Selections from Suite Española, Op. 47
Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)

THE STORY

Isaac Albéniz’s Suite española is a tour of distinctive regions in his native Spain and their musical styles. Originally conceived in 1886 for solo piano, the first version consisted of four individual pieces: Granada, Cataluña, Sevilla, and Cuba. Following his death in 1909, a second version was published including four additional regions: Cádiz, Asturias, Aragón, and Castilla.

Albéniz’s music has been arranged for a variety of instruments. The most obvious and perhaps most appropriate editions have been for the guitar, whose sound is essential to the musical identity of Spain. The most famous orchestral arrangement was compiled in the mid-1960s by Spanish conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, who adapted five of the eight movements. With the full palette of the orchestra, Albéniz’s depiction of his homeland comes to life in vibrant color.

LISTEN FOR

• The bouncing triple meter of Castilla, depicting the region in central Spain and its signature dance, the seguidilla—with a swinging rhythm punctuated by the percussion’s skipping pattern
• The gorgeous flute solo of Granada, inspired by a city in southern Spain where music and culture took in Middle Eastern influences due to the proximity of Northern Africa
• The jumping melodic style of Sevilla: Sevillanas, the folk music and dance of Seville, draws influences from flamenco along with the seguidilla dance heard in the first movement
• The dramatic and fiery fourth movement, which Albéniz’s publisher named after the northern region of Asturias although the music is in the southern style called flamenco—with its constant rhythmic motor in the violins and sudden punctuations in the winds, brass, and percussion mimicking stomping feet
• The soaring theme in the strings of the final movement, named for the north-eastern Aragón, juxtaposed with the opening, boisterous section

INSTRUMENTATION

Piccolo, two flutes, alto flute, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, celesta, strings