Balada de la Doncella Enamorada

Laura Mazon Franqui Announces New Single Release: Balada de la doncella enamorada by Leo Brouwer
Miami, FL — This Friday, classical guitarist Laura Mazon Franqui releases her new single, Balada de la doncella enamorada, the third movement of El Decamerón Negro (1981) by renowned Cuban composer Leo Brouwer. The release comes under the distinguished label Prima Classic.
Composed in 1981 and inspired by a collection of African legends gathered by anthropologist Leo Frobenius, El Decamerón Negro stands as one of Brouwer’s most celebrated works for guitar. Written for guitarist Sharon Isbin, the piece reflects Brouwer’s “hyper-romantic” period, marked by a return to lyricism, expressive clarity, and deeply evocative musical storytelling.
The third movement, Balada de la doncella enamorada (“Ballad of the Maiden in Love”), serves as the emotional culmination of the triptych. In Franqui’s interpretation, the piece becomes a deeply personal narrative:
“I hear this music as the voice of a maiden in love, longing for her beloved who is still away at war. The lyrical, suspended moments belong to her — waiting, hoping — while the more agitated passages evoke him in the battlefield. In my imagination, their stories unfold simultaneously… but not forever.”
Franqui’s interpretation introduces a poignant dramatic arc, one that leans into the ambiguity of Brouwer’s music:
“I have always felt a sense of inevitable loss in this piece. As if he never returns, and what remains is memory. That is why I shape the rubatos and ritardandos like a heartbeat, slowly fading — as if time itself were coming to a stop.”
A Cuban artist herself, Laura Mazon Franqui shares a unique and deeply personal connection to Brouwer’s musical world. Born and trained in Cuba, she had the rare opportunity to study with Brouwer during her formative years, participating in masterclasses and attending the Festival de La Habana as both a child and a teenager. This early exposure to the composer’s artistic vision has left a lasting imprint on her musical voice.
Now based internationally, Franqui is recognized for her refined tone, poetic sensitivity, and commitment to storytelling through music. Her collaboration with Prima Classic marks an important step in bringing her artistic vision to a wider global audience.
With this release, Franqui invites listeners into an intimate sound world where music becomes memory, and where each phrase carries the weight of longing, distance, and love.