A Theatrical Threesome
Donald Macleod views Falla through the eyes of two theatrical collaborators and sees how working with the composer could be both hugely enriching and deeply frustrating.
Donald Macleod views Falla through the eyes of two theatrical collaborators and sees how working with the composer could be both hugely enriching and deeply frustrating.
Manuel de Falla was not well suited to the role of national musical icon. He was at his happiest, living a simple, monkish existence in his spartan Granada villa; fussing over his music in pleasant isolation or enjoying the company of a few close friends. He was generous but withdrawn, quietly and devotedly religious, and had a horror of being dragged into the violent political conflicts that wracked Spain during the first half of the 20th century. Falla’s enormous talent and unique musical voice meant he was thrust into the very centre of cultural life, despite himself. He was compelled to navigate his way alongside some of music’s most colourful and potent characters, and through momentous historical events.
Today, we follow Falla’s fruitful partnership with Gregorio and María Martínez Sierra, the husband and wife team who helped the composer establish himself as a successful theatre composer and who got to know Falla as well as anyone in the years following the outbreak of World War I.
El Amor Brujo: Ritual Fire Dance (arr. Falla for piano)
Andor Foldes, piano
El pan de Ronda que sabe a verdad
Bernada Fink, soprano
Anthony Spiri, piano
Oración de las madres que tienen a sus hijos en brazos
Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Len Vorster, piano
El corregidor y la molinera (extract)
Orquestra de Cambra Teatre Lliure, conducted by Josep Pons
El Amor Brujo (complete)
Martha Senn, mezzo-soprano
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela; conducted by Eduardo Mata
Noches en los jardines des España, III. En los jardines de la Sierra de Cordoba
Margrit Weber, piano
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Rafael Kubelík
Last on
Music Played
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Manuel de Falla
El Amor Brujo: Ritual Fire Dance (arr. Falla for piano)
Performer: Andor Földes.- DG : 477-6511.
- DG.
- 10.
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Manuel de Falla
El pan de Ronda
Performer: Anthony Spiri. Singer: Bernarda Fink.- HARMONIA MUNDU : HMC-902133.
- HARMONIA MUNDI.
- 28.
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Manuel de Falla
Oración de las madres que tienen a sus hijos en brazos
Performer: Len Vorster. Singer: Merlyn Quaife.- Naxos 8.554498.
- Naxos.
- 16.
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Manuel de Falla
El corregidor y la molinera (extract)
Orchestra: Orquestade Cambra Teatre Lliure. Conductor: Josep Pons.- HARMONIA MUNDI : HMC-901520.
- HARMONIA MUNDI.
- 16.
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Manuel de Falla
El Amor Brujo
Singer: Marta Senn. Orchestra: Simon Bolivar S O. Conductor: Eduardo Mata.- DORION : DOR90210.
- DORION.
- 1.
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Manuel de Falla
Noches en los jardines des España, III. En los jardines de la Sierra de Cordoba
Performer: Magrit Weber. Orchestra: Bavarian S O. Conductor: Raphael Kubelik.- DG : 413-1562.
- DG.
- 3.
Broadcasts
- Tue 13 Jul 2021 12:00BBC Radio 3
- Tue 13 Jun 2023 12:00BBC Radio 3
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