Alma Española—Isabel Leonard, soprano; Sharon Isbin, guitar (Bridge 9491) [from October 2017]
Sharon Isbin and Colin Davin appeared in the KeyBank Studio for WCLV’s Frist Fridays program and were presented by the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society last November, so we made this Bridge CD our featured recording late in October . Alma Española pairs two Grammy winners, mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard and guitarist Sharon Isbin in an all-Spanish program. The disc includes twelve arrangements by Ms. Isbin in premiere recordings. Songs by Federico García Lorca, famous as a poet, lesser known as the composer of incidental music, Manuel de Falla, Xavier Montsalvatge, Agustín Lara and Joaquín Rodrigo, with guitar solos by Granados and Tárrega, make this a very attractive disc. The Philadelphia Inquirer described Leonard & Isbin's performance as “Feasts of beautifully sculpted phrases... glimpses of heaven", and The New York Times referred to the “Soulful depth" of their interpretations.
Click here to isten to Angela Mitchell's conversation with Sharon.