Classical Music | Violin Music

Recorded on 05/29/2007, uploaded on 01/27/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Suite Populaire Espagnole                 Manuel de Falla

Manuel de Falla, one of several noted popular Spanish composers of his time, originally penned this suite of charming and deeply rhythmical short songs in 1914 for voice under the title Seven Popular Spanish Songs. He eventually collaborated with Polish violinist Paul Kochanski, who had arranged six of the songs for violin and piano. This version for violin and piano became known as Suite Populaire Espagnole, and is the best known out of the multitude of versions that have since emerged.

El paño moruno (The Moorish Cloth) is based on a famous Spanish melody. The violin version strategically utilizes sound effects such as harmonics and pizzicato to change the colors in this song. Nana is a tune borrowed from an Andalusian cradle melody that de Falla's mother often sang to him as a child. It features a soft, soothing, melodic violin line while the piano remains almost undetectable throughout. Canción is a lively, joyous dance with a simple melody that repeats itself three times, each successive time embellishing the previous version. Polo is a type of Spanish dance in 3/8 time. The violin and piano both have complex rhythms, trading off melodic lines and ending in a flourish of bravura sound. Asturiana is a melody from Asturia, a province of Spain. The violin has a very simple, muted, melancholy harmony line over the melody of the piano. The incomplete ending is an ideal lead-in to the final, extremely lively piece. Jota is a type of dance originating in northern Spain. In triple time, it has a light, lively rhythm with strummed pizzicatos on the violin to create a castanet-like sound.          Christina Castelli

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.