Manuel de Falla was born in Cadiz, Spain.  His mother taught him piano, and when he outgrew her instruction, he traveled to Madrid to take up lessons in piano and composition.  He studied with Felipe Pedrell who encouraged Falla to use Andalusian and Spanish themes and folk tunes in his music.  The advice paid off when Falla won a prize for his nationalist opera La vide Breve in 1905.  He briefly spent time in Paris where he met Debussy and Ravel, and the latter greatly influenced Falla’s orchestral writing.  He also spent time in Granada before finally settling in Argentina.  Falla never married and never had any children.

The suite of Spanish Folksongs is a collection of songs originally written in 1914 for voice and piano.  The songs have been transcribed into many instrumental versions with additional songs added and omitted.  Each song originates from a different region of Spain.