Manuel de Falla and Andalusia

Abstract

As a Spanish musician, I have always found Manuel de Falla to be one of our greatest representatives in the world of classical music. He wrote Spanish music, but his compositions often find a source of inspiration in other types of music. Moreover, they project the interests and knowledge of a man who earned the respect and admiration of the most important composers of his generation. However, I was very surprised as a piano student when I realised that several of my colleagues had never heard of him. This made me wonder about how many fine musicians around the world might be unaware of Manuel de Falla’s music and its qualities. I believe a practical approach to his piano compositions might be of great help for pianists and musicians who wish to become more familiar with this music. In order to achieve this, acquiring some knowledge about basic features underlying Spanish music from Falla’s era seems an important part of this journey.

Flamenco is a popular term but not everyone knows what it is. We often think about the use of castanets and the Spanish guitar, and it is right to relate those to Flamenco. However, it is the variety of rhythms and musical features that makes flamenco or 'cante jondo' something unique - in 2010, UNESCO declared flamenco one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. In his writing El ‘cante jondo’: Sus orígenes, sus valores musicales, su influencia en el arte musical europeo’, Manuel de Falla describes cante jondo thus:

‘The name cante jondo is given to a group of Andalusian songs whose genuine type we believe to recognise in the so-called Gypsy siguiriya, from which others come, such as the polos, martinetes and soleares, still preserved by the people. Those songs contain several features that make them distinguish within the wide group formed by the songs that the common people call flamenco.’

Falla wrote this short text for the inauguration of the Cante Jondo Competition, held in Granada in 1922. He was the main promoter of the contest, and it was supported by several highly influential artists of the time: poets Federico García Lorca and Juan Ramón Jiménez, painter Ignacio Zuloaga, composers Joaquín Turina, Federico Mompou, Conrado del Campo, guitarist Andrés Segovia. These Spanish reformers were trying to modernise and transform Spain and its people: their aim was to nourish and elevate cante jondo, and to counter the then-current flood of antiflamenquismo raised by the ‘Generation of 1898’. Manuel de Falla deliberately and decisively took his music in that direction, integrating cante jondo dances into non-folk musical settings such as the piano and the orchestra. This is most explicit in his Fantasia Baetica and Nights in the Gardens of Spain. One of my goals in this research is to analyse and identify those specific dances and the pervading influence of cante jondo in Falla’s piano works.

I also consider it crucial to present Manuel de Falla in his entirety: a Spanish composer who got close to a wide spectrum of musical and artistic experiences, greatly enriching his creative process. Moreover, I would like to contribute to the interpretative and performative aspect of Falla’s piano music. Making musical decisions is probably the main task that a performer has to deal with: choosing a particular option automatically implies cancelling many others. I especially find that decision-making process most fascinating when a lot of detailed sources and information are available. A major part of my research consists of closely analysing all of that material for the purpose of informed performance practice of Falla’s music.

Understanding the performative decisions made by great pianists, conductors and singers from the past plays a decisive role in my research process. The Manuel de Falla Archive in Granada (Spain) provides me with invaluable information about the composer. In the future, I believe some of this research could be transformed into a critical edition of Falla’s piano music, for which I find Dr Roy Howat’s work in this field highly inspiring. Since much of the material related to Manuel de Falla is only available in Spanish, I hope my work can provide information and knowledge to a wider audience for future reference when working on his music.

Main image: Leaflet for the Cante Jondo Competition organised by Manuel de Falla, with a vignette by Manuel Ángeles Ortiz. From the Manuel de Falla Archive.

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Bio

Spanish pianist Jon Urdapilleta has been awarded prizes in various competitions, such as the Silver Medal awarded at the 1st Vienna International Music Competition (2019). He has given several solo recitals, most notably those organised by Quincena Musical in San Sebastian, Festival International Piano Classique in Biarritz and the Juan March Foundation in Madrid. Jon has performed in venues such as the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastian, Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao, Mozart Auditorium in Zaragoza, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Auditorio Nacional and Teatro Real in Madrid and St. John’s Smith Square in London. He recently made his solo debut with the Basque National Orchestra. In addition to his role as a soloist, he collaborates in concerts with the Orfeón Donostiarra choir.

Jon initially studied piano at the San Sebastian Music School with his mother, Maria Isabel Martín. He continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he obtained the Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts with Pascal Nemirovski and Rustem Hayroudinoff, graduating with Distinction. At the same time, he studied Orchestral Conducting with Dominic Grier and Sian Edwards. He previously pursued a Master’s Degree in Music Research at the Valencia International University (VIU) with Dr Ana Llorens. He is grateful for the support of Fundación Kutxa, Diputación de Gipuzkoa and Royal Academy of Music during his studies.