Nights in the Gardens of Spain
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Nights in the Gardens de Falla de Albéniz of Spain Moreno Torroba Moreno PRAGUE GUITAR José QUARTET Rodrigo MANUEL DE FALLA (1876—1946) Nights in Noches en los jardines de España 24:39 (arr. Marek Velemínský) 1 En el Generalife 10:13 the Gardens 2 Danza lejana 5:38 3 En los jardines de la 8:44 of Spain Sierra de Córdoba PRAGUE GUITAR FEDERICO MORENO TORROBA (1891—1982) QUARTET Estampas 14:29 4 Bailando un fandango charro 1:50 Marek Velemínský 5 Remanso 2:29 6 La siega 1:33 Matěj Freml 7 Fiesta en el pueblo 1:30 Václav Kučera 8 Amanecer 1:49 9 La boda 2:28 Patrick Vacík 10 Camino del molino 1:17 11 Juegos infantiles 1:22 JOAQUÍN RODRIGO (1901—1999) Zarabanda lejana y Villancico 8:06 (arr. Marek Velemínský) 12 Zarabanda lejana 4:08 (a la vihuela de Luis de Milán) 13 Villancico (a Joan Salvat) 3:58 ISAAC ALBÉNIZ (1860—1909) Recuerdos de viaje (selection) 7:48 (arr. Jan Tuláček) 14 En la Alhambra 4:19 15 Puerta de Tierra (Bolero) 3:29 ANTONIO JOSÉ (1902—1936) 16 Balada (Suite ingenua) 4:23 (arr. Marek Velemínský) JOAQUÍN RODRIGO (1901—1999) Dos miniaturas andaluzas 4:49 (arr. Marek Velemínský) 17 Preludio 2:20 18 Danza 2:29 Recorded in Atrium, Prague, November 2017 Producer and music director Jiří Štilec Sound engineer Václav Roubal The guitar is most often and rightly linked to Spanish music and Spanish composers. These recordings of the Prague Guitar Quartet are all dedicated to works by Spanish composers, be they original four- guitar compositions or transcriptions. Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) is one of the best known Spanish composers. He devoted himself intensively to the study of folklore, but his music was influenced by French impressionism (he lived in Paris for a long time before emigrating to Argentina) and thus the originality of his writing rests in an interesting synthesis of these features. To one of the greatest personalities of French impressionism he dedicated his solo-guitar composition Homenaje pour le tombeau de Debussy. Like a number of composers from the Hispanic cultural area he was drawn to the guitar, with the legendary player Andrés Segovia being one of his friends. His suite for piano and orchestra Nights in the Gardens of Spain written in 1916 is one of the most often performed of his output, but he wrote a number of other orchestral, chamber, ballet (Magician Love, The Three-Cornered Hat) and operatic works. It is heard in this recording in a transcription which endeavours to do justice to the original colourful score with its exotic zest. The centre of gravity in the oeuvre of the next Spanish composer Federico Moreno Torroba (1891–1982) is to be found in the specifically Spanish genre of the zarzuela—a kind of operetta. Federico Moreno Torroba wrote close on 80 works of this type, the best known of them being possibly Luisa Fernanda written in 1932. Federico Moreno Torroba was working at the same time as a conductor and theatrical producer. In the 30s and 40s of the 20th century he ran a theatre company which performed Spanish zarzuelas all over the world. Only towards the end of his life did he return to classical opera, when in 1980 he composed the opera El poeta. It was intended for Plácido Domingo with whose father, Plácido Domingo Ferrer, also a singer, he was very well acquainted. An equally important part of Federico Moreno Torroba’s output consists of worksfor the guitar. Similarly to a number of other Spanish authors he began to write for the instrument in connection with one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Andrés Segovia. Federico Moreno Torroba wrote a great number of solo guitar works, concertos, as well as four guitar quartets, one of which is his Estampas of 1979. It is the only composition on this CD written originally for a guitar quartet. Due especially to two guitar concertos, Concierto de Aranjuez (1939) and Fantasia para un gentilhombre (1954), Joaquín Rodrigo is one of the best known composers of guitar music and of 20th century music in general. The Adagio from his Concierto de Aranjuez has become one of the ‘mega hits’ of the century in a variety of arrangements, including versions for voice with accompaniment. Following the success of his Concierto de Aranjuez, Rodrigo wrote a series of other instrumental concertos, four of them for guitar or guitars, and others for violin, flute and harp. The pieces Zarabanda lejana and Villancico were written during Rodrigo’s stay in Paris in 1927 while he was studying with Paul Dukas. The Zarabanda was originally written for solo guitar and dedicated to Emilio Pujol, but the composer later arranged it for chamber string orchestra, adding the Villancico as its second movement. The other composition by Rodrigo on this CD, Dos miniaturas andaluzas, was written in 1929, scored for a string orchestra. But all the works here are played in guitar quartet arrangements. Isaac Albéniz, full name Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz i Pascal (1860–1909), was one of the greatest and most influential composers and pianists of the romantic period. He is best known for his piano pieces, but his works include other compositions, among them several operas. As a child prodigy Albéniz began to appear in public at the age of four. In 1883 he met the teacher and composer Felipe Pedrell who inspired him to compose Spanish music. This led for instance to the writing of his Spanish songs. The first movement of this suite (Preludium), re-titled after the composer’s death as Asturias (Leyenda) is today one of the most famous pieces in the guitar repertoire, even though it was originally written for the piano. In fact, many of Albéniz’s works have been transcribed for the guitar, most often by Francisco Tárrega. Isaac Albéniz did not like to stay at any one place for more than a few years. He liked to discover new places, including overseas, London and other places. He visited Paris several times, meeting Debussy who influenced him. And he also studied with Dukas and d’Indy. The composition Recuerdos de viaje, Op.71 (consisting originally of seven movements) was written in Madrid in 1886-87, scored for piano. The Prague Guitar Quartet has chosen the fourth and fifth movement of the piano suite, entitled En la Alhambra and Puerta de Tierra (Bolero). Antonio José (1902–1936), full name Antonio José Martínez Palacios, was a Spanish composer whose work was not very well known, and until the 80s of the 20th century had almost been forgotten. He was born in Burgos where he taught at a Jesuit school and ran a local choir. Although he died very young (before his 34th birthday) and shared the tragic fate of the poet Federico García Lorca (who was murdered by one of the dictator Franco’s execution squads), he left a relatively extensive oeuvre. It includes a Sonata for Guitar and two more works, Sinfonia castellana and Suite Ingenua. It is the Suite Ingenua (originally a work for piano and orchestra, consisting of three movements), specifically its second part Balada in an arrangement by Marek Velemínský, which is recorded here on this compact disc. The Prague Guitar Quartet was founded in 1984 at the Prague Conserva- toire. Its present line-up is Marek Velemínský, Matěj Freml, Václav Kučera and Patrick Vacík. All the four guitarists of this exceptionally successful ensemble are leading artists and laureates of a number of domestic as well as international competitions. The Quartet appears at many prestigious festivals and has, during its 30 years’ career, toured in most countries in Europe, in the USA and in the Middle East. Many of the Prague Guitar Quartet’s stylistically sophisticated and musically accomplished interpretations have been recorded, and the ensemble has initiated the composition of a number of original works by Czech as well as world authors. Beside original works for four guitars, the Quartet also draws on a repertoire of transcriptions from different periods. Kytara je nejčastěji a zcela právem spojována se španělskou hudbou a španělskými tvůrci. I předkládaná nahrávka Pražského kytarového kvarteta je věnována dílům španělských skladatelů, ať už se jedná o zcela původní tvorbu pro čtyři kytary nebo o transkripce. Manuel de Falla (1876—1946) patří k nejznámějším španělským autorům. Věnoval se intenzívně studiu folkloru, ale jeho hudba byla ovlivněna francouz- ským impresionismem (žil delší dobu i v Paříži než emigroval do Argentiny), takže originalita hudby tohoto tvůrce spočívá v zajímavé syntéze těchto feno- ménů. Jedné z největších postav francouzského impresionismu věnoval Manuel de Falla skladbu pro sólovou kytaru Homenaje pour le tombeau de Debussy. Ke kytaře měl jako řada autorů z hispánské kulturní oblasti blízko, k jeho přátelům patřil i legendární kytarista Andrés Segovia. Suita pro klavír a orchestr Noci ve španělských zahradách z roku 1916 patří k nejčastěji prováděným skladbám autora, který napsal i řadu dalších orchestrálních, komorních, ale i baletních (Čarodějná láska, Třírohý klobouk) i operních děl. Na nahrávce zaznívá v tran- skripci, která se snaží vystihnout všechny vlastnosti původní barevné partitury s originálním exotickým koloritem. Těžiště tvorby dalšího španělského autora Federica Morena Torroby (1891—1982) je v oblasti specifického španělského žánru zarzuely, což je jakási obdoba operety. Během své kariéry napsal Federico Moreno Torroba téměř 80 děl tohoto typu. Nejznámější z nich je patrně zarzuela Luisa Fernanda z roku 1932. Federico Moreno Torroba zároveň působil i jako dirigent a divadelní producent. Ve třicátých a čtyřicátých letech 20. století vedl divadelní společ- nost, která uváděla španělské zarzuely po celém světě. Teprve v samotném závěru života se skladatel vrátil ke klasické opeře, když v roce 1980 zkompo- noval operu El poeta.