Talk to Her

Continuing the rewarding collaboration begun on 1995's The Flower of My Secret, composer Alberto Iglesias infuses director Pedro Almodóvar's 2002 meditation on love, obsession, and loss with a score of quiet, sophisticated grace. It ranges from the evocative Spanish guitar, violin, and vocal flourishes of "Hable con Ella" (showcasing contemporary flamenco stars Vincente Amigo and El Pele) and Brazilian vocalist Caetano Veloso's gorgeously spare rendition of the international hit "Cucurrucucu Paloma" to the Latin classicism of Ellis Regina and Tom Jobim's "Por Toda a Minha Vida" and a slate of moody string-driven, autumnal orchestral cues. The eight-minute "El Amante Menguante" for string quartet features compelling, almost playful modern flourishes while tracks like "Trincheras/Decadence" and the tense "A Portagayola" suggest a rewarding Spanish take on Hitchcockian romance and suspense. That it all meshes almost seamlessly with Purcell's closing "The Plaint: O Let Me Weep" is ample testimony to the transnational flavor and ever-subtle mastery Iglesias brings to bear here. --Jerry McCulley