Manuel de FALLA (1876-1946)
The Spanish Soul
rec. 1913 (piano rolls); 1928-2016, mono/stereo
Sung texts not included
WARNER CLASSICS 9029653730 [11 CDs: 788 mins]
Cádiz-born Manuel de Falla is considered by many to be the greatest Spanish composer of the twentieth century. This collection entitled Manuel de Falla – ‘The Spanish Soul’ was released in 2021 to mark the anniversaries of both his one hundred and forty-fifth birthday and seventy-five years since his death. The Warner Music Group has reached deep into its companies’ back catalogue and reissued this collection of works on eleven CDs spanning nearly a century of the history of sound reproduction, beginning with piano rolls played by de Falla. The recordings are in three distinct groups starting with a general category (CDs 1-7), transcriptions and arrangements (CDs 8-9) and historical recordings (CDs 10-11).
This Warner collection begins 1913 with de Falla producing piano rolls of two pieces Aragonesa and Cubana from his Piezas españolas. Aside from the piano rolls, the span of recordings in the set stretches from the 1928 releases on Columbia through to stereo and the digital era, the most recent recording being the 2016 organ arrangement of Danza ritual del fuego and the Siete canciones populares españolas arranged for cello and guitar.
The set contains performances by some of the greatest and most respected singers, instrumentalists and conductors in classical music, a number of whom are Spanish and French. Acclaimed Spanish conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, who trained at both Bilbao and Madrid conservatories has recorded several of the de Falla works on the album. De Burgos is the first name I associate with Spanish orchestral music, which he keenly promoted - de Falla in particular, having premiered a number of his works. De Burgos even shaped his own suite from Atlántida Falla’s unfinished, large-scale cantata. Of the de Burgos recordings contained here, La vida breve, El sombrero de tres pico and Noches en los Jardines de España have received acclaim. Italian maestro Carlo Maria Giulini is represented by an uplifting account of El amor brujo, as is Swiss-born conductor Charles Dutoit with El retablo de maese Pedro. Heavily featured on the set is the glorious voice of Victoria de los Ángeles. Displaying her vocal purity and musicality the Catalonian soprano is in her element in this repertoire. Other artists who give commendable performances include Alicia de Larrocha (piano), Jacqueline du Pré (cello), John Williams (guitar), Olivier Latry (organ) and Tasmin Little (violin). There are notable older recordings from Sir John Barbirolli (conductor), David Oistrakh (violin), Yehudi Menuhin (violin) and Gerald Moore (piano). Not surprisingly, the two CDs of historical works are mono recordings. Younger artists on the label are represented by cellist Edgar Moreau and guitarist Thibaut Garcia.
Most of the seventeen works in the collection also appear in a variety of versions. Testament to the popularity of de Falla’s works, are recordings here using different orchestrations and suites, and also arrangements and transcriptions of extracts prepared by de Falla himself or others. Worthy of specific comment are the recordings of the best-known works on the set that are presented here in a number of arrangements.
The Siete canciones populares españolas has proved especially popular with arrangers and numerous versions exist; this collection contains nine separate recordings of various versions of the score. Written in 1914/15, de Falla’s set Siete canciones populares españolas (Seven Spanish folk songs) is widely admired and comprises of seven songs: El paño moruno - Seguidilla Murciana - Asturiana - Jota - Nana - Canción - Polo. The inspiration behind the set is texts of traditional folk songs and dance idioms that de Falla drew from Spanish regions Andalusia, Aragon, Asturia and Murcia. De Falla’s original score for soprano and piano was introduced in 1915 in Madrid by soprano Luisa Vela with de Falla at the piano. Highly successful is Ernesto Halffter’s orchestration of all seven songs for mezzo-soprano and orchestra in the mono recording from 1957 at Manchester performed by mezzo-soprano Marina de Gabaráin with the Hallé Orchestra under Sir John Barbirolli. Impressive too, although more of an acquired taste, is Luciano Berio’s arrangement of all seven songs for trumpet and orchestra recorded in 2006 by soloist Alison Balsom with Göteborg Symfoniker under Edward Gardner. There is also the version performed by mezzo-soprano Nan Merriman and pianist Gerald Moore. Recorded in mono in the Abbey Road studios, London in 1954, this is the only CD premiere contained on the set. The 1971 New York account from soprano Victoria de los Ángeles and pianist Alicia de Larrocha is thoroughly enjoyable. In addition, all seven songs are given in an arrangement for cello and guitar by Miguel Llobet and Emilio Pujol and there is also a recording include of the Jota movement arranged for cello and guitar by Maurice Maréchal. Renamed as Suite popular Española is Paul Kochanski’s arrangement for violin and piano of six of the seven movements, omitting Seguidilla murciana and altering the running order. Paul Kochanski’s version of Jota for violin and piano also appears in the historical section in a 1956 recording played by David Oistrakh and Vladimir Yampolsky.
For his 1905 opera La vida breve (The Brief Life) in two acts and four scenes or tableaux, de Falla looked to Carlos Fernández-Shaw’s Spanish libretto with a local Andalusian dialect. Set in Granada, Fernández-Shaw’s original libretto concerns love and jealousy ending in tragedy. Salud, a young gypsy girl, has fallen in love with a gentleman called Paco who is already betrothed to Carmela, a girl of a similar class. La vida breve isn’t a regular repertoire work, yet there are revivals from time to time. In 2015, Opera North successfully toured La vida breve in a double bill with Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and I reported for ‘Seen and Heard’ on Christopher Alden’s convincing production at the Lowry Theatre, at Salford. It is presented here in a 1965 Madrid recording featuring Victoria de los Ángeles as Salud and Carlo Cossutta as Paco with Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos conducting. From the same 1965 Madrid sessions there is also the de Burgos recording of four orchestral excerpts from the opera. In addition, there are six recordings of the Danza española No. 1 transcribed from the opera in versions for various solo instruments and a single recording of another transcription the Danza española No. 2. Standing out is Fritz Kreisler’s arrangement of the Danza española No. 1 for violin and piano in the 1991 recording, attractively played by Tasmin Little and Piers Lane.
Now best known as a ballet score El amor brujo (Love, the Magician or Sorcerer) was originally written in 1914/15 as a melodrama with singer and speakers with sections of spoken word supplying the narrative. It was Martínez Sierra and María Lejárraga who provided the scenario based on an Andalusian legend. In 1915 de Falla subjected the score to revision by broadening the orchestration and deleting the spoken dialogue, leaving the mezzo-soprano part with three brief songs. Primarily heard today is de Falla’s 1924 version of El amor brujo as a one-act ‘ballet pantomímico’, introduced in Paris in 1925. Included here is a 1988 London recording of El amor brujo, gitanería in the original version of 1915 sung by mezzo-soprano Clare Powell with London-based chamber ensemble Aquarius under founder conductor Nicholas Cleobury. There is a 1961 recording of El amor brujo a ballet-pantomime the second version of 1915/16 featuring soprano Victoria de los Ángeles and the Philharmonia Orchestra under Carlo Maria Giulini from Kingsway Hall, London. In addition, a historical recording from 1930 of the revised second version is sung by mezzo-soprano Conchita Velasquez with the Orquesta Bética de Camara de Sévilla conducted by Ernesto Halffter. From El amor brujo the Danza ritual del fuego (Ritual Fire Dance) has become famous as a stand-alone piece and has attracted various transcriptions and many recordings. From 1929 it seems the oldest mono recording on the set is pianist Ricardo Viñes playing the Danza de la terror - Romance del pescador and the Danza ritual del fuego. In addition, there are also recordings of arrangements of El amor brujo by nine other composers of either single movements or several movements. The arrangements are for mainly solo instruments specifically the piano and also the organ, two guitars, and also for string quartet, cello and piano, and soprano and piano. Especially adept is the 2016 recording of Olivier Latry performing his own organ arrangement of the Danza ritual del fuego on the Rieger organ of the Philharmonie de Paris.
A favourite work of mine is the Noches en los Jardines de Espana (Nights in the Gardens of Spain) written in 1915 and subtitled “symphonic impressions for piano and orchestra”. It was initially begun as a set of nocturnes for solo piano at the behest of pianist Ricardo Viñes, but de Falla decided upon this work for piano and orchestra giving names to each of the three movements - En el Generalife (In the Generalife), Danza lejana (A Distant Dance) and En los jardines de la Sierra de Córdoba (In the Gardens of the Sierra de Córdoba). Warner has included a single account of this outstanding work and having visited the Andalusia region of Spain including the Generalife and the Alhambra, I find this to be a highly evocative score. Recorded in 1963 in Paris, the compelling performance is given by Spanish soloist Gonzalo Soriano with the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire under Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos.
De Falla wrote the music for Martinez Sierra and María Lejárraga’s pantomime El corregidor y la molinera (The Magistrate and the Miller’s Wife) based on Pedro Antonio de Alarcón’s 1874 novella El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat). In 1917 Serge Diaghilev of the Ballet Russe heard some of the music to this short balletic pantomime in two scenes for small chamber orchestra. Seeing the potential, Diaghilev commissioned de Falla to develop and expand the work into a full-length Spanish ballet in two acts that became El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat). Diaghilev went all out to give El sombrero de tres picos its best possible chance of success and for its premiere given in 1919 at the Alhambra Theatre, London Leonid Massine (who danced the role of the miller) provided the choreography, Pablo Picasso the scenery and costumes and Ernest Ansermet conducted. Included in the substantial orchestral score for the ballet is a part for mezzo-soprano including dancers. De Falla drew two orchestral suites from the complete ballet and of the two it is the second suite that is more usually encountered. One of the best-known recordings of El Sombrero de tres picos is admirably performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos with soprano Victoria de los Ángeles from 1964 at Abbey Road, London. Another splendid account of the ballet is a mono recording from 1956 at Paris played by the Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française under Eduard Toldrà with mezzo-soprano Consuelo Rubio. Other accounts here are El Sombrero de tres picos in a solo piano transcription of three movements played by French born pianist Jean-Francois Heisser and recorded in 1989 in Paris, and also an adept version of four movements both transcribed and played by Cuba born Manuel Barrueco in a 1987 Amsterdam recording.
De Falla’s Quatro piezas españolas (Four Spanish Pieces) a suite of piano pieces named Aragonesa, Cubana, Montañesa and Andaluza was begun in 1906 and published in 1909. The set was de Falla’s response to Isaac Albeniz’s masterpiece the solo piano suite Iberia. In 1913, de Falla played a Welte-Mignon Reproducing Piano to produce piano rolls of two of the four movements Aragonesa and Cubana. I was interested to hear the 1979 transfers from de Falla’s piano rolls that sound remarkably impressive. There is also a 1964 recording of the complete Quatro piezas españolas played by celebrated Spanish pianist Gonzalo Soriano at Abbey Road, London. Next from the suite is a single movement Montañesa played by Argentina born soloist Ernesto Bitetti in his own transcription for solo guitar and recorded in 1979 in Madrid.
The Concerto for harpsichord, flute, oboe, clarinet, violin and cello was written in 1923/26 and intended for celebrated harpsichordist Wanda Landowska. In truth, the chamber concerto doesn’t feature as one of my favourite works. Although the harpsichord in baroque music sounds perfect to me here, it seems incongruous with the woodwind and string accompaniment. This 1930 mono recording of the Harpsichord Concerto is played with de Falla as soloist. A second account of the Harpsichord Concerto with Gonzalo Soriano as harpsichordist was recorded in 1963 in Paris. Premiered in 1923 El retablo de maese Pedro (Master Peter's Puppet Show) is an opera for puppet theatre in one act with a prologue and epilogue. For his puppet opera de Falla based his Spanish libretto on an episode from the classic novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. There are two recordings of El retablo de Maese Pedro, the first conducted by Eduard Toldrà at Paris in 1953 and a second under conductor Charles Dutoit from Berne in 1971.
Debussy was a strong influence on de Falla who after the Frenchman’s death in 1918 wrote this slow and sorrowful piece in homage at the request of guitarist Miguel Llobet. It is his only guitar piece, played here by Turibio Santos in a recording from Paris in 1974 and the composer’s later piano transcription was recorded by Jean-François Heisser in 1989 also in Paris. Written in Granada in 1924, Psyché is a glorious setting of French text by Georges Jean-Aubry that concerns Cupid attempting to revive the weepy Greek goddess Psyche. A work that owes a debt to Ravel, Psyché is scored for soprano, flute, harp, violin, viola and cello. In this 1942 mono recording Leïla Ben Sedira has the soprano part with the later 1966 Paris recording sung by Victoria de los Ángeles.
Andalusia poet Luis de Góngora provided the text for de Falla’s 1929 setting Soneto a Córdoba scored for soprano and piano (or harp). Here there are two recordings of his brief yet evocative setting in honour of the great Andalusia city Córdoba. The first for soprano and piano is performed by soprano Maria Barrientos with de Falla on piano in mono from 1930 and a second from 1969 with soprano Victoria de los Ángeles as soloist and harpist Annie Challan.
Six works on the set are represented by just a single recording. The largest is Falla’s incomplete Atlántida. Sometimes referred to as an opera, the work is more of a staged cantata with a prologue and three parts. It is based on Jacint Verdaguer’s Catalan poem L’Atlàntida (1877). De Falla spent some twenty years on the score. leaving it unfinished at his death in 1946. Ernesto Halffter, a composition pupil of de Falla, worked on a performing edition of the score, that was published in 1961 and revised in 1976. Atlántida is recorded here in a 1977 Madrid account conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos with the Orquesta Nacional de España, two choruses and a considerable roster of vocal soloists. De Burgos conducts an impressive recording bringing all his forces together adeptly; nevertheless, Atlántida is a score that has never held my attention, which is not helped by the lack of a libretto and an English translation. Without doubt, as a stage work La vida breve is a far better proposition.
Written in 1916-17, El corregidor y la molinera (The magistrate and the miller’s wife) is a
tableaux, or balletic pantomime in two scenes based on Pedro Antonio de Alarcón’s 1874 novella El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat). Premiered in 1917 at Madrid this is the work that de Falla adapted into his full-scale ballet El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) however the score was lost and only rediscovered in 1981. This 1988 account of El corregidor y la molinera is performed by chamber ensemble Aquarius conducted by Nicholas Cleobury with soprano Jill Gomez in the Poco più mosso movement and recorded at Abbey Road, London. De Falla’s Homenajes for orchestra from 1938 is cast in four movements: Fanfare sobre el nombre de Enrique Fernández Arbós - À Claude Debussy (Elegía de la guitarra) - À Paul Dukas (Spes vitæ) - Pedrelliana. Dedicated to Arbós, Debussy, Dukas and Pedrell, this attractive work deserves to be programmed in concerts more often. Ernesto Halffter, who was a private composition pupil and friend of de Falla, conducts this 1955 Paris account played by the Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française.
Polish virtuoso pianist Arthur Rubinstein commissioned a solo piano work from de Falla who responded in 1919 with his Fantasia baetica. De Falla’s score is an evocation of Baetis, the name of the ancient Roman province in Andalusia in southern Spain. Rubinstein premiered the work in 1920 in New York, although he never recorded it. Leading Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha recorded this striking account of the Fantasía Bética (or Fantasia Bætica) in 1958 in the Hispavox Studio, Madrid. Certainly an underrated work, the Fantasía Bética is described in the booklet essay by Jean-Charles Hoffelé as de Falla’s ‘pianistic masterpiece’. The first performance of de Falla’s Homenaje ‘Pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas’ a brief work for solo piano was given in Paris in 1936. Used here is the recording played by French pianist Jean-François Heisser in Paris in 1989. Written in 1889-1900 Falla’s Tres obras de juventud (Three Pieces from my Youth) is a set of piano pieces Nocturno - Serenata Andaluza - Vals-capricho. Deserving of praise these beautiful piano miniatures were recorded in 1989 in Paris by pianist Jean-François Heisser.
This collection contains a large number of first-rate performances many of which have gained considerable acclaim and I haven’t encountered any performance here that I am disappointed with. It is a while since I listened to de Falla’s work in detail and I am delighted to have revisited these recordings. The inclusion of multiple versions or movements of the more popular works is something I anticipated as they are part of the Warner back catalogue. Nevertheless, the number of multiple versions will prove off-putting for some potential purchasers of the set. Others, too, may wish to explore de Falla’s major works without the expense of buying this eleven CD set. As an alternative, there is a 2009 EMI/Warner Classics double CD set of reissued recordings that contains several of the performances that are here on ‘The Spanish Soul’ including the ballets El sombrero de tres picos and El amor brujo, and also the Noches en los Jardines de Espana. These are the same acclaimed vocal performances by soprano Victoria de los Ángeles with conductors Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Carlo Maria Giulini. Included on the double album too are reissues of six additional works – the Siete Canciones populares españolas, Harpsichord Concerto, Piezas españolas, Fantasía bética, Soneto a Córdoba and Psyché. Not included in the double set is the opera masterwork La vida breve although this might not present a major problem for some. The EMI/Warner double CD seems to be out of the catalogue currently although used copies can be obtained. It is, however, available as a download.
‘The Spanish Soul’ presents all eleven CDs in individual card wallets contained in a sturdy card box. The front cover of each CD wallet is tastefully illustrated with an image of a famous work by Spanish painters Joaquín Sorolla, Ignacio Zuloaga and Santiago Rusiñol. The work and recording details are listed on the back of each wallet. This may be a significant de Falla anniversary release, yet the lack of general information is a let-down with the booklet containing only a single essay by de Falla biographer Jean-Charles Hoffelé. Disappointingly, nothing is provided about any remasterings and neither are any sung texts with translations provided but this nonetheless will be a valuable addition to many music collections.
Michael Cookson
Contents
CD 1 [67:11]
1-3. Tres obras de juventud, for piano
Jean-François Heisser (piano)
Recorded 1989 Salle Adyar, Paris
4-7. Quatro piezas española, for piano
Gonzalo Soriano (piano)
Recorded 1964 Abbey Road, London
8. Fantasía bética, for piano
Alicia de Larrocha (piano)
Recorded 1958 Hispavox Studio, Madrid
9. Homenaje 'Pour le Tombeau de Paul Dukas' for piano
Jean-François Heisser (piano)
Recorded 1989 Salle Adyar, Paris
10. Homenaje 'Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy' for guitar
Turibio Santos (guitar)
Recorded 1974 Salle Adyar, Paris
11-17. Siete canciones populares españolas (Seven Spanish Folksongs), for soprano and piano
Performers: Victoria de los Angeles (soprano) & Alicia de Larrocha (piano)
Recorded Live 1971 Assembly Hall, Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY), Manhattan, New York City, USA
18. Psyché, soprano, flute, harp, violin, viola & cello
Performers: Victoria de los Angeles (soprano), Jean-Claude Gerhard (flute), Annie Chalan (harp),
Trio à cordes français: Gerard Jarry (violin), Serge Collot (viola) Michel Tournus (cello),
19. Soneto a Córdoba, for soprano and harp
Performers: Victoria de los Angeles (soprano) & Annie Chalan (harp)
Recorded 1969 Salle Wagram, Paris
CD 2 [77:33]
1-4. La vida breve, orchestral excerpts
Performers: Orquesta Nacional de España / Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Recorded 1965 Instituto Ramiro de Maeztu, Madrid
5-7. Noches en los jardines de España (Nights in the Gardens of Spain)
Symphonic impressions for piano and orchestra
Performers: Gonzalo Soriano (piano)
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire / Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Recorded 1963 Salle Wagram, Paris
8-10. Concerto for harpsichord and five instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, cello)
Performers: Gonzalo Soriano (harpsichord), Michel Debost (flute), Robert Kasler (oboe),
André Boutard (clarinet), Pierre Nerini (violin), Robert Cordier (cello)
Recorded 1963 Salle Wagram, Paris
11-14. Homenajes, for orchestra
Performers: Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française / Ernesto Halffter
Recorded 1955 Salle de la Mutualité, Paris
CD 3 [65:56]
1-11. El amor brujo, gitanería (original version of 1915)
Performers: Claire Powell (mezzo-soprano)
Aquarius / Nicholas Cleobury
Recorded 1988 Abbey Road, London
12-24. El corregidor y la molinera, pantomime in two acts
Performers: Jill Gomez (soprano),
Aquarius / Nicholas Cleobury
Recorded 1988 Abbey Road, London
CD 4 [65:47]
1-13. El amor brujo, ballet-pantomime (second version of 1915/16)
Performers: Victoria de los Ángeles (soprano)
Philharmonia Orchestra / Carlo-Maria Giulini
Recorded 1961 Kingsway Hall, London
14-30. El Sombrero de tres picos (The three-cornered hat), ballet in two parts
Victoria de los Ángeles (soprano)
Philharmonia Orchestra / Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Recorded 1964 Studio 1, Abbey Road, London; Recorded 1964 - castanets, handclaps, ‘Olé’s’ (both works)
CD 5 [64:06]
1-13. La vida breve, lyric drama in two acts and four tableaux
Main Performers: Victoria de los Angeles (soprano) - Salud, Carlo Cossutta (tenor) - Paco
Orfeón Donostiarra,
Orquesta Nacional de España / Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Recorded 1965 Instituto Ramiro de Maeztu, Madrid
CD 6 [57:26]
1-8. El retablo de Maese Pedro, opera for puppets’ theatre
Performers: Ana Higueras-Aragón (soprano) - Trujamán (the boy), Tomás Cabrera (tenor) - Maese Pedro,
Manuel Perez Bermúdez (baritone) - Don Quijote, Robert Veyron-Lacroix (harpsichordist)
Instrumental Ensemble / Charles Dutoit
Recorded 1971 Casino, Berne
Atlántida, scenic cantata with prologue and three parts
9-13. Prelude and Part One
Main performers: Anna Ricci (mezzo-soprano) - Queen Pyrene, Vicente Sardinero (baritone) - narrator
Colegio Nuestra Señora del Recuerdo,
Coro Nacional De España,
Orquesta Nacional de España / Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Recorded 1977 Teatro Real, Madrid
CD 7 [76:01]
Atlántida, scenic cantata and inner prologue in three parts (Conclusion)
1-21. Parts Two and Three
Main performers: Anna Ricci (mezzo-soprano) - Queen Pyrene, Vicente Sardinero (baritone) - narrator
Colegio Nuestra Señora del Recuerdo,
Coro Nacional De España,
Orquesta Nacional de España / Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Recorded 1977 Teatro Real, Madrid
CD 8 [74:11]
Transcriptions and Arrangements
1. La vida breve: Danza española No. 1 (transcribed for piano by Gustave Samazeuilh)
2. La vida breve: Danza española No. 2 (transcribed for piano)
3-7. El amor brujo (transcribed for piano)
El sombrero de tres picos (transcribed for piano)
8. I. Danza de la molinera
9. II. Danza de los vecinos
10. III. Danza del molinero
11. Homenaje: Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy, (transcribed for piano)
12. Quatro piezas españolas (transcribed for guitar by Ernesto Bitetti)
El amor brujo:
13. El círculo mágico - Romance del Pescador (arranged for guitar by Emilio Pujol)
14. Danza del juego de amor (arranged for guitar by Ernesto Bitetti)
15. Canción del fuego fátuo (transcribed for guitar by Emilio Pujol)
El sombrero de tres picos (arranged for guitar by Manuel Barrueco)
16. Meliodia - Danza de los vecinos
17. Danza de la molinera (Farruca)
18. Danza del corregidor
19. Danza de la molinera (Fandango)
20. La vida breve: Danza espanola No. 1 (transcribed for 2 guitars by Óscar Cáceres)
21. El amor brujo: Danza ritual del fuego (arranged for organ by Olivier Latry)
22. La vida breve: Danza espanola No. 1 (arranged for violin & piano by Kreisler Fritz)
Performers: Teresa Llacuna, piano (tr. 1); Alicia de Larrocha, piano (2); Jean-Francois Heisser, piano (3-11); Ernesto Bitetti, guitar (tr. 12-15); Manuel Barrueco, guitar (tr. 16-19); Turibio Santos & Óscar Cáceres, guitars (tr. 20); Olivier Latry, Rieger organ of the Philharmonie de Paris (tr. 21); Tasmin Little, violin & Piers Lane, piano (tr. 22)
Recorded: 1975 Salle Wagram, Paris (tr. 1); 1958 Hispavox studio, Madrid (tr. 2); 1989 Salle Adyar, Paris (tr. 3-11); 1979 Madrid (tr. 12-15); 1987 Doopsgezinde gemeente kerk, Haarlem, Amsterdam (tr. 16-19); 1977 Église évangelique allemagne, Paris (tr. 20); 2016 Philharmonie, Paris (tr. 21); 1991 St. Michael's church, Highgate, London (tr. 22)
CD 9 [77:16]
Transcriptions and Arrangements
1-6. Siete canciones populares españolas (Seven Spanish folk songs): for violin & piano (6 of 7 arranged Paul Kochanski)
7. La vida breve: Danza española No. 1 (arranged for cello & piano by Fritz Kreisler & Maurice Maréchal)
El amor brujo:
8. Pantomima de cancion (arranged for cello & piano by Charles Schiff)
9. Danza ritual del fuego (arranged for cello & piano by Gregor Piatigorsky)
Siete canciones populare española (Seven Spanish folk songs):
10. Movement IV. Jota (arranged for cello & guitar by Maurice Maréchal)
11-17. Siete canciones populares españolas (arranged for cello & guitar by Miguel Llobet and Emilio Pujol)
18. La vida breve: Danza española No. 1 (arranged for trumpet & piano by Mikhail Nakariakov)
19-25. Siete canciones populares españolas (arranged for trumpet & orchestra by Luciano Berio)
26. La vida breve: Danza española No. 1 (arranged for string quartet by Michael Thomas)
27. El amor brujo: Canción del fuego fatuo (arranged for string quartet by Michael Thomas)
28-34. Siete canciones populares españolas, for mezzo-soprano & orchestra (orchestrated by Ernesto Halffter)
Performers: Daniel Hope, violin (tr. 1-6); Sebastian Knauer, piano (tr. 1-6); Alban Gerhardt, cello (7-9); Rina Dokshinsky, piano (tr. 7-9); Jacqueline du Pré, cello (tr. 10); John Williams, guitar (tr. 10); Edgar Moreau, cello (tr. 11-17); Thibaut Garcia, guitar (tr. 11-17); Sergei Nakariakov, trumpet (tr. 18); Alexander Markovich (tr. 18); Alison Balsom, trumpet (tr. 19-25); Göteborg Symfoniker / Edward Gardner (tr. 19-25); Brodsky Quartet (tr. 26-27); Marina de Gabaráin, mezzo-soprano (tr. 28-34); Hallé Orchestra / Sir John Barbirolli (tr. 28-34);
Recorded: 1957 Free Trade Hall, Manchester, UK (tr. 28-34); 2016 Maladrerie Saint-Lazare, Beauvais, France (tr. 11-17); 2003 Rolf Liebermann Studio, (NDR) Hamburg, Germany (tr. 1-6); 1962 Abbey Road Studios, London (tr. 10); 1990 (tr. 26-27) & 1994 (tr. 18) Teldec Studio, Berlin; 1998 Holy Trinity Church, Weston, Herts, UK (tr. 7-9); 2006 Göteborgs Konserthus, Göteborg, Sweden (tr. 19-25);
CD 10 [81:15]
Historical Recordings
Quatro piezas españolas, for piano:
1. i. Aragonesa (piano roll)
2. ii. Cubana (piano roll)
El amor brujo (transcriptions for piano):
3. El aparecido - Danza del terror - El círculo mágico - Romance del pescador - A media noche.
4. Danza ritual del fuego
5-11. Siete canciones populares españolas, for soprano & piano
12. El amor brujo - Canción del fuego fatuo for soprano & piano
13. Soneto a Córdoba, for soprano & piano (Luis de Góngora)
14. Psyché, for mezzo-soprano, flute, harp & string trio (Georges Jean-Aubry)
15. La vida breve: Danza española No. 1, (arranged for violin & piano by Fritz Kreisler)
16-18. Concerto for harpsichord & five instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, violin & cello)
19-31. El amor brujo, ballet pantomime (second version of 1915/16).
Performers: Manuela de Falla, player on piano rolls (tr. 1-2); Ricardo Vines, piano (tr. 3-4); Maria Barrientos, soprano (tr. 5-13); Manuela de Falla, piano player (5-13); Leila Ben Sedira, soprano (14); Quintette instrumental Pierre Jamet (tr. 14); Yehudi Menuhin, violin (tr. 15); Arthur Balsom, trumpet (tr. 15); Manuela de Falla, harpsichord (tr. 16-18); Marcel Moyes, flute (tr. 16-18); Emile Godeau, clarinet (tr. 16-18); Georges Bonneau, oboe (tr. 16-18); Marcel Darrieux, violin (tr. 16-18); Auguste Cruque, cello (tr. 16-18); Conchita Velasquez, mezzo-soprano (tr. 16-18); Orquesta Bética de Camara de Sévilla / Ernesto Halffter, conductor (tr. 19-31).
Recorded: piano rolls perforated in 1913 & reproduced in 1979 (tr. 1-2); 1928 (tr. 5-8); 1930 (tr. 9-12); 1928 (tr. 32-34: Note these tracks do not exist on the CD); 1929 (tr. 3-4); 1930 (tr. 16-18); 1930 (tr. 13); 1930 (tr. 19-31); 1932 Studio Albert, Paris (tr. 15); 1942 Studio Albert, Paris (tr. 14)
CD 11 [80:51]
Historical Recordings
Suite populaire espagnole:
1. IV. Jota (arranged violin & piano by Paul Kochanski)
2-10. El Sombrero de tres picos, ballet in two parts
11-18. El retablo de Maese Pedro, opera for puppets’ theatre
19-25. Siete canciones populares españolas (Seven Spanish Folksongs) for mezzo-soprano & piano
Performers: David Oistrakh, violin (tr. 1); Vladimir Yampolsky, piano (tr. 1); Consuelo Rubio, mezzo-soprano (tr. 2, 8); Lola Rodríguez Aragón, soprano (tr. (11-18); Gaetano Renon, tenor (tr. (11-18); Manuel Ausensi, baritone (tr. 11-18); Nan Merriman, mezzo-soprano (tr. 19-25); Gerald Moore, piano (tr. 19-25); Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française / Eduard Toldrà, conductor (tr. 2-18);
Recorded: 1956 No. 1 Studio, Abbey Road, London (tr. 1); 1953 Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris (tr. 11-18); 1954 No. 3 Studio, Abbey Road, London (tr. 19-25); 1956 Salle de la Mutualité, Paris (tr. 2-10)
