Classical Music | Guitar Music

Recorded on 10/02/2007, uploaded on 01/14/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Granada                            Isaac Albéniz

Isaac Albéniz was a great exponent of Spanish national music.  Albéniz's own comments concerning the programmatic aspect of his music derive from images of the Alhambra - the Moorish palace-fortress that overlooks the Andalucian city of Granada. Of this place, Albéniz imagined evening serenades and juergas (all-night gypsy flamenco parties), accompanied on the guzla, an ancient Arabic instrument. Referencing his serenata, Granada, Albéniz wrote: "I live and write a Serenata...sad to the point of despair, among the aroma of the flowers, the shade of the cypresses, and the snow of the Sierra. I will not compose the intoxication of a juerga. I seek now the tradition...the guzla, the lazy dragging of the fingers over the strings. And above all, a heartbreaking lament out of tune...I want the Arabic Granada, that which...seems to me beauty and emotion."     Michael Cansfield

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.