Presents
Isaac Albeniz
Cordoba from Cantos de España, Op.232 for String Quartet
Cordoba, like most of Albeniz's works were for the piano, although he did write some operas. Surprisingly, his most popular works, the Suite Española Nos. 1 and 2, and the Suites España and Iberia, all for the piano are have become better known in transcriptions for the classical guitar. Cadiz from Suite Española No.1 is heard most often on the guitar. Similarly, Granada, Sevilla, Cataluña, Asturias, the Tango in D. and several other pieces are more familiar from performances by guitarists. Albeniz wrote Cordoba as a separate piano work and it was published in 1898 and dubbed Chants d' Espagne, Op. 232. Cordoba was placed fourth. Cordoba was one of Albeniz's favorite cities, at times sacred to the muslim Moors and later the Catholics. The music begins with a short introduction meant to convey the sound of church bells and a kind of hymn resembling the Christian liturgy. This leads to the main section, a contrasting kind of flamenco serenade.
Sadly, Albeniz wrote no chamber music, however, arrangements of several of the above mentioned works, such as Cordoba, are every bit as effective, if not more so, for an ensemble such as the string quartet as they are for the guitar. It is in this spirit that we present our arrangement of Cordoba for string quartet.
Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909) was born in the Spanish town of Camprodon in the province of Catalonia. However, he never thought of himself as Catalonian and never spoke the language. He considered himself Spanish and although raised a Catholic believed himself to be of Jewish and Moorish descent as so many in Andalusia and Catalonia were. He began to study the piano at an early age and it was quickly discovered that he was a child prodigy of the highest order. He studied piano with a series of famous teachers and pianists, including Antoine Marmortel, Reinecke and Franz Liszt. He enjoyed a career as soloist, but also as a conductor and composer. Albéniz's influence on Spanish music was profound. His activities as conductor, performer and composer significantly raised the profile of Spanish music abroad and encouraged Spanish music and musicians in his own country.
Parts: $12.95
Parts & Score: $16.95
