to experiment with extremes of range, the resonant capacities of the grand piano, the twisting of harmonic pathways, in order to create sound worlds that reveal the truth of a poetic moment.

The starting point for our attention here is the work of the Spanish composer, guitarist and guitar teacher Francisco Tarrega ( 1852-1909), whose "school" influenced numerous Spanish composers who, like Tarrega himself, saw the guitar as Spain's national instrument. The 19th century was a time when large concert halls were being constructed, something which, as the guitar began to enjoy increasing popularity, became rather problematic for guitarists, particularly as far as the acoustics were concerned. It was the Spanish guitar maker Antonio Torres ( 1817-1892) who, basing his designs on those of previous guitar makers, combined with the most up-to-date research into acoustics, developed larger instruments, something which Tarrega found vitally interesting, so much so that he developed a new playing technique. Through the evolution of his style of legato fretting and his own particular perception of the diverse timbral possibilities of the guitar, Tarrega created sounds that virtually made the in-strument sing.