Let us start with...
Andrés ISASI was born in 1880 in Bilbao and died in 1940 in Getxo, a few miles from Bilbao. A child prodigy, by the age of 18, when he went to study with Humperdinck in Gemany, he had already composed some 140 works, very Grieg in style and not exent of quality. He was later to disown these youthful efforts and tried to destroy them. Fortunately for us some had been published by the Bilbao musical publishers Lazcano y Mar in 1909 and were thus saved. Isasi returned to Bilbao in 1914. In the 1920s he became a concert pianist. At this time he had some compositions (Balladen, op36, 1927 and Skizzen, op 38, 1929) published in Berlin and Budapest by Ròzsavögyi. In his last years he led a recluse's life becoming a religious mystic. From approximately 1934 is his SONATA SABATINA dedicated to the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary. It consists of three movements whose names, significantly are taken fom the Letany: Stella Matutina, Rosa Mystica and Causa nostra letitiae. It is played here by Juan Padrosa and the recording, dating from 1969, proceeds from his personal archives.
DISCOGRAPHY: we at ausArt records have published an extensive ISASI discography. These titles are available at www.basque-media.com :
aAr040 Andrés Isasi Azken urteak (1934-1940) - music from his last years
aArus002 and 004 Andrés Isasi, nerabea (AdolescenT (1904-08). The content of these two CDs is based on the works played at two concerts staged in December, 1908 at the Philharmonic Society of Bilbao.
aArus003 (Double CD) with Isasi´s Complete Songs
sonata sabatina
Composed in 1934, it is one of two sonatas, the other being the MARINERA, which Isasi composed in the last years of his life. Together with Films, op 72 and a cycle of 6 Sonatinas, of which only 5 have survived, they are Isasi's last piano compositions. It consists of three movements.
In this version it is interpreted by Juan Padrosa. The recording came to us from Don Juan's own archives. You can download the last two movements free from here:
Stella Matutina It has to be downloaded in two parts which should then be joined.
Rosa Mystica
Causa nostra letitiae