Ensemble Intercontemporain / François-Xavier Roth ALBERTO POSADAS Oscuro abismo de llanto y de ternura - Nebmaat - Cripsis - Glossopoeia

Patience, exactitude and determination: Alberto Posadas is aptly characterised by these three human virtues, thanks to which he has succeeded—without haste, but also without pause—in claiming for him- self a prominent place in the European music scene. His industriousness and honest dedication have given rise to a catalogue of works which, though not excep- tionally extensive, know neither breaks nor setbacks. His strict and extremely precise way of constructing time and form in a highly complex manner, without ever neglecting to preserve a certain degree of free- dom for his unequivocally craftsman-like intuition, has made him one of the most exciting composers of his generation in Spain. 

Due to the style in which he combines and joins his sonic material, Posadas’ compatriots often refer to his music as “Francophile”. Beyond the Pyrenees and above all in Francophone countries, where many doors of opportunity were opened to him (including by Festival d’Automne in Paris, Agora Festival (IRCAM), Strasbourg’s MUSICA and Brussels’ Ars Musica), the opposite is true: there, he is viewed as a genuinely Spanish composer due to the power and aplomb that emanate from even his more transparent masses of sound. His sober and deep-reaching formal architec- ture could easily lead us to join this chorus, content with concentrating only on his “Spanishness”. But to those who look beyond such regionalist stereotypes, his œuvre reveals trace elements which are entirely reminiscent of his mentor Francisco Guerrero—in the sense of a Spanish tradition derived from Edgar Varèse’s attitude toward art and science and/or from Iannis Xenakis’ postulates. One can also make out a certain subliminal affinity with Giacinto Scelsi when he orchestrates his parametric crystallizations in tem- poral stasis, as well as a certain handling of timbre that seems somehow akin to French Spectralism. (José L. Besada)