Los hombres seremos en el paraíso... sonidos

( English/Español)   Wednesday,  November  30 , 2011 The natural companion piece for Rodrigo’s   Concierto de Aranjuez   has always been considered to be the   Fantasía para un gentilhombre   of 1954. But this work is a suite based on melodies and dances by Gaspar Sanz, whereas the last concerto of all, the   Concierto para una fiesta , is a return to the traditional three-movement concerto form – as in Aranjuez and several other works by the composer – making this late composition of particular interest. Rodrigo himself was well aware that comparisons with his first concerto would be made, in particular with its famous second movement, and was to comment, almost severely: “It would be an error to look for – or even, after forty years, to expect – another theme like ‘Aranjuez’.” The two outer movements are inspired by two different cities of Spain and their cultures: in the first, Rodrigo speaks of a “very Valencian flavour… which seems to evoke the spirit of El Cid and the

( English/Español)  Wednesday, November 16, 2011 The smallest of the compositions of 1982 is the Serenata al alba del día , for flute (or violin) and guitar. Its title evokes again another important source of inspiration for Rodrigo, present throughout his career from his first songs onwards, the music and texts of the famous Cancioneros of Spain’s Golden Age. The Serenata consists of two short and contrasting movements, ‘Andante moderato’ and ‘Allegro’. The first evokes the spirit of an ‘alborada’, with the flute’s lyrical melody underpinned and frequently contrasted with surprising harmonies in the guitar accompaniment. The ‘Allegro’, which follows immediately, has a more popular character, one rythmic passage for the guitar calling to mind the opening of the third movement of Debussy’s Iberia. Palillos y panderetas , a work for chamber orchestra in three movements, is dedicated to the city of Madrid, whose Council had commissioned it. Written in an obviously more popular style t

( English/Español)  Wednesday, November 2, 2011 Throughout the history of music there are a number of examples of composers who created remarkable works in their last years. Three immediately come to mind: Claudio Monteverdi (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Giuseppe Verdi (Quattro pezzi sacri) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (the Eighth and Ninth Symphonies). To these we may add, I believe, the name of Joaquín Rodrigo, who in his eighty-first year, 1982, composed five significant works (three of them of outstanding quality). They are: Set cançons valencianes , a suite for violin and piano; Palillos y panderetas , a short orchestral suite written in homage to Madrid; Serenata al alba del día , for flute or violin and guitar; Concierto para una fiesta , for guitar and orchestra, the last of the composer’s eleven concertos; and Cántico de San Francisco de Asís , a large-scale work for chorus and orchestra. These works, for solo instruments, orchestra, and large choir and orchestra respectively