Albeniz - Suite Espanola

[queenrock]

Has anyone heard/played any pieces from this? I've heard the Asturias - Leyenda before and might learn that, but does anyone have any opinons on what other pieces from the suite are anygood.

Thanks for any help,
Peter.

[daro]

You might try Sevilla (No. 3); I expect you've heard it - like "Asturias-Leyenda", it's among the most popular guitar pieces never actually written for the guitar.

"Asturias" is really a misnomer, being the name concocted by the publisher Friedrich Hofmeister a couple of years after Albeniz died. The real piece is the Preludio from the Chants d'Espagne, and it's a representation of southern Andalusian music, which is about as far from Asturias as you can get and still be in Spain. Hofmeister took it upon himself to include this version of the Preludio into the Suite Espanola as a way of filling in the missing movements that Albeniz had planned but never actually got around to writing.

Hofmeister made egregious alterations in the dynamics and tempo, and unfortunately, most published versions of this work in the last century appear to incorporate these alterations. (He even changed the ending to a crescendo leading up to a ff crash where Albeniz originally indicated a diminuendo leading to a ppp whisper). It's interesting to compare the two versions; you'll see how illogical Hofmeister's changes are in the real context of the piece. He also changed a couple of c#'s in the middle section to c naturals, pointlessly diluting the Moorish motif that Albeniz wanted.

All that said, my favorite interpretation of this piece is actually Andres Segovia's (if you can get around his occasional use of triplets instead of straight 16ths, and the fact that he's playing it on guitar). His incredibly nuanced and sensitive performance I think really gets to the heart of the work.

yd

[queenrock]

You might try Sevilla (No. 3); I expect you've heard it - like "Asturias-Leyenda", it's among the most popular guitar pieces never actually written for the guitar.

"Asturias" is really a misnomer, being the name concocted by the publisher Friedrich Hofmeister a couple of years after Albeniz died. The real piece is the Preludio from the Chants d'Espagne, and it's a representation of southern Andalusian music, which is about as far from Asturias as you can get and still be in Spain. Hofmeister took it upon himself to include this version of the Preludio into the Suite Espanola as a way of filling in the missing movements that Albeniz had planned but never actually got around to writing.

Hofmeister made egregious alterations in the dynamics and tempo, and unfortunately, most published versions of this work in the last century appear to incorporate these alterations. (He even changed the ending to a crescendo leading up to a ff crash where Albeniz originally indicated a diminuendo leading to a ppp whisper). It's interesting to compare the two versions; you'll see how illogical Hofmeister's changes are in the real context of the piece. He also changed a couple of c#'s in the middle section to c naturals, pointlessly diluting the Moorish motif that Albeniz wanted.

All that said, my favorite interpretation of this piece is actually Andres Segovia's (if you can get around his occasional use of triplets instead of straight 16ths, and the fact that he's playing it on guitar). His incredibly nuanced and sensitive performance I think really gets to the heart of the work.

yd

Hi, thanks for your response, i've heard Sevilla and i agree it is good, as is most of the suite.

There do seem to be a lot more guitarists who are interested in these works than there are pianists, and a lot of people actually think it's written for guitar. It's a pity not more pianists play this great music.

[daniloperusina]

I've played most of them (also in public):
Asturias
Granada
Sevilla
Cataluña
Cadiz
Cuba

That leaves me two or three I think still to learn. They are absolutely lovely! I also think they have a great appeal for the audience. With that I mean that if you play them well the audience will fall in love with you!:) They can't resist the rhythms, melodies, harmonies and the very special wehmut that is Albéniz' own. Very spanish! I first heard them played on guitar and had a hard time imagining that they could sound as good on the piano. Then I heard Alicia de Larrocha, and I had to change my mind. They are even better on the piano! Anyway, I posted a recording I made of Granada on this forum a while ago, and here's the link, if you're interested: https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,28283.0.html

[lousyplayer]

Hi,

anyone played Sous Le Palmier, No3 Chants d'Espagne? any difficulties with it?

[lousyplayer]

I've played most of them (also in public):
Asturias
Granada
Sevilla
Cataluña
Cadiz
Cuba

That leaves me two or three I think still to learn. They are absolutely lovely! I also think they have a great appeal for the audience. With that I mean that if you play them well the audience will fall in love with you!:) They can't resist the rhythms, melodies, harmonies and the very special wehmut that is Albéniz' own. Very spanish! I first heard them played on guitar and had a hard time imagining that they could sound as good on the piano. Then I heard Alicia de Larrocha, and I had to change my mind. They are even better on the piano! Anyway, I posted a recording I made of Granada on this forum a while ago, and here's the link, if you're interested: https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,28283.0.html

absolutely agree with you, love the music and Alicia de Larrocha is just amazing.

[ionian_tinnear]

I've been working on this suite.  Got the first four down pretty good.  Now working on the next two.  Great suite, gets decently challenging.