Cristóbal Halffter, Symposion / Secuencias / Lineas y Puntos (side A)

My reissue copy of this 1969 LP is one of few albums that I own where the artist's name is spelled incorrectly on the cover — somehow an "H" was added to Halffter's Spanish first name.  Spelling error aside, the album collects three excellent pieces of Halffter's.  A strong, extroverted personality links the three disparate pieces.  All three employ stark dynamic shifts within the pieces to create evolution over time.  When the pieces grow loud, Halffter nicely manages to create propulsion and energy without ever feeling dramatic or heavy-handed, and without drawing attention to himself.  "Symposion" is also impressive for how it manages to integrate vocals in a style that sounds original, rather than pulling the music back to earlier reference points.  The vocals initially come in with a speech-singing style that feels dated and detached from the very contemporary music.  They quickly shift, though, to fitting in perfectly with the piece, and contributing to the impressive builds.  I find "Secuencias" to be the album's highlight, as Halffter utilizes texturally and rhythmically inventive percussion to emphasize his proficient use of dynamics.  The recording is competent, if quite dark by modern standards, and the geometric pattern on the cover follows the standards of the series without particularly reflecting the pieces' personality or uniqueness.