Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 06/06/2006, uploaded on 01/08/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

El Polo (from Suite Iberia)                        Isaac Albéniz

Iberia is Albeniz's masterwork. With its idealized pictures of Spanish scenes and moods and its superior technical workmanship, the work is far above the normal salon level compositions. The suite consists of twelve pieces in four volumes, most of which evoke a particular scene of Spain, and exploit a characteristic rhythm. El Polo is the eighth piece in the set. Like most of the other sections of the suite, it uses a ternary (A-B-A) form, with the character of a vocal in Andalusian style.

Although he hardly ever used an actual folk song, Albeniz was a master in creating original themes which captured the folk style. The enriched harmonic language, the subtly extended melodic line, and the sonorities of different registers are exploited with the discrimination of a master, and matched with punctilious expression marks.     Sofia Melikyan

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.