A delightful selection of choral works by the important Spanish composer Pablo Sorozábal, for mixed choir, women’s choir and choir with piano. A magnificent example of the importance of the rich Basque culture.

Despite achieving great success in the operatic scene, Pablo Sorozábal (1897-1988), born in Donostia and passing away in Madrid, maintained a profound connection with choral music throughout his extensive career. In fact, it was within the ranks of the vibrant choral movement of his native Basque Country where his artistic personality began to take shape, including his fascination with voice and theatre. It’s no surprise, then, that he devoted some of his most intimate pages to these choirs, connecting them to his family heritage. In fact, his father, a stonecutter by trade, was also a talented bertsolari who shared his songs in the taverns of San Sebastián. From him, Sorozábal inherited a language, Basque, “that sounded like music” on his lips, and a deep love for folk music. According to a tradition passed down through generations, as recounted by the writer Bernardo Atxaga from his great-grandfather, Sorozábal’s ancestors, who hailed from the Portale farmhouse in the village of Larraul, near Asteasu, “whistled better than the birds” (“txoriek baino hobeto egiten diate txistu”).