Historical Context of The Composers Historical Context of The ComposersUntil studying with Pedrell, Albéniz was working mostly as a pianist and his compositions lacked direction. Granados had an elegant compositional style but was following the 19th century German school. In 1884, at the age of 20, Granados went to Madrid to study and through the influence of Pedrell sought to include more folkloric elements in his music.
It was not until the late nineteenth century that Paris regained its old status of being the intellectual and artistic centre of Europe. The young composers of Spain were among those lured to it. They travelled to Paris to study and took with them not only the folkloric music of Spain but also flamenco music.
French music was often more concerned with colouristic expression and offered more flexibility of phrase structure for the Spanish composers who were then able to easily combine their own ideas with that of the French school.
In 1907 Falla went to Paris to spend seven weeks there and remained for seven years. It was perhaps Falla who best managed to capture the powerful elements of flamenco and combine it with the European music tradition in large scale forms without any compromise or lapses into pastiche. Falla believed that: You must really go deep so as not to make a caricature....You must go to the natural, living sources, study the sounds, the rhythms, use their essence, not their externals. It was exactly these attitudes and approaches that were handed down to Turina, José and in turn, Rodrigo.
Untimely deaths seem to have taken some of Spains finest composers this century. Granados travelled to the United States in 1916 for the world premier of Goyescas. He remained there an extra week after receiving an invitation to play for President Wilson at the White House. On the return journey, he was aboard the Sussex sailing from Folkstone to Dieppe when it was destroyed by German torpedoes. Antonio José (1901-1936) was at a much earlier stage in his very promising career when he was executed by a firing squad at the start of the Spanish Civil War.
Thrésè Wassily Saba
(London, 1993)
Despite being blind since the age of three, Rodrigo also went to study in Paris. His talents were encouraged by his teacher Paul Dukas with whom he studied for five years (1927-1932) at the Ecole Normale de Musique.
When composing he would write a rough outline of the work in braille and then dictate the complete piece in detail to a copyist each evening. For many years his wife Victoria de Kamhi, a fine pianist, copied and proofread his compositions. It was late in February, 1959, that she recorded in her diary: "Joaquin finished the Sonata Giocosa for solo guitar."
The Sonata Giocosa is in three movements and was dedicated to Renata Tarragó. This was Rodrigos first sonata for the guitar although he had written other works using sonata form for the piano such as Cinco Sonatas de Castilla con Toccata a modo de Pregon. The Spanish character of Sonata Giocosa is apparent from the opening bars with a strong rasgueado interspersed with single-line melody, like the falsetas of flamenco compas. The second movement moves to E minor. It is melancholic with a strongly baroque influence. The final movement, allegro, returns to A major. The melody is punctuated by the well-loved Spanish alternating 6/8-3/4 rhythm.
Ten years and two guitar concertos later, Rodrigo wrote Sonata a la Española (1969). Victoria Kamhi explained the choice of title: "The phrase al española should be understood as slightly ironic - an irony that becomes more apparent in the bolero for example. This Sonata follows the style of classical forms...."
Sonata a la Española has a light-hearted spirit. The first movement, allegro assai, opens in the manner of Rodrigos best writing: the single line melody is economical and expresses its ideas without an excess of musical notes.
Although Rodrigo has never played the guitar, his compositions show an intimate understanding of the instruments expressive abilities. As with all Rodrigos works in these sonatas, he combines form with an expressiveness that is rooted in the popular music of Spain.
Thrésè Wassily Saba
(London, 1993)
Turina wrote several works for solo guitar dedicated to Andrés Segovia. Many of them have their roots in flamenco as their titles suggest: Fandanguillo and Sevillana. The 12-beat cycle found in many flamenco compas (forms) is an important phrasing structure in the Sonata op.61, particularly in the Allegro sections of the first movement and the Allegro Vivo sections of the third movement. The Sonata is Turinas longest work for the guitar.
Joaquin Turina (1882-1949) was born in Seville. He was a brilliant pianist, conductor and writer/musicologist. He wrote a music encyclopaedia Enciclopedia abreviada de la Musica in two volumes which was first published in 1917.
When the young Turina travelled to Paris to further his musical studies, he met two fellow composers from Spain: Isaac Albéniz and Manuel de Falla. He formed friendships with both of these composers. In Albeniz he found a warm and generous friend who encouraged him to look to the folk music of Spain. He helped finance the publication of his first work, a quintet for piano and strings. Turina and Falla stayed in the same hotel in Paris, the Hotel Kléber.
Thrésè Wassily Saba
(London, 1993)
Antonio José travelled to Paris to study with Ravel who was so impressed with this young composer that he said of him: He will become the Spanish composer of our century.
The French composers were very open to the ideas brought by their young Spanish students so that there was an exchange of musical ideas and influences. Most of the composers that taught José, Rodrigo and Turina were equally inspired by the Spanish nationalist style of composition. Ravel was drawn to the use of Spanish themes, melodies and rhythms in Rapsodie Espagnole for orchestra.
Ravel also had a strong link with Falla. In the early 1900s Ravel was involved in a group of young composers who called themselves the "Société des Apaches"; this group included Stravinsky and Manuel de Falla among others. An apache was a social outcast and they regarded themselves as musical outcasts.
The Sonata by José appears to be the only work which he wrote for the guitar and was dedicated to Regino Sainz de la Maza. Unlike the other three sonatas on this recording, it has four movements. The third movement, Pavane triste, displays most strongly the influence of Ravel. The Finale, allegro con brio, is in rondo form. The main theme begins with rasgueado chords in a compelling rhythm.
Thrésè Wassily Saba
(London, 1993)