Manuel de Falla y Matheu (1876 – 1946) was a Spanish
composer. With Isaac Albéniz and Enrique Granados, he
was one of Spain's most important musicians of the
first half of the 20th century. His image was on
Spain's 1970 100-pesetas banknote.
Falla was born Manuel María de los Dolores Falla y
Matheu in Cádiz. He was the son of José María Falla,
a Valencian, and María Jesús Matheu, from Catalonia
(Hess 2001a).
In 1889 he continued his piano lessons with Alejandro
Odero a...(+)
Manuel de Falla y Matheu (1876 – 1946) was a Spanish
composer. With Isaac Albéniz and Enrique Granados, he
was one of Spain's most important musicians of the
first half of the 20th century. His image was on
Spain's 1970 100-pesetas banknote.
Falla was born Manuel María de los Dolores Falla y
Matheu in Cádiz. He was the son of José María Falla,
a Valencian, and María Jesús Matheu, from Catalonia
(Hess 2001a).
In 1889 he continued his piano lessons with Alejandro
Odero and learned the techniques of harmony and
counterpoint from Enrique Broca. At age 15 he became
interested in literature and journalism and founded the
literary magazines El Burlón and El Cascabel.
Siete canciones populares españolas ("Seven Spanish
Folksongs") is a 1914 set of traditional Spanish songs
arranged for soprano and piano by the composer Manuel
de Falla. Besides being Falla's most-arranged
composition and one of his most popular, it is one of
the most frequently performed sets of Spanish-language
art songs. The set was dedicated to Madame Ida
Godebska.
The styles and provenance of the songs are strikingly
diverse. They are from different parts of Spain: an
asturiana is from Asturias, in the north; the
seguidilla, a type of flamenco, from Murcia, in the
southeast. "Nana" is a lullaby, and "Polo" a wild
desire for revenge on an unfaithful lover. All the
texts deal with love and the courting process, whether
playfully, seriously, or tragically. The first song,
for example, clearly alludes to the importance of
virginity to a girl's value on the marriage market. The
lullaby deals with love's outcome
Although originally written for accompanied Voice, I
created this arrangement for Oboe & Piano.
