With a Little Love and the Voice of Anabell

November 19, 2022

Just a little love is enough to achieve events that manage to transcend the everyday. Such is the case with Anabell López's new album.

Titled With a Little Love, this recording work revisits various themes by Silvio Rodríguez to bring them to her own perspective as an interpreter. While we remember her in her early steps as a singer when she appears alongside her brother in the memorable duets Te amaré and La gota de rocío, it didn't take long before she became the guest artist of the most diverse performers, eager to share the charm of her beautiful voice.

In fact, maestro Frank Fernández accompanies her on the album Milagros, a genuine collector's piece for the artistic qualities achieved, particularly in her interpretation of La vida, a reflective song by Silvio. As soon as one hears such a version, we ask ourselves where Anabell has drawn that capacity to impress us with the dramatic charge she manages to infuse into that work. And the answer can be found not only in her coming from such a lineage as hers, but above all in the admiration and profound respect she professes for her brother.

The fact that Anabell herself is in charge of the musical direction of the album, in addition to being the arranger of all the songs, implies greater responsibility when transferring such songs to the setting of this personal proposal for an acoustic album.

To explore the multiplicity of nuances involved in Silvio's compositions, the vocalist relies on the guitars of Jorge Luis Valdés Chicoy, with Néstor del Prado on bass, as well as Silvio himself, and Oliver Valdés on percussion, while the notable flautist Niurka González brings a unique charm to the album, specifically with the Creole flavor in Llegué por San Antonio de los Baños.

Anabell has captured the tenderness inherent in Una canción de amor esta noche to adjust it to a flamenco lament, while also allowing herself to rap, with utmost refinement, in Me acosa el cara pálida. The choruses, sculpted by Anabell herself, constitute an element of effective appeal due to the freshness of their conception, as seen in Ojalá and Fábula de los tres hermanos, among others.

For the closing, one of the crown jewels has been chosen: the enigmatic Mariposas, a theme whose coda is once again nuanced by a climax of solemnity, in this case, motivated by Anabell's inspired vocalization, with Silvio's presence in the chorus. According to her own statements, she may be the interpreter who has sung to Silvio the most. We have no doubt about it, as this gesture is granted to her by her own right. But what is truly significant is that, in this recent recording proposal, she manages to transmit her professional performance with a wealth of filial love from the sentimentality required.