Frederic Mompou (1893-1987)
Piano Music Volume 4
Musica Callada
El pont
Muntanya (Dansa)

The title of Mompou's masterpiece Música callada comes from the Cántico Espiritual of the Spanish mystic, St John of the Cross, where the expression música callada (music without sound) is complemented by soledad sonora (solitude that clamours). The poet explains 'that music is without sound as far as natural senses and capacities are concerned' but 'solitude sounds out loud through spiritual capacities'. In spite of the apparent clarity of the metaphor, its sense for Mompou was 'difficult enough to explain in a language different from Spanish'. Beyond general understanding of these words, they seem to have a personal significance for the composer, only accessible through his music. Although each of the 28 pieces has the brevity inherent in Mompou's musical language, as a whole the work represents his most ambitious achi