Hal Leonard Presents To Lecuona with Love
New Vocal/Piano Folio Features Stunning Original Arrangements by Paul Posnak
MILWAUKEE - Known as "The Cuban George Gershwin," Ernesto Lecuona's oeuvre rivals that of the great American composer, both in terms of quality and quantity. In the new Hal Leonard matching folio To Lecuona with Love, internationally celebrated pianist and professor Paul Posnak provides a fitting tribute to this influential musical great.
The vocal/piano collection celebrates the composer's contributions to Latin American culture. From Lecuona's more than 400 compositions, Posnak selected 13 classics, and has given them new life.
A longtime Miami resident, Posnak comments in the book's introduction, "As I began to include Lecuona music in my concert repertoire, it became evident that the lead sheet publications of his canciones and zarzuela arias did not do the music full justice. They were simplified reductions that bore little relation to the brilliant, richly textured jazz improvisations in Lecuona's own recorded performances."
Posnak now gives these Lecuona classics the treatment that they deserve: Como Arrullo De Palmas, Cordoba, Danza Negra, Desengaño, El Cisne, El Dulcero, El Pulpero, Princesa De Abril, Rosa La China, Siboney, Siempre En Mi Corazón, Vestal Serena, and Yo No Se Porque.
The songbook - which matches an acclaimed recording featuring Posnak on piano and soprano Sandra Lopez de Haro - includes an introduction/biography of Lecuona by Posnak and English lyric translations.