Tarot is a new recital CD from tenor Timothy Stoddard and pianist Ellen Fast featuring recent works by American composers.  There are four song cycles on the record.  The first, Mortally Wounded, features settings by Mark Markowski of eight poems by Lorca in English translation.  These are interesting and treat Lorca’s quintessentially Spanish themes sympathetically.  The music is basically tonal but complex with flamenco inflected rhythms.  It’s beautifully sung and played with diction so good that the absence of texts and translations is not worrisome. Continue reading →