Letter F: Manuel de Falla
MaestroDJS
His music has an unmistakable Spanish quality, rich in substance and free of
clichés. Yet the changing political climate in his native Spain and his
failing health led him to spend his final years in exile in Argentina.
Born 23 November 1876 in Cadíz, an historic seaport town in Andalusia on the
southwest coast of Spain, Falla was at first undecided between a musical or a
literary career. He studied first in Cadíz and attended many concerts, and by
the 1890s he decided to become a composer. He was greatly impressed by the
music of Edvard Grieg, whose strong Norwegian national character kindled in
Falla a desire to do so the same for Spanish music. Falla entered el
Conservatorio de Madrid in 1897 and won the highest marks in all his courses.
From 1902 he studied with Felipe Pedrell, who strongly advocated Spanish
traditions, folk music and early composers. These were to have a decisive
influence on Falla and his own music.
Falla won a prize from la Real Academia de Bellas Artes in 1902 for his opera
_La vida breve_ (The Brief Life), which showed his distinctive personality for
the first time. He left for Paris in 1907, where the score of his opera drew
praise from French composers Claude Debussy, Paul Dukas and Maurice Ravel.
Falla had intended to stay only 7 weeks, but he remained in France for 7 years.
Paris became a 2nd home for Falla, and he later said that without France he
could have achieved nothing. His music met with enthusiasm, and he learned
much from the long history of French treatments of Spanish music and subjects.
He also learned much from Russian treatments of Spanish music. Falla emerged a
fully mature composer. _La vida breve_ was staged in Paris in 1913, by which
time Falla had reorchestrated and improved the score.
Debussy in particular was a major influence on Falla, who cited the orchestral
work _Iberia_ as an example for his fellow Spanish composers to follow the use
of their own folk idioms. Falla wrote, "The entire piece down to the smallest
detail makes one feel the character of Spain." He declared that Debussy had
not composed "a la española" (in the Spanish manner) but "en español" (in
Spanish). This is all the more astounding when one considers that Debussy's
only visit to Spain was 3 hours in the border city of San Sebastian to watch a
bullfight. Falla also singled out Debussy's piano piece _Soirée dans Grenade_,
(Mouvement de Habanera): "The evocative nature in the few pages of _Soirée dans
Grenade_ is nothing less than miraculous, when one reflects on the fact that
this music was written by a foreigner guided almost entirely by his visionary
genius. It is indeed Andalusia that we are shown..." Debussy felt a natural
affinity with Spanish music, to such as extent that he could make Spanish
idioms a natural part of his own style. As such, he opened up new
possibilities for the development of Spanish music.
With the start of World War I, Falla returned to Madrid in 1914 and began his
most productive period as a composer. Falla was intensely self-critical, which
resulted in a relatively small body of works. His _El amor brujo_ (Love the
Magician), a ballet with songs, was produced in Madrid. Though he rarely
quoted actual folk music, this score is filled with the essence of traditional
Spanish idioms. _Noches en los Jardines de España_ (Nights in the Gardens of
Spain), a suite of 3 "symphonic impressions" for piano and orchestra, is one of
his best-known works. In it Falla melds Spanish idioms, French impressionism
and Russian orchestral colors. For Serge Diaghilev and his Ballet Russes,
Falla composed his sparkling and fresh _El sombrero de tres picos_ (The
Three-Cornered Hat), which was produced in 1919. After the deaths of his
parents that year, Falla settled in Granada.
After 1920, Falla turned to more austere forms of music. His puppet opera _El
retablo de maese Pedro_ (Master Peter's Puppet Show) of 1923 uses only a small
orchestra with a harpsichord. His _Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe,
Clarinet, Violin and Cello_ of 1926 was virtually his last completed
composition, and evokes the spirit of old Spain. These 2 works rehabilitated
the harpsichord, which had been virtually ignored after the Baroque and
Classical periods, and which was soon embraced by other modern composers such
as Francis Poulenc. Both works were composed for Wanda Landowska, who played
large sonorous modern Pleyel harpsichords specially constructed for her. After
1926 due to his self-criticism and failing health Falla virtually ceased to
compose.
Falla was at first neutral after the onset of the Spanish Civil War in 1936.
Due to poor health and the pressures of war, Falla eventually accepted an
invitation from la Institución Cultura Española in Buenos Aires, Argentina in
1939. There he participated in la Festival de Música Española in which he
conducted a series of concerts of Spanish music, one of which was completely
dedicated to his own works. These concerts at el Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires
were his last public appearances. Due to his fragile health, he retired to the
mountains of Córdoba with his sister Maria del Carmen de Falla. He died at his
home in Alta Gracia, Córdoba, Argentina 14 November 1946, just before his 70th
birthday. His scenic cantata _Atlántida_ (Atlantis), on which he had worked
sporadically for his last 20 years, remained unfinished. It was eventually
completed by his friend and pupil Ernesto Halffter. After his death in
Argentina, Falla was buried in Spain, and his sister also returned to Spain.
Falla requested that these words be engraved on his tombstone: "El honor y la
gloria solo son de Dios" (Honor and glory are God's alone).
Principal works:
La vida breve, ópera, 1905
Cuatro piezas españolas, para piano, 1908:
I. Aragonesa
II. Cubana
III. Montañesa
IV. Andaluza
Siete Canciones Populares Españolas, canto y piano, 1914:
I. El paño moruno
II. Seguidilla murciana
III. Asturiana
IV. Jota
V. Nana
VI. Canción
VII. Polo
El amor brujo, ballet, 1915
Noches en los Jardines de España: tres "impresiones sinfónicas" para piano y
orquesta, 1916:
I. En el Generalife
II. Danza lejana
III. En los jardines de la Sierra de Córdoba
El sombrero de tres picos, ballet, 1917
Fantasía Bética, para piano, 1919
El retablo de Maese Pedro, ópera escénica basada en un episodio de Don Quijote,
1923
Psyché, para soprano, flauta, arpa, violín, y violoncello, 1924
Concierto para clave y cinco instrumentos solistas, 1926
Atlántida, comenzada en 1927, terminada por Ernesto Halffter en 1960 y revisada
en 1976
Homenajes, 1938:
I. Fanfare sobre el nombre de E.F. Arbós
II. A Claude Debussy (Elegía de la guitarra)
III. A Paul Dukas (Spes vitae)
IV. Pedrelliana
In December 1998 and January 1999 my wife & I spent a long vacation in Chile,
Argentina, Uruguay and the Falkland Islands. In Buenos Aires I learned more
about Falla and his final years in Argentina. He became closely associated
with Argentine composer and conductor Juan José Castro (1895-1968). Castro
helped Falla and his sister settle in Argentina in 1939, and they became close
friends. Castro often wrote about Spain in his own music, such as his
_Sonatina Española_ and his operas _La Zapatera prodigosa_ (The Prodigious
Shoemaker) and _Bodas de Sangre_ (Blood Wedding), both based on the Spanish
lyric poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca (1898-1936). Falla conducted
orchestral concerts in Buenos Aires in 1939 and also conducted broadcasts on
Radio El Mundo. He also paid tribute to his friend: "I couldn't do anything
without Juan José Castro. I need his lively presence here."
Falla and his sister Maria del Carmen de Falla settled in a chalet in Alta
Gracia, 35 kilometers (22 miles) southwest of Córdoba. Córdoba with a
population of 1,200,000 is the 2nd-largest in Argentina, and the capital of la
Provincia de Córdoba. It is 645 kilometers (400 miles) northwest of Buenos
Aires, in the center of a semi-arid region which is crossed by many rivers.
Irrigation has transformed the former ranching center into a major agricultural
and commercial center. Falla was inspired by the landscapes around Alta
Gracia. It is a town with rather sandy soil surrounded by mountains, some of
which reach 3000 meters (10,000 feet). Their former home in Alta Gracia is now
a museum.
Dave Stybr, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Recordings in my collection:
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946), Spain:
Ses amis et ses interprètes. Cuatro piezas españolas Nos. 1 y 2 (1); Soneta a
Córdoba (1); El amor brujo: Canción del fuego fatuo, Danza del terror, Romance
del pescador, Danza ritual del fuego; Siete canciones populares españolas (1);
El sombrero de tres picos; Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet,
Violin and Cello (2); Psyché for Soprano, Flute, Harp, Violin, Viola and
Cello; El retablo de Maese Pedro. Manuel de Falla, (1) Piano and (2)
Harpsichord, etc. EMI 2 C 153-16241/2 (2 LPs) (France).
El amor brujo; El sombrero de tres picos. Jean Madeira, Mezzo-Soprano.
Wiener Sinfonie-Orchester / Edouard van Remoortel. Allegro AR 88005 (United
States).
El amor brujo. Shirley Verrett-Carter, Mezzo-Soprano. Philadelphia Orchestra
/ Leopold Stokowski. Columbia MA 6147 (United States). + Wagner: Tristan
und Isolde: Love Music from Acts II and III.
Atlántida, Scenic cantata and inner prologue in 3 parts (realised by Ernesto
Halffter). Enriqueta Tarrés, Soprano; Anna Ricci, Mezzo-Soprano; Vicente
Sardinero, Baritone; Eduardo Giménez, Tenor; Choro y Orquesta Nacional Española
/ Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. Angel SBLX-3852 (2 LPs) (United States).
Montanesa; Andaluza. Manuel de Falla, Piano (piano rolls, 1913). The Welte
Legacy of Piano Treasures 669 (United States). + Granados: Pièce de
Scarlatti; Goyescas: Duo d'Amour, El Fandango de Candil, Plaintes o la Maja et
le Rossignol; Spanish Dance No. 5 Andaluza.
Noches en los Jardines de España. Aldo Ciccolini, Piano; Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra / Enrique Bátiz. EMI Angel DS-38038 (United States). + Albeniz:
Piano Concerto.
Noches en los Jardines de España. Artur Rubinstein, Piano; San Francisco
Symphony Orchestra / Enrique Jordá. RCA LSC-2430 (United States). +
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
El retablo de Maese Pedro; Psyché for Soprano, Flute, Harp, Violin, Viola and
Cello; Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin and Cello.
Jennifer Smith, Soprano; Alexander Oliver, Tenor; Peter Knapp, Baritone;
John Constable, Harpsichord. London Sinfonietta / Simon Rattle. Argo ZRG 921
(United Kingdom).
MaestroDJS
I. Allegro (3:23)
II. Lento (7:17)
III. Vivace (4:05)
Manuel de Falla, harpsichord
Marcel Moyse, flute
Georges Bonneau, oboe
Emile Godeau, clarinet
Marcel Darrieux, violin
August Cruque, cello
Manuel de Falla recorded his _Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet,
Violin and Cello_ of 1926 in Paris, France in 2 sessions, on 2 and 7 June 1930.
The recordings were made on four 78-RPM sides, which have been transferred
both to LP and to CD. It remains a vivid performance, and it is a tribute to
both the performers and the engineers. The concerto is a very intense piece
which alludes to the popular, religious and courtly styles of old Spain. The
first movement alludes to the 15th-Century Castillian madrigal _De los álamos
vengo, madre_. The central Lento movement was described by the composer as a
dream-like and fantastic evocation of a procession. The last movement echoes
the sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti. Although it is Neobaroque in form, its
personality is exotic rather than desiccated. The _Concerto_ was composed for
Wanda Landowska, who played large sonorous modern Pleyel harpsichords specially
constructed for her, and which were much louder than genuine Baroque
harpsichords.
A month after this recording, the magazine _Revue Musicale_ published an
article about the sessions and the recording techniques. In the music library
of the University of Illinois at Urbana, I found a copy of this edition. It is
interesting for its description of Falla the performer and for its quaint
observations about the recording process of the time. Below is the original
article in French for our international readers, followed by my English
translation to inflict still more language practice on myself.
Dave Stybr
=====
Revue Musicale, Juillet 1930
Les Coulisses du Phonographe: L'Enregistrement du _Concerto_ de Manuel de
Falla
A peine entré dans le studio, Falla est au clavecin. Sa silhouette ardent et
menue se noue à celle de l'instrument élancé. Avec la nervosité d'un candidat
aux concours du Conservatoire (et cette anxiété accuse l'air de jeunesse que
n'a jamais perdu Falla), l'auteur du _Concerto pour clavecin, flûte, hautbois,
clarinette, violon et violoncelle_ essaye un trait dont l'exécution, depuis le
matin, ne le laisse en repos. Sa conscience sévère ne lui permet aucune
faiblesse. Comme il l'avoue lui-même dans son langage aux colorations naïves,
cette interprétation devant le micro doit être "exemplaire". C'est bien aussi
l'avis de Darrieux, de Cruque, de Moyse, de Godeau, de Bonneau, les partenaires
de Falla, au beau jeu de l'enregistrement qui va se dérouler, et pour lequel M.
Truc, ingénieur-musicien-directeur, effectue les derniers préparatifs. A
chacun il donne autour de microphone la place que lui suggère son expérience,
car la méthode empirique est la seule qui porte fruit dans l'état actuel de
l'enregistrement. La science qui a mis l'électricité au service du phonographe
sé refuse encore à dévoiler pour lui les mystères de l'acoustique. Le
microphone d'aujourd'hui est, à peu de chose près, celui des premiers essais de
1924-25, et les progrès que l'on a pu constater dans certains des derniers
enregistrements sont uniquement dus à une disposition meilleure des instruments
vis-à-vis du microphone. Pour l'obtenir, il faut procéder à tâtons. On ne
peut à l'avance fixer la place définitive de tel ou tel instrument. Cette
place varie non seulement d'après le jeu de l'artiste, mais aussi en fonction
de la musique interprétée et de la qualité de ses harmoniques.
Mais deux coups de sonnette ont retenti. Une lampe rouge s'est allumée. Le
premier mouvement de _Concerto_ chante allègrement. Dans la laboratoire
voisin, qui sent bon la cire chaude, aucune modification ou presque depuis l'an
dernier. Si certains dispositifs ont changé de place, le principe qui les
gouverne est resté le même. Cependant la tâche de l'un des deux ingénieurs
"metteurs en disques" a été légèrement modifiée. Alors que
l'ingénieur-électricien continue comme autrefois à surveiller la bonne marche
du plateau et du galvanomètre, à manier lampes et sonnettes, à examiner à la
loupe les cires gravées; l'autre, l'ingénieur-enregistreur, à qui l'on ne
demande point tant bon oeil que bonne oreille, a cessé de régler lui-méme
l'amplification. Il arrivait, en effet, que cet opérateur avec ses manettes de
réglage de puissance, indiquât des nuances différentes et parfois contraires à
celles de l'exécutant. Ce n'était pas toujours heureux pour la musique.
Aujourd'hui, l'ingénieur-enregistreur a pour mission de suivre sur la partition
à mesure que la haut-parleur monté en dérivation sur l'appareil enregisteur
reproduit l'exécution en cours, et de noter ses observations dont il sera tenu
compte pour l'épreuve définitive.
Ainsi la première cire du _Concerto_ n'est pas jugée satisfaisante. Le son du
clavecin est noyé dans celui des bois es des cordes, bien que Falla ait donné
toute sa puissance, et, malgré la difficulté technique, n'ait utilisé que la
clavier inférieur de son instrument, plus sonore.
Nouvel essai: on éloigne du micro les cordes bruyantes et l'on fait avancer
celui-ci d'un pas vers le clavecin discret. (Pas trop cependant, car une
oscillation exagérée de la point enregistreuse rendrait le sillon très
fragile). Cette fois, la partie de flûte est à peine perceptible. Il faut
recommencer. Un moment plus tard, tout semble aller pour le mieux, quand Falla
se lève d'un bord, l'air désespéré: il a sauté une note. Darrieux le console,
l'assurant que nul n'est exempt d'une faute, même légère. "Oui, je sais," dit
Falla avec son petit accent rapide, "nous sommes tous en danger." Et l'on
reprend. On recommencera ainsi pour chacune des trois parties du _Concerto_,
jusqu'a l'exécution parfaite: en tout une quinzaine de cires. Dans ce temps de
restrictions, une telle prodigalité réjouit. Inutile d'ajouter qu'elle n'opère
point pour tous les artistes qui font queue à la porte des studios. Aux
débutantes, il n'est accordé que deux cires, compte tenue du trac et de
"l'inspiration". Mais qu'une firme dispense généreusement son personnel et les
beaux disques blonds à l'usage d'un grand artiste moderne (dont les oeuvres lui
rapporteront hélas beaucoup moins que celle du _Temps du cerises_ ou du
_Monastery Garden_), voilà qui rachète bien de mauvais disques offerts à
l'avidité de foules.
La chaleur, dans le studio feutré, accable. On s'étonne de la résistance du
fragile Falla qui se donne ici tout entier: mains au clavier, pieds sur les
pédals, tête, coudes et bras marquant le mesure. Parfois, quand sa partie le
lui permet, il se penche vers ses partenaires, bat le temps, et son visage
émacié, où vit un regard quasi-mystique, fait alors songer aux toiles d'Holbein
ou de Dürer.
Il ne s'accorde point de trêve. Pendant les courts instants de repos, il est
encore au clavecin, essayent un prélude ou une fugue de Bach, ou devisant avec
les quelques priviégiés qui l'entourent, parmi lesquels on reconnaît un de ses
biographes [Roland-Manuel], dernier converti au diable et à l'opéra-comique, et
ce critique organiste qui a consacré le meilleur de son activité au culte de
Bach [Gustave Bret].
La séance n'a pas duré moins de quatre heures. L'oeuvre enregistrée est si
neuve, si variée dans son riche équilibre, qu'on l'écouterait encore sans
lassitude. Il n'est pas de meilleure preuve de son étonnante vitalité.
On ne peut quitter le studio sans évoquer "l'enregistrement de l'avenir". Déjà
de grands changements sont pressentis. La technique du film sonore, un jour ou
l'autre, supplantera celle du disque. Le film translucide et léger l'emportera
sur la lourde galette opaque. Mais ce sont là bruits de coulisses que ne
laisse encore fuir la porte à peine entrebàillée.
=====
Revue Musicale, July 1930
Behind the Scenes of the Phonograph: The Recording of the _Concerto_ of Manuel
de Falla
Scarcely has he entered the studio when Falla is at the harpsichord. His
ardent and tiny silhouette twists in front of the slender instrument. With the
nervousness of a candidate at a Conservatoire competition (and this anxiety
marks the air of youth which has never left Falla), the author of the _Concerto
for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin and Cello_ tries a bar of which
the performance, since the morning, does not let him rest. His severe
conscience will permit himself no weakness. As he acknowledges himself in his
language of naïve colorations, this interpretation before the mike must be
"exemplary". It is also the opinion of Darrieux, of Cruque, of Moyse, of
Godeau, of Bonneau, the partners of Falla, to play well in the recording which
is going to unfold, and for which Mr. Truc, engineer-musician-director, effects
the final preparations. To each he assigns the place around the microphone
which his experience suggests to him, because the empirical method is the only
one which bears fruit in the present state of recording. The science which has
put electricity to the service of the phonograph has refused to disclose to him
the mysteries of acoustics. The microphone of today is, nearly, that of the
first attempts of 1924-25, and the progress which one can state with certainty
of the latest recordings is due to a better arrangement of instruments
via-à-vis the microphone. To achieve results, one must proceed gropingly. One
may not fix in advance the placement of this or that instrument. This
placement varies not only according to the play of the artist, but also as a
function of the music interpreted and the quality of its harmonics.
But two strokes of the small bell are sounded. A red lamp is illuminated. The
first movement of the _Concerto_ sings quickly. In the neighboring laboratory,
which smells well of hot wax, little or no modification since the previous
year. If certain equipment have changed place, the principle which governs
them remains the same. However the task of one of the two engineers or "disc
producers" has been lightly modified. Whereas the engineer-electrician
continues as before to survey the good operation of the turntable and the
galvanometer, to manipulate lamps and small bells, to examine at the cutter the
engraved waxes; the other, the engineer-recorder, from whom is demanded not so
much a good eye but a good ear, has ceased to regulate the amplification
himself. It turned out, in effect, that this operator with his
power-regulation hand-levers indicated nuances different and sometimes contrary
to those of the performers. This was not always good for the music. Today,
the engineer-recorder has for a mission to follow the score measure by measure
while the loudspeaker mounted above the recording apparatus reproduces the
performance in progress, and to note his observations which will be taken into
account for the definitive result.
Thus the first wax of the _Concerto_ is not judged satisfactory. The sound of
the harpsichord is drowned by that of the winds and strings, even though Falla
had given all his strength, and, despite the technical difficulty, had used
only the lower, more sonorous keyboard of his instrument.
New attempt: the noisy strings are placed farther from the mike and the latter
is advanced toward the quiet harpsichord. (Not too much however, for an
exaggerated oscillation of the recording needle would render the groove very
fragile). This time, the part of the flute is barely perceptible. It is
necessary to begin again. A moment later, everything seems to go for the best,
when Falla leaps up in despair: he has missed a note. Darrieux consoles him,
assuring him that no one is exempt from a mistake, no matter how slight. "Yes,
I know," says Falla with his small rapid accent, "we are all in danger." And
it is resumed. One resumes thus for each of the three parts of the _Concerto_,
until the performance is perfect: in all some fifteen waxes. In this time of
restriction, such a lavishness is delightful. Needless to add that it does not
operate thus for all the artists who queue at the door of the studios. Novices
are accorded but two waxes, taking account of stage-fright and "inspiration".
But that a firm would generously dispense its personnel and the beautiful blond
discs to the service of a great modern artist (given the works sell alas much
less that those of the _Temps du cerises_ or of the _Monastery Garden_), these
compensate well for the bad discs offered to the eagerness of the multitudes.
The heat in the packed studio is stifling. One is astonished at the stamina of
the fragile Falla, who here gives his all: hands at the keyboard, feet on the
pedals; head, elbows and arms marking the measures. Sometimes, when his part
permits him, he leans toward his partners, beats the time, and his emaciated
face, with a quasi-mystical expression, thus makes one imagine the paintings of
Holbein and Dürer.
He does not give himself any respite. During the short instants of rest, he is
again at the keyboard, trying a prélude or a fugue of Bach, or chatting with a
privileged few in his entourage, among home one recognizes one of his
biographers [Roland-Manuel] recently converted to the devil and comic opera,
and this critic and organist who has consecrated the best of his activities to
the cult of Bach [Gustave Bret].
The session has lasted no less than four hours. The recorded work is so new,
so varied in its rich equilibrium, that one listened to it again without
weariness. It is the best proof of its astonishing vitality.
One cannot leave the studio without evoking "the recording of the future."
Already great changes are foreseen. The technique of sound film, one day or
other, will supplant that of the disc. The transparent and light film will
prevail over the heavy opaque platter. But these are rumors behind the scenes
which do not again escape the scarcely ajar door.
MaestroDJS
astounding find was an unopened mint condition Columbia Masterworks LP. This
is the vivid stereo recording of the historic February 1960 reunion of the
Philadelphia Orchestra and Leopold Stokowski. It contains _El amor brujo_ by
Manuel de Falla, and Love Music from Acts II and III of _Tristan und Isolde_ by
Richard Wagner. These performances are priceless, and interest me far more
than the intrinsic value of the record. It cost the princely sum of $2.
Dave
evan johnson
>Manuel de Falla: Harpsichord Concerto
I have been looking for a good recording of this piece without
success. This is probably due to the fact that de Falla's more
popular pieces (el amor brujo, la sombrero des tres picos) doesn't
interest me, so alternative couplings are a virtual necessity. But I
might be willing to concede this point to own the recording you
describe. What label is it on, and what other recordings are
recommendable (regardless of coupling, although please mention if the
couplings are non-Falla!)
thanks.
Evan
MaestroDJS
historical recordings, have been reissued on the following set. See the web
site below for a complete description and review.
http://www2.prestel.co.uk/musicweb/music/classrev/feb99/defalla.htm
MANUEL DE FALLA (1876-1946) Grabaciones Históricas - Historic Recordings
(1923-1976 commercial recordings, radio tapes and live concert hall tapes)
Junta de Andalucia - Consejeria de Cultura Almaviva DS0121 Durations: CD1
[75'25"] CD2 [75'18"] CD3 [65'17"] CD4 [69'15"] 4CDs