Turina's critics have commented on his restricted field of geographical vision more often than on his gifts as a composer - and the high regard in which they were held by his famous contemporaries. This recording, issued 50 years after his death, provides a timely tribute to a too-frequently undervalued composer. Turina inherited his father's talent as a painter, not in oils or watercolours but in sounds; what he 'painted' were the sights and sounds of his home territory.
The Sinfonia sevillana, a cyclic portrayal of life in that city, and Ritmos, a 'dance fantasy' which Turina described as 'a march from the darkness of night towards light' (dedicated to a great Spanish dancer who never got round to choreographing it), have alternative recordings but none is currently listed for the other two works. El castillo de Almodovar, an imaginary medieval castle, is first portrayed in moonlight and finally sunlight, two images separated by an 'Evocacion medieval'. It was originally written as a piano solo and later orchestrated. Conversely, Evangelio ('Gospel'), a solemnly beautiful work, began life in orchestral form, was transcribed as a piano solo and finally reorchestrated - an unusual sequence of events.
The performances and recording leave little to be desired and the whole CD will be irresistible to anyone with a taste for shapely melody (from gentle to soaring), music that draws pictures in the imagination, colourful orchestration and, not least, evocations of Spain.'