The most famous tenor of his day (for whom Rossini wrote the role of Almaviva and the founder of a dynasty of great singers, Manuel Garcia was also a prolific and successful composer, with over 50 stage works to his credit. His tonadillas were drawn on by Bizet for Carmen, but these songs, from a collection he published in 1830, are non-theatrical, many on poems by Quevedo. Melodically inventive, combining Italian technical demands with Spanish flavour, they are highly individual. They come with a very extensive and useful booklet-note.'