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IBERIAN IMPRESSIONS
Notes by Adam Kent
The United States is not alone in claiming status as a cultural melting pot. Over the centuries, the
Iberian Peninsula has also assimilated diverse ethnic, religious, and linguistic strands through
colonization, occupation, and alliances. Indeed, the modern Castilian language reflects not only the
legacy of long-term Roman occupation, but also the traces of nearly eight centuries of Arabic
domination in the south. Other linguistic phenomena in modern Spain reflect the historical presence of
a gypsy population in the south, the persistence of the pre-Roman Basques, and the historical ties of
Catalonia to Frankish rulers to the north. Tonight’s program provides three very different views of
Iberian identity in the hands of three of Spain’s greatest composers of piano music.
FEDERICO MOMPOU (1893-1987): SELECTIONS FROM IMPRESIONES ÍNTIMAS AND FOUR
CANCIONES Y DANZAS
Most personal and intimate is the music of Federico Mompou. Impresiones íntimas—Intimate
Impressions—is the title of the composer’s first published composition and a fitting epithet to his
artistic ethos. Mompou’s music is saturated in the culture of his native Catalonia, not so much out of
any political impulse or even regional pride, but seemingly out of the unpretentious desire to express
his most personal impressions in musical terms. Many of the movements of Impresiones íntimas derive
from the composer’s early-life experiences, and the delicate, sparse writing eschews any sense of
virtuosic display or concert-hall theatrics. Pájaro triste (Sad Bird) evolves out of the simple three-note
pattern the composer’s childhood pet linnet was wont to sing. Cuna (Cradle) is the tenderest of
lullabies, cast in the traditional swaying rhythm of a berceuse, but also full of the sort of parallel
seventh chords so much in vogue with French composers of the era. Secreto is a minor miracle in its
hypnotic use of a single rhythmic element, rich exploration of modal colorations, and approximations
of four-part harmony within a two-part texture. Gitano (Gypsy) pays homage to a gypsy the young
composer had once accidentally knocked over with his car. Mompou related that the gypsy’s reaction
of grace and forgiveness was the inspiration between this affectionate portrait.
Mompou’s fifteen Canciones y danzas (Songs and Dances) were composed over the course of his life. As
the title suggests, most of these miniatures couple lyrical song-like sections to faster, more rhythmic
dances. Many of them quote traditional Catalan folk melodies, often harmonized with distinctive bellimitations, one of the composer’s compositional trademarks. The first and fourth of the Canciones y
danzas derive from tunes heard by the adolescent Mompou in the village of Casteltersoll, where his
family summered. The fifth Canción y danza is more Castilian in inspiration, severely religious in its
opening section and central interlude, and—in the description of Spanish musicologist Santiago
Kastner—evocative of “nuns dancing around with their charges in the convent” in the dance portions.
Writing about the sixth Canción y danza, the composer commented, “Whoever hears this work will find
themselves triangulated in a Caribbean-Cuban-Argentine atmosphere without quite knowing how it
happened.” The piece is dedicated to Arthur Rubinstein.
PEDRO BLANCO (1883-1919): SELECTIONS FROM HISPANIA
Pedro Blanco was born in León, Spain and studied at the Real Conservatorio de Música de Madrid,
although he relocated to O Porto, Portugal in 1903, where he established himself until his death during
the influenza epidemic of 1919. His suite Hispania dates from 1910 and was later orchestrated by
Lucien Lambert. The work abounds with references to Andalusian folklore. Full of guitar imitations,
the Phrygian melodic formulae of much Spanish gypsy music, and an overt theatricality, the music
represents the opposite pole of musical expression to the delicate, private world of Mompou. The
music is overtly romantic, very much in the tradition of nineteenth-century pianistic showmanship. In
particular, Rapsodia recalls the world of Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies, albeit with a Spanish
twist. This highly sectionalized work ends with a brilliant jota from Aragón, complete with rapid
repeated octaves reminiscent of the Hungarian composer’s sixth Hungarian Rhapsody. Tonight’s
performance marks the first time Pedro Blanco’s music is performed in the United States.
ISAAC ALBÉNIZ (1860-1909): IBERIA, BOOKS I AND II
Isaac Albéniz subtitled his suite Iberia “Douze Nouvelles Impressions,” and the French-language
reference gives some indication of the composer’s aesthetic orientation. Albéniz had been living in
France for more than a decade when he began his magnum opus in 1905, and the hazy sonorities,
frequent recourse to whole-tone scales, and coloristic handling of dissonance bespeak an immersion in
the sound world of contemporary French composers. Indeed, French musicians from Debussy to
Messiaen have been awestruck at Albéniz’s achievement in the Iberia suite, as the following quote by
Debussy suggests: “Never has music achieved such differentiated, such colorful impressions, and the
eyes close as if blinded by these pictures all too vivid in hue.” At the same time, the twelve pieces of
Iberia each suggest the indigenous music of the peninsula, full of references to the Phrygian or gypsy
mode, droning pedal points, and frequent approximations of guitars, castanets and other conventional
Spanish folk instruments. Throughout the collection, Albéniz structures his music along traditional
sonata-like lines, and part of the compositional miracle is the inherent folkloric quality he is able to
impart to such a time-honored structural procedure. The title of the work may allude to the peninsula
in its totality, although in reality, eleven of the twelve pieces evoke places and scenes of Andalusia.
Although born in Catalonia, Albéniz always maintained a special affection for the music of this
southern part of Spain, fondly proclaiming “Soy un moro” (“I am a Moor”). The finger-twisting thickets
of notes characteristic of much of the writing have been a source of complaints from many interpreters
over the years. Albéniz’s retort to the French pianist Blanche Selva, the dedicatee of Book II, gives
some indication of his playful spirit: “J’ai écrit cela pour voir tes petites mains blanches bibeloter.” (I
wrote that to see your little white hands work like knick-knacks.”)
Book I opens with the brooding Evocación, often said to be based in the tradition rhythm of a
fandanguillo. The first theme emerges over a pulsating, syncopated accompaniment, and the second—
in the relative major—first emerges cello-like in the bass. El Puerto, apparently inspired by the Puerto
de Santa María of Cádiz, juxtaposes several brusque Andalusian dance types with secondary thematic
material of a searingly expressive nature. El Corpus Christi en Sevilla is the most programmatic work of
the set, essentially an evocation of holy week processions in the Andalusian capital city. The primary
theme is a march, which quotes the popular Spanish tune “La tarara.” As is the custom during these
festivities, the military music is interrupted by a scorching outburst, known as a saeta. In some of the
most symphonic writing of the entire suite, Albéniz suggests the improvisatory nature of these vocal
outpourings with the processional music busily carrying on in the background. Like the other two
works in Book I, El Corpus Christi en Sevilla ends in a reflective coda.
Rondeña alludes to a popular Andalusian dance form and takes its title from the town of Ronda, one of
the diminutive “pueblos blancos” of the region perched high on a ravine. The main theme is notable for
its ongoing juxtaposition of 6/8 and ¾ meters. This sort of rhythmic alternation also characterizes the
main theme of Almería, one of the loveliest lyrical pages of the entire collection. The title alludes to the
ancient port city, and echoes of the traditional tarantas dance have been discerned by many
commentators. Book II concludes with the brilliant Triana, named for a celebrated gypsy settlement
on the outskirts of Seville. The traditional rhythms of the pasodoble abound here, contrasted with a
particularly graceful, coquettish secondary theme.