Concierto de Aranjuez

Monument devoted to Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto in the city of Aranjuez

The Concierto de Aranjuez (, "Aranjuez Concerto") is a concerto for classical guitar by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Written in 1939, it is by far Rodrigo's best-known work, and its success established his reputation as one of the most significant Spanish composers of the 20th century.

Inspiration and history

Royal Palace of Aranjuez

The Concierto de Aranjuez was inspired by the gardens at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, the spring resort palace and gardens built by Philip II in the last half of the 16th century and rebuilt in the middle of the 18th century by Ferdinand VI. The work attempts to transport the listener to another place and time through the evocation of the sounds of nature.

According to the composer, the first movement is "animated by a rhythmic spirit and vigour without either of the two themes... interrupting its relentless pace"; the second movement "represents a dialogue between classical guitar and solo instruments (cor anglais, bassoon, oboe, horn etc.)"; and the last movement "recalls a courtly dance in which the combination of double and triple time maintains a taut tempo right to the closing bar." He described the concerto itself as capturing "the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains" in the gardens of Aranjuez.

Rodrigo and his wife Victoria stayed silent for many years about the inspiration for the second movement, and thus the popular belief grew that it was inspired by the bombing of Guernica in 1937. In her autobiography, Victoria eventually declared that it was both an evocation of the happy days of their honeymoon and a response to Rodrigo's devastation at the miscarriage of their first pregnancy. It was composed in 1939 in Paris.

Rodrigo dedicated the Concierto de Aranjuez to Regino Sainz de la Maza.

Rodrigo, nearly blind since age three, was a pianist. He did not play the guitar, yet he still managed to capture and project the role of the guitar in Spanish music.

Composition

Composed in early 1939, in Paris, amid the tensions of the impending war, it was the first work Rodrigo wrote for guitar and orchestra. The instrumentation is unusual: rarely does the guitar face the forces of a full orchestra. Thus, the guitar is never overwhelmed.

Premiere

The premiere of the Concierto de Aranjuez was held on 9 November 1940 at the Palau de la Música Catalana, in Barcelona. It was performed by guitarist Regino Sainz de la Maza with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Barcelona conducted by César Mendoza Lasalle.

On 11 December 1940, the concerto received its first performance in Madrid, at the Teatro Español de Madrid conducted by Jesús Arámbarri, with the same soloist. The United States premiere was given by Rey de la Torre on 19 November 1959, with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Robert Shaw.

Structure

This concerto is in three movements, Allegro con spirito, Adagio and Allegro gentile. The first and last movements are in D major, while the famous middle movement is in B minor. Along with the solo guitar, it is scored for an orchestra consisting of two flutes (one doubling on piccolo), two oboes (one doubling on cor anglais), two clarinets in B♭, two bassoons, two horns in F, two trumpets in C, and strings.

First movement

The first movement's 40-measure introduction begins with the solo guitar strumming a three-measure theme in 6/8. The theme is made of tonic, supertonic, and dominant chords and features a flamenco-like hemiola rhythm. As it repeats several times, the tonic chord's uppermost note gets higher, starting with the third, then using the fifth, the tonic, and the fifth again.

Introduction (guitar) \header { tagline = "" } foo = << \relative c \new Staff { \key d \major \time 6/8 \clef "treble_8" \set Staff.midiInstrument = "acoustic guitar (nylon)" \tempo "Allegro con spirito" 4. = 84 \override TextSpanner #'dash-fraction = #'() \override TextSpanner #'font-shape = #'upright \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text) = \markup { "C. 2ª" } \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details right text) = \markup { \draw-line #'(0 . -2) } \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details right padding) = #-3 \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left stencil-align-dir-y) = #0.8 \stemUp <d a' d fis>8\arpeggio\pp \startTextSpan q16\arpeggio q\arpeggio q8\arpeggio q\arpeggio q16\arpeggio q\arpeggio q8\arpeggio | q\arpeggio r <d b' e g>\arpeggio \stopTextSpan r <d a' cis e>\arpeggio r | <d a' d fis>\arpeggio \startTextSpan q16 q q8 q^> <d b' e g> \stopTextSpan <d a' cis e> | \override DynamicTextSpanner #'dash-period = #-1.0 <d a' d fis>8\cresc \startTextSpan q16 q q8 q q16 q q8 | q r <d b' e g> \stopTextSpan r <d a' cis e> r | <d a' d fis> \startTextSpan q16 q q8 q^> <d b' e g> \stopTextSpan <d a' cis e> | \break \repeat unfold 2 { <d d' fis a>8 q16 q q8 q q16 q q8 | q r <d g e' b'> r <d b' e g> r | <d d' fis a> q16 q q8 q^> <d g e' b'> <d b' e g> | } \break \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text) = \markup { "C. 7ª" } <d, a' d d' fis d'>\ff \startTextSpan q16 q q8 q q16 q q8 | q \stopTextSpan r <d a' d g' b e> r <d a' d e' g cis> r | <d a' d d' fis d'> \startTextSpan q16 q q8 q^>\> <d a' d g' b e> \stopTextSpan <d a' d e' g cis>\! | } \new Dynamics { \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left-broken text) = ##f \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details right-broken text) = ##f \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text) = \markup { "Rasgueado" } s2.\startTextSpan | s4. s \stopTextSpan | \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text) = \markup { "sigue" } \override TextSpanner #'dash-period = #-1.0 s2. \startTextSpan | s s s s s s s s \stopTextSpan } >> \score { \foo \layout { % ragged-last = ##t indent = 0\cm line-width = #140 } } \score { \unfoldRepeats \foo \midi { } } Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file. 1st theme (1st oboe and 1st violins) \relative c'' \new Staff \with { \remove "Time_signature_engraver" } { \key d \major \time 6/8 \clef "treble" \set Staff.midiInstrument = "oboe" \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4. = 84 \partial 4. r8 d-.\f fis-. \once \override Score.BarNumber #'break-visibility = ##(#f #t #t) \set Score.currentBarNumber = #45 \bar "|" a4-. a8-. a-. a-. a-. | a2. ~ | a4. r8 d,-. fis-. | a4-. a8-. a( b-.) g-. | a2. ~ | a4. r8 a-.\< b-. | cis4.\! b8( a-. g-. | a->( fis4 ~ fis4. ~ | fis } Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file. 2nd theme (guitar, D major to E♭ major) \relative c'' \new Staff \with { \remove "Time_signature_engraver" } { \key d \major \time 6/8 \clef "treble_8" \set Staff.midiInstrument = "acoustic guitar (nylon)" \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4. = 84 \partial 8 << { \set stringNumberOrientations = #'(down) \override StringNumber #'staff-padding = #'() \override TextSpanner #'dash-fraction = #'() \override TextSpanner #'font-shape = #'upright \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text) = \markup { "C. 7ª" } \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details right text) = \markup { \draw-line #'(0 . -2) } \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details right padding) = #-3 \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left stencil-align-dir-y) = #0.8 b8^\markup { \dynamic mf \italic "grazioso" } | \once \override Score.BarNumber #'break-visibility = ##(#f #t #t) \set Score.currentBarNumber = #83 \bar "|" d \startTextSpan b d \stopTextSpan r e cis | a\2 fis\3 b\rest b4\rest b8 \startTextSpan | d b d \stopTextSpan r e \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text) = \markup { "C. 10ª" } r \startTextSpan | fis d \stopTextSpan b\rest b\rest b\rest fis' | \acciaccatura { g16 } g8 es^\2 g r <es a>4 | } \\ { \override StringNumber #'staff-padding = #'() r8 | <e,, b' g'> a,4 g'8 | d,4 a''8\5 <cis,\6 d>16 d <cis d> d r8 | <e b' g'> a,4 a''8 | d,,,4 a''8\5 <cis,\6 d>16 r8 | g4. g } >> } Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file.

Second movement

The second movement in B minor, the best-known of the three, is marked by its slow pace and quiet melody, introduced by the cor anglais, with a soft accompaniment by the guitar and strings. A feeling of quiet regret permeates the piece. Ornamentation is added gradually to the melody in the beginning. An off-tonic trill in the guitar creates the first seeds of tension in the piece; they grow and take hold, but relax back to the melody periodically. Eventually, a climactic build-up starts. This breaks back into the main melody, molto appassionato, voiced by the strings with accompaniment from the woodwinds. The piece finally resolves to a calm arpeggio from the guitar, though it is the strings in the background rather than the guitar's final note that resolve the piece.

Introduction (guitar, B minor) \relative c \new Staff { \key b \minor \time 4/4 \clef "treble_8" \set Staff.midiInstrument = "acoustic guitar (nylon)" \tempo "Adagio" 4 = 44 \override TextSpanner #'dash-fraction = #'() \override TextSpanner #'font-shape = #'upright \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text) = \markup { "C. 2ª" } \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details right text) = \markup { \draw-line #'(0 . -2) } \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details right padding) = #-3 \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left stencil-align-dir-y) = #0.8 \stemUp <b fis' b d fis b>4\mf\arpeggio \startTextSpan q\arpeggio q\arpeggio q\arpeggio \stopTextSpan | } Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file. Theme (English horn) \header { tagline = "" } foo = \relative c' \new Staff { \key b \minor \time 4/4 \clef "treble" \set Staff.midiInstrument = "english horn" \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 44 \set Score.currentBarNumber = #2 \bar "" \override TupletBracket #'stencil = ##f \override Score.SpacingSpanner #'common-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1 2) fis32\(\p e_\markup { \italic dolce } fis8. ~ fis4 ~ fis8\) fis16\( g a8 \acciaccatura { b32 } a16 g | fis32 e fis8. ~ fis4 ~ fis16) } b8 cis\) | \acciaccatura { cis32\! } a16\( g g fis \times 2/3 { fis( e d) } e8 ~ e16\) fis\( d cis d8 \times 2/3 { e16( cis b) } | \break cis32 b cis8. ~ cis4 ~ cis16 e8 d16 cis) | cis8(\> b ~ b2.)\! } \score { \foo \layout { indent = 0\cm ragged-last = ##t } } \score { \foo \midi { } } Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file.

Third movement

The third movement is in mixed metre, alternating between 2/4 and 3/4. At the beginning of the movement, four-measure phrases containing 9 beats in total are formed from one 3/4 measure followed by three 2/4 measures. As the movement progresses, the metre becomes more irregular. It begins with the guitar starting the theme in the "wrong" key of B major, but the orchestra restates it in the home key of D major.

Theme (guitar, B major) \header { tagline = "" } foo = \relative c \new Staff { \key d \major \time 2/4 \clef "treble_8" \set Staff.midiInstrument = "acoustic guitar (nylon)" \overrideTimeSignatureSettings 3/4 % timeSignatureFraction 1/4 % baseMomentFraction #'(1 1 1) % beatStructure #'() % beamExceptions \tempo "Allegro gentile" 4 = 164 \partial 4 fis8\f fis \time 3/4 << { \override TextSpanner #'dash-fraction = #'() \override TextSpanner #'font-shape = #'upright \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left text) = \markup { "C. 2ª" } \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details right text) = \markup { \draw-line #'(0 . -2) } \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details right padding) = #-3 \override TextSpanner #'(bound-details left stencil-align-dir-y) = #0.8 b4 b8 b cis cis | \time 2/4 dis4 b | b cis8 ais | b4 fis8 fis | \break \time 3/4 b4 b8 b cis cis | \time 2/4 dis4 b | b cis8 ais | b4 dis8 e | \break \time 3/4 fis4 fis8 gis e e | \time 2/4 dis4 b | b cis8 \startTextSpan ais \stopTextSpan | b4 dis8 e | \break \time 3/4 fis4 fis8 gis e e | \time 2/4 dis4 b | b cis8 \startTextSpan ais \stopTextSpan | b4 } \\ { b,4 dis fis_\4 | b ais | gis fis | e8 dis dis cis | b4 dis fis | b ais | gis fis | e8 dis cis4 | dis8 e fis4 fis8 gis | e e dis4 | b b8 cis | dis4 cis4 | dis8 e fis4 fis8 gis | e e dis4 | b b8 cis | dis4 } >> } \score { \foo \layout { indent = 0\cm line-width = #150 } \midi {} } Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file.

Interpretations

The concerto was recorded for the first time in either 1947 or 1948 by guitarist Regino Sainz de la Maza with the Orquesta Nacional de España, conducted by Ataúlfo Argenta, on 78 rpm records. This recording was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame. Narciso Yepes then made two early recordings of the Aranjuez, both also with Argenta – one in mono with the Madrid Chamber Orchestra (released between 1953 and 1955), and the second in stereo with the Orquesta Nacional de España (recorded in 1957 and released in 1959). Although Ida Presti gave the French premiere of the Concierto de Aranjuez in 1948, the first female classical guitarist to record the concerto was Renata Tarragó (1958 or 1959) – who played with fingertips rather than fingernails – accompanied by the Orquesta de Conciertos de Madrid, conducted by Odón Alonso. William Yeoman provides a discographical survey of recordings of the concerto in Gramophone magazine. Due to his extremely lengthy recording career, Julian Bream had ample room to record Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" five times. Four of those recordings appeared on record albums and one was recorded on film for the final segment of the film series ¡Guitarra! A Musical Journey Through Spain. Each time Julian Bream used a different combination of orchestra and conductor. Charo has played the Concerto in concert and in an album.

Until asked to perform and interpret Concierto de Aranjuez in 1991, the Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía was not proficient at reading musical notation, and José María Gallardo Del Rey advised and directed him musically. De Lucía claimed in Paco de Lucía-Light and Shade: A Portrait that he gave greater emphasis to rhythmical accuracy in his interpretation of the Concierto at the expense of the perfect tone preferred by classical guitarists. Composer Joaquín Rodrigo later declared that no one had ever played his composition in such a brilliant manner.

At the request of Nicanor Zabaleta, Rodrigo transcribed the Concierto for harp and orchestra in 1974.

Jazz musician Miles Davis reinterpreted the second movement of the work on his album Sketches of Spain (1960), in the company of arranger Gil Evans. Davis stated: "That melody is so strong that the softer you play it, the stronger it gets, and the stronger you play it, the weaker it gets." Columbia, the label that released Sketches of Spain, had not asked the composer for permission to record or adapt his music, and Rodrigo did not learn of the recording until after its release in 1960, when the blind jazz pianist Tete Montoliu, who claimed to have been the first person in Spain to own a copy of the album, played it for the maestro and his family. Rodrigo was irate that the American record label had used his music without permission. Aside from the fact that he, as the composer, had not been asked for permission, “which he considered a violation of moral rights," Rodrigo also tried to block the jazz and pop recordings from being released, before realizing, "In the end, the composer resigned himself to accept the fact that the pop versions reached a far greater public than that of classical music concertgoers, and led to much wider recognition of the original classical concerto for guitar and orchestra, Concierto de Aranjuez." In fact, "Rodrigo changed his mind and came to accept the subsequent jazz recordings of his music in part because the legal terms of use were resolved (Ediciones Joaquín Rodrigo now owns the Gil Evans arrangement), but also in part because these versions, far from obliterating the original guitar concerto, have helped disseminate it." The composer's wife, Victoria Kamhi, was very harsh in her memoir, however, referring to the Miles Davis recording as "an act of piracy." She described how Rodrigo attempted to sue the SGAE in February 1967 in the Palace of Justice for authorizing the transcription of the Concierto for trumpet and jazz, which Davis recorded, but, "we lost the case, for the judge's opinion was that, since Miles Davis' record had granted authors' rights to Joaquín, he had no redress against the SGAE."

The concierto was the center of the "Friday night in San Francisco" live concert by Paco De Lucia, Al di Meola and John McLaughlin in 1981

Rodrigo's title of nobility

On 30 December 1991, Rodrigo was raised to the Spanish nobility by King Juan Carlos I with the title of Marqués de los Jardines de Aranjuez (English: Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez).

References

  1. ^ Rodrigo, Victoria Kamhi de (1 March 1992). Hand in hand with Joaquín Rodrigo: my life at the maestro's side. Latin American Literary Review Press. ISBN 9780935480511.
  2. ^ Victor Coelho and Jonathan Cross: The Cambridge Companion to the Guitar (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 188.
  3. ^ Annala, Hannu; Heiki Mätlik (2008). Handbook of Guitar and Lute Composers. Mel Bay Publications. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-7866-5844-2.
  4. ^ "Joaquín Rodrigo: A Life". Classicfm.com. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  5. ^ Michael Macmeeken. "Liner notes for CD,'Concierto de Aranjuez: The Premier Recording.'". Incidentally, Macmeeken gives the date of the premiere of the Aranjuez, by Sainz de la Maza in Barcelona, as 9 Oct. 1940.
  6. ^ "Latin Grammy Hall of Fame – 2001". Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  7. ^ "SoundStage! Ultra | SoundStageUltra.com (UltraAudio.com)". Ultraaudio.com. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  8. ^ The World's Encyclopaedia of Recorded Music, Supplement III .
  9. ^ Barratt, Paul (23 August 2009). "Australian Observer: Narciso Yepes and the Concierto de Aranjuez". Aussieobserver.blogspot.com. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  10. ^ John W. Duarte, "Presti, Ida", in Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001).
  11. ^ William Yeoman. "Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez: which recording is best?". Gramophone. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  12. ^ "Concierto de Aranjuez". Julianbreamguitar.com. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Concierto de Aranjuez". Pacodelucia.org. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  14. ^ Ann Griffiths, "Zabaleta, Nicanor", in Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001).
  15. ^ Shaw, Robert (2008). Hand Made, Hand Played: The Art & Craft of Contemporary Guitar. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-57990-787-7.
  16. ^ Antoni Pizà, "The fusions and confusions of the Concierto de Aranjuez in jazz: A listener's musings." In Marta Mateo, Cristina Lacomba and Natalie Ramírez (eds.), From Spain to the United States: Joaquín Rodrigo's Transatlantic Legacy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Instituto Cervantes at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University, 2019, 71.
  17. ^ "The pop version of the famous melody of the second movement, Adagio." Ediciones Joaquín Rodrigo website. Accessed 6 April 2021.
  18. ^ Pizà, 72.
  19. ^ Rodrigo, Victoria Kamhi de (1 March 1992). Hand in hand with Joaquín Rodrigo: my life at the maestro's side. Latin American Literary Review Press. p. 225. ISBN 9780935480511.
  20. ^ Rodrigo, Victoria Kamhi de (1 March 1992). Hand in hand with Joaquín Rodrigo: my life at the maestro's side. Latin American Literary Review Press. p. 226-227. ISBN 9780935480511.
  21. ^ CIDD, France-Soir, May 2009
  22. ^ Mayer, Geoff (2003). Guide to British Cinema. Greenwodd Publishing Group. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-313-30307-4.
  23. ^ Guitar World. "Spinal Tap Sits Down with Guitar World, Part 2". www.spinaltapfan.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  24. ^ Santana Brothers, Track 4
  25. ^ "Otras disposiciones" (PDF). Boe.es. 31 December 1991. Retrieved 23 December 2017.

Further reading

External links

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