More vocal music by Ravel, this time with an orchestral foil. The Mélodies grecques are among the most fragrant flowers in his musical bouquet, which we would call “multiethnic” today, with its co-existing Asian, African, African-American, and Jewish influences. These are five simple songs and their simplicity is respected, only wrapped in gorgeous harmonies and tone colors. Ma Mère l’Oye is a well-known work; together with L’enfant et les sortilèges, it belongs to another side of Ravel’s—his love for children and their world. Montsalvatge’s Canciones negras are original melodies on Spanish poems by poets from the Caribbean or (as in Rafael Alberti’s case) dealing with the Caribbean. Such geographical references, however, are more in the lyrics than in the music itself, where they are confined to a few habanera rhythmic patterns. Finally, Luciano Berio’s Folk Songs commemorate the composer’s centennial with his most captivating and popular work.
