Rodrigo Graham - Wade [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

Distant Sarabandes The Solo Guitar Music of ]oaquin Rodrigo

Graham Wade )

GRM. Publications

Contents

Acknowledgements Preface 1. The Musical Background 2. Zarabanda lejana, En los trigales 3. Tiento antigua 4. Bajando de la meseta, Tres piezas espaiîolas 5. Junto al Generalife, Entre olivares, En tierras de Jerez 6. Sonata giocosa, Tonadilla, lnvocaciôn y danza 7. Tres pequeiîas piezas, Sonata a la espaiîola 8. Ela gia de la guitarra 9. Pdjaros de primavera 10. Dos preludios, Trîptico 11. Un tiempo fue Itdlica jamo7a 12. Dos pequeiîas fantasîas 13. The Achievement Appendices I Notes and References II Select Bibliography III Discography

Vlll IX

1 8 15 19 27 32 40 45 49 53 56 59 63

67 68 69

Acknowledgements The author would like to express his deep appreciation for ali who have helped in the writing of this book. In particular my thanks are due to Maestro Joaqufn Rodrigo and his daughter, Cecilia Rodrigo, theirfamily, and ali the staff at Ediciones Joaqufn Rodrigo, whose support and encouragement for this project have been so enthusiastically given over the years. I must also thank them for their kind permission to use the portrait of Maestro Rodrigo by Joaqufn Vaquera Turcios for the cover, and the photograph. My gratitude mustalso go to the following: to Catherine Dickinson and Andrew Liepins of the Spanish Guitar Centre, Nottingham for their unfailing generosity in the provision of music, information and records: to Colin Cooper and Maurice Summerfield for publishing aspects of this book in Classical Guitar between October 1992 and October 1993: to my wife, Elizabeth, for advice, proof-reading and editorial labours undertaken with devotion, as ever, over and above the cali of duty. Grateful acknowledgement for use of varions quoted material is due to: Joaqufn Rodrigo, Ediciones Joaqufn Rodrigo;Victoria Kamhi, Latin American Review Press, Pittsburgh; Vicente Vayâ Pla and his biography, Joaqu(n Rodrigo, su vida y su obra, Real Musical, Madrid; Raymond Calcraft;JoaqufnAmauAmo; Gregory Allen & Linton Powell; Becky and David Starobin, Bridge Records Inc., New York; John W. Duarte; The Gramophone; Colin Cooper, Maurice Summerfield, Classical Guitar; J. G. Gili, Penguin Books; John Williams, CBS Records;FedericoSopefia, Marion Boyars Ltd, London; Juan Riera; Luis Seco de LucenaParedes; Sergio FemândezBravo; AntonioRuiz-Pipo;JoeNickerson;Manfred Dahmer. viii

Preface This book commemorates the 95th birthday of Joaqufn Rodrigo and is an introduction to sorne of the finest solo guitar music ever written. Yet the depths and variety of his guitar works have not al ways been full y appreciated by guitarists or the public. It is on! y recent! y that detailed attention has been paid to the significance of Rodrigo's contribution to the guitar repertoire over the years between 1926 and 1987. In 1985 the present au thor was asked to wri te a book on the famous Concierto de Aranjuez and this was sufficient to augment admiration of a masterpiece of a very special kind. From there it was a natural progression to move to a study of the solo guitar music. Rodrigo's guitar works excite our imagination and our sense of the vitality of Spanish music. He has listened intently to the distant sarabandes of the past and through his art has united so many traditions oflberian culture. He continues the great line of inspiration which stretches through Albéniz and Granados, and the work of Manuel de Falla and Joaqufn Turina. But he goes beyond this to a living awareness of the earl y Spanish traditions, of the vihuela of Luis Milân and the guitar of Gaspar Sanz. He is, at the same time, profoundly indebted to French impressionism, to Debussy, Ravel, and to his teacher Dukas. Any great creative artist whose work has notreceivedits due is, (as F.R. Leavis once said), 'a power for !ife wasted'. Treasures should not be squandered and the art of Joaqufn Rodrigo deserves our utmost attention and admiration. G.W. Leeds, England, July, 1996

ix

Chapter 1. The Musical Background Joaqufn Rodrigo's solo guitarmusic has been widely recorded and constitutes a familiar and enduring part of the recital repertoire. Perhaps because of the remarkable appeal of his Concierto de Aranjuez, Rodrigo's contribution to the solo instrument has tended, until qui te recent! y, to be, if anything, undervalued and sometimes misunderstood. Rodrigo is after ail (in the line of Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Ponce and Moreno Torroba), one of the great perennial writers for guitar, a composer who has consistent! y remained true to the instrument and produced work of a lasting nature. His guitar pieces, with their inimitable vocabulary and idioms, are unique! y his own, and, at their fin est, instant! y recognisable, Iingering in the ear for a lifetime, once beard, never forgotten. The predominant aspect of his approach to the guitar is not usually flamboyant. Spanish music, as expressed through Rodrigo, tends towards inwardness, austerity, discipline, fewer notes rather than too many. In this respect Rodrigo's solo guitar works are somewhat less florid or expansive than his concerto writing for guitar. Discussion of Spanish musical style in generalised terms can sometimes be misleading. J.B. Trend, writing in the earl y 1920's, found it very necessary to putto rest sorne of the false assumptions about the 'Spanish idiom' and the 'Spanish style', held not only by non-Spaniards but also by the Spanish themsel ves: 1

In spite ofali the Spanish music which has be en heard in recent years, the only kind which many people -even Spanish people - can immediate/y recognise as 'Spanish' re mains substantially whatitwas fifty years ago; while modern Spanish music which does not conform to this type is apt to be coldly received and never played again. The type was dejinitely established in Europe by the production of Carmen in 1876, and then spread by such worksas Lalo's Capriccio and the pianoforte duets of Moszkowski, while it was treated by Chabrier as a splendid joke ... Carmen has become, for the non-Spanish world, the mirror of the Spanish sou/, the pattern of Spanish music. Yet Carmen herse/fis by no me ans a normal Spanish type, or even an abnormal Spanish type which is specijically Spanish, and the few genuinely Spanish touches in the music are not derived direct/y from folk-song. 1 That 'which many people - even Spanish people - can immediate! y recognise as Spanish', has been considerabl y broadened since the early 1920's. Bizet's Carmen may still be regarded by sorne as typically 'Spanish' music, but for sorne years tbe public have become increasingly acquainted with tbe true Spanish music of Albéniz, Granados and Falla. In addition Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez has achieved universal populari ty and is sure! y now at the he art of e veryone' s essential Spanish experience in music. Y etRodrigo's famous Concerto cannat be considered as characteristic of his guitar style. The presence of an orchestra written in terms of a huge guitar, pulsating behind the soloist in a process of mutual reflection of sonorities, seems to inspire the composer towards a rich romanticism. Similar effects of luxuriance and melodie ecstasy are not often fou nd in Rodrigo' s solo pieces.

2

Rodrigo's guitar compositions thus possess their own identity, en ti rely appropria te to the solo instrument. His output remains remarkabl y uninfluenced by the archetypal masters of Spanish romanticism, Isaac Albéniz and Enrique Granados, and the precedents oftheirsensuous pianism. Rodrigo's finest contributions to the repertoire owe immeasurably more to the example of Manuel de Falla's Homenaje, "Le Tombeau de Debussy", to Turina's Fandanguillo, with their austere !ines, and to the picturesque but compact guitar vignettes of Moreno Torroba. Within Rodrigo's output there is immense variety in rerrns of structure and content. But his understanding of the guitar favours a conciseness of statement to create whatever mood is intended. ln this he is influenced directly by the flamenco guitar of Andalusia. Manuel de Falla expressed his own particular vision of the guitar's role in the art of Spanish and European music, a view which Rodrigo's compositions implicitly endorse:

The use ofthe guitar made by the people re presents two clearly determined musical values: the rhythmic value, external and immediately perceptible, and the purely tonal- harmonie value ... The harmonie effects that our guitar players unintentionally achieve are one of the marvels ofnatural art. Even more, we believe that our fifteenth-century instrumentalists were probably the first ta add a harmonie accompaniment (with chords) ta the vocal or instrumental me lady. And letit be clear thatwe do notrefer ta the MoorishAndalusian music, but ta the Cas tiZian; we should not mistake the Moorish guitar for the Latin ... The primitive way of playing the Castilian guitar is ta strum it, and this is still ojten heard among the people. That is why the use of the Moorishinstrumentwasandis, melodie, like 3

the lute and the bandurria, whereas the junction ofthe SpanishLatin guitar was harmonie, be cause if one strums the strings, only chords come out. Many will say that those chords are barbarian. We a.ffirm instead, that they are a marvellous revelation of unsuspected possibilities of sounds. 2 Whereas the traditional Spanish guitarists, from various parts of Spain, 'unintentionally' achieved amazing harmonie surprises, Rodrigo explores the guitar's possibilities more deliberately and analytically. Thus his music continues the age-old fascination with the mysteries of the guitar's harmonie chemistry, its combinations of dissonances and open string effects characteristic of fretted instrument compositions since the sixteenth century. Rhythmic patterns, evoking the dances of flamenco, recur in Rodrigo's music, coming naturally out of the concept of the guitar as a strummed instrument. But monodie passages can also be found juxtaposed with chordal sections in a manner reminiscent of Renaissance vihuela compositions, where redobles (scale runs) frequently altemate with consonancias (chords). Throughout this book it is intended to look more closely at the specifie textures and timbres of sorne of Rodrigo's guitar masterpieces and to see how contrasting elements of his style are integrated. It is extraordinary how long a time span his writings for guitar cover, and how numero us were the leading guitarists for whom Rodrigo wrote. Here is a list of the solo guitar works, with dedications:

Zarabandalejana(l926),EditionsMaxEschig, 1934,ed.Pujol, Ediciones Joaqufn Rodrigo, 1993, ed. Pepe Romero. 'A la vihuela de Luis Milan'.

4

En los trigales (1938), Ediciones Musicales Madrid, 1958, ed. Yepes. 'A Narciso Yepes'. Republished Ediciones Joaqufn Rodrigo, 1994, ed. P. Ramera. Fandango del ventorrillo (originally for pianoforte) (1938), Editions Max Eschig, 1965, arr. Pujol for two guitars. Tiento antigua (1947), Bote & Bock, 1957, ed. Behrend. Dedicated to Siegfried Behrend. Bajandode la meseta (1954),Schott, 1963,ed. NicolâsAlfonso. Dedicated to Nicolâs Alfonso. Ediciones Joaqufn Rodrigo, 1991, revised Pepe Ramera. Tres piezas espaiiolas (l.Fandango 2.Passacaglia 3. Zapateado) (1954), Schott, 1963, ed. Andrés Segovia. Dedicated to Andrés Segovia. Junto al Generalife (c. 1955), Bote & Bock, 1957, ed. Behrend. 'A Siegfried Behrend'. Entre olivares (1956), Schott, 1958, ed. Yepes. 'A Manuel L6pez Ramas'. Sonata giocosa (1. Allegro moderato 2. Andante moderato 3. Allegro) (c. 1958), Chester, 1960. 'A Renata Tarrag6'. En tierras de Jerez (c. 1960) (Sometimes entitled Par Tierras de Jerez), Ricordi,1961, ed. Miguel Abl6niz. 'Para Luise Walker'.

5

Tonadilla (two guitars) (1960), Ricordi, 1964. 'A Ida Presti et Alexandre Lagoya'. Invocation et Danse (Hommage à Manuel de Falla) (c.19591961), Editions Françaises de Musique, 1962. lnvocaciôn y danza (Homenaje a Manuel de Falla), Ediciones Joaqufn Rodrigo, 1993, ed. Pepe Romero. 'A Alirio Diaz'. Tres pequeiias piezas (1. Ya se van los pastores 2. Par caminos de Santiago 3. Pequeiia sevillana) (c.1962), Editions Max Eschig, 1963, ed. Regino Sainz de la Maza. 1. 'AHeitorVilla-Lobos' 2. 'ACeliaSalomondeFont' 3. 'A Robert Vidal'. Sonata a la espaiiola (1. Allegro assai 2. Adagio 3. Allegro moderato - Tiempo de Bolero) (c.1969), Editions Max Eschig, 1969. 'A Ernesto Bi tetti'. Elogio de la guitarra (1. Allegro 2. Andantino 3. Allegro) (1971), Bèrben, 1971. 'Ad Angelo Gilardino'. Pâjaros de primavera (1972), Union Musical Espafiola, 1973. 'Para la Sra. Take Takahashi '. Deux Préludes (1. Adagio 2. Allegro) (1977), Editions Max Eschig, 1978, ed. Celedonio Romero. 'À Celedonio Romero'. Trfptico(l.Preludio 2.Nocturno 3.Scherzino) (1978), Schott, 1985, ed. Alexandre Lagoya. 'À Alexandre Lagoya'.

6

Un tiempo .fue ltdlica jamosa (1980), Schott, 1989, ed. Angel Romero. 'para Angel Romero'. Dos pequeiias fantasîas (! - Qué buen caminito! Il - Ecos de Sejarad) (1987), Ediciones Joaquîn Rodrigo, 1992. I. 'Para América Martînez'.

7

Chapter 2. Zarabanda lejana, En los trigales Joaqufn Rodrigo's first composition for guitar was Zarabanda lejana, written in 1926 (later scored for orchestra, along with a Villancico to form a diptych). Rodrigo's own account links his first meeting with the great Catalan guitar maestro, Emilio Pujol, to the published guitar edition: Itwas the year 1926 whenl had the goodfortune tome et Emilio Pujol, l had just written my jirst work for guitar, Zarabanda lejana, which sorne time later Pujol would publish in his collection ofthe Max Eschig Editions, and he made sorne warm and enthusiastic remarks which had a considerable influence on the music which llater wrote for the instrument. 1

In her book, De la mano de Joaqu(n Rodrigo, Victoria Kamhi tells how Rodrigo arrived in Paris to study with Paul Dukas. In his suitcase was Zarabanda lejana along with other earl y works including Suite para piano, Cinco piezas infantiles and Preludio al gallo mafianero. 2 In 1927 Manuel de Falla visited Paris to receive the award of Legion of Honour. To celebrate the occasion a concert was arranged and though intended mainly for Falla's own music, works from other composers such as Turina and Halffter were included. Seizing his opportunity Rodrigo performed Preludio al gallo mafianero and Zarabanda lejana on pianoforte to an audience made up, as Kamhi described it, of the 'cream of the French intelligentsia'. Such was the success of Rodrigo's music that various publishers offered contracts to the young man and thus Rodrigo's composing career was officially launched. 8

Zarabanda lejana was eventually published by Editions Max Eschig (ed. Emilio Pujol) in 1934 (though the piano version was issued in 1930), bearing the dedicationA lavihuela de Luis Milân. Rodrigo's biographer, Vicente Vaya Pla, tells of the close friendship between Rodrigo and Pujol and how, 'Y ears later in 1936, in the Institute of Spanish Studies at the University of Paris, Emilio Pujol would illustrate, with his vihuela, a lecture on the vihuelistas given by Rodrigo. ' 3 Zarabandalejana is afascinating work. Markedandante quasi adagio, it begins with three bars of a single note A, (played on the fourth string), before weighty chords of D major, characterised by an acciaccatura on the top string from B to A. The apparent simplicity of the material is not entirely matched by the technical difficulty of achieving a smooth and even legato as the chords progress through sorne ingenious changes while the player articulates the melodie line. The discrepancy between the composition's economy (with its chords evok.ing the spirit of the pastand supporting an elegant melody), and the difficulty of its realisation on the guitar, could perhaps be best resolved by seeing this work as essentially a pianistic concept, transferred to the gui tar but not entirely at home there. On the keyboard these weighty chords and small note changes from chord to chord, as weil as ornamentation in the upper voices, can be straightforwardly accomplished. On the guitar such writing is unwieldy despite the ostensible Jack of complexity on the page. A usefu! contribution towards understandingZarabanda lejana is contained in an essay by Joaqufn Arnau Arno: Rodrigo sets the pace at the start of the pie ce, and immediate/y introduces his music for the dance in a re co gnisable tonality, with repeated 'catches', which it se ems the guitar particularly needs. 9

Suddenly, however, a modulation occurs which is not at ali unusual in the tonal structure ofthe piece ...lt is a modulation to the sub-dominantfrom D to G... and there is nothing unusual in it. Even more -of ali the possible modulations ....that of the subdominant is the most natural... Melodically, therefore, the 'change' that Rodrigo slips into his Zarabanda is quite normal. Harmonically, however, we are perplexed by it. The chord with which the composer 'qualifies' the change challenges every authority ... The fact is - and this strange chord has a great deal to do with it - that Rodrigo's Zarabanda lejana has nothing in common with the hundreds or thousands of sarabandes written during the Baroque and later periods, and ils 'distance' is not limited to the past... the past has come to have a sense offuture aboutit... Modernity, which can be demonstrated in the Zarabanda, nevertheless remains hidden, in part because of the limited sounds of the guitar .. .lt is more obvious, on the other hand, in the piano version, where the density of the sound reveals the frictions much more. The orchestra, final/y, di/utes it...4 Thus Joaqufn Amau Arno regards Zarabanda lejana as more than it seems; a piece which is 'evocative, wi thout doubt; but we are not certain if what it evokes has passed, or simply might come to pass '. Furthermore, though the work is dedicated to the vihuela of Luis Milan, it might be pointed out that Milan wrote no sarabandes and that this piece has closer affinities to Ravel's re-creation of the spirit of the antique dance in Pavane pour une Infante défunte (composed in 1899, premiered by Ricardo Vines, the Spanish pianist, inParis,l902), than toany authentic sarabande of the past. This was, of course, Rodrigo's first composition for guitar, written at a ti me when he had not yet full y tumed his 10

attention and creative energies to the instrument. Though this is sometimes claimedas a piece conceived from the outset for guitar, it is surely preferable to regard this work as an arrangement that owes much to the keyboard by a composer who wished to offer something for the guitar to Emilio Pujol. Like many composers, Rodrigo certainly wrote with the sound of an ideal guitarinhis head. ButZarabanda lejana may appear more appropriate arranged for string orchestra or pianoforte than for the guitar, which essentially lacks the necessary sostenuto. Yet it is effective on the guitar to the extent that it has attracted severalleading players to record it. (Unfortunately, it has rarely been played in the concert hall.) The premiere recording of Zarabanda lejana was by Andrés Segovia in the 1950's (on Brunswick AXTL 1069) in company withhis transcriptionofBach's Chaconne. Complete with the inimitable Segovia sound, the Zarabanda proceeds in stately dignity, taking the space of four minutes forty-five seconds. Rey de la Torre, the Cuban guitarist, recorded the work in 1966. At four minutes seventeen seconds this is probably the fastest version, though giving the impression of being slightly rushed. In the notes for his recording, Rey de la Torre wrote:

Rodrigo' s Zarabanda lejana, one of the outstanding modern contributions to the guitar repertoire, evokes a sense of distance in time and space in which even the fortes sound piano. It illustrates, better than any composition I know, Stravinsky 's characterization of the instrument: 'The guitar does not sound little: it sounds from afar'. Narciso Yepes, perforrning on his ten string Ramfrez, offers an interpretationjustafew seconds longerthan Segovia. Recordings by leading players such as Alice Artzt, Ernesto 11

Bitetti, Eric Hill, Oscar Ghiglia, Turibio Santos, Vladimir Mikulka, etc, indicate areasonablelevel of interestin this piece over the years. Zarabanda lejana, will continue to be of value in a full understanding of Rodrigo's output, particularly when viewed as the beginning of the creation of his characteristic guitar style. But in sorne ways it stands apart in lime and stylistic aspects. For after Zarabanda lejana there was a twelve year gap before Rodrigo returned to the solo guitar, preferring between 1926 and 1938 to build up his reputation with an immense output of music for orchestra, voice and piano, solo pianoforte, etc. By the timehe went back to writing for guitar, he was an experienced composer with assured technique and mature vision. ln 1928hemet VictoriaKamhi, apianist,fe!l in love, and married herin 1933. ln that year the couple returned to Spain following Rodrigo's valuable education at the École Normale de Musique, Paris, where he studied with Paul Dukas. In 1934 Rodrigo won first prize at the Circula de Bellas Arles in Valencia for his symphonie poem Perla fior dellliri blau and on the strength of this a ward returned on a scholarship for further study in Paris. In 1935, after the death of Dukas, Rodrigo wrote Sonada de adi6s (Homenaje a Paul Dukas) for pianoforte. Thefollowing year saw theoutbreak of the Spanish Civil War. This inevitably entai led the cancellation of the Conde de Cartagena scholarship, causing Rodrigo considerable fi nan cial anxiety. Between 1936 and 1938, however, Rodrigo was able to lake up residence out of Spain, in Paris, Salzburg and Frei burg. In 1938 Rodrigo completed En los trigales (ln the Wheatfields), dedicated sorne years later to Narciso Yepes. Here Rodrigo uses the guitar absolutely idiomatically, 12

demonstrating aconsiderableadvance in his awareness of solo guitar writing since Zarabanda lejana. The work begins with an introduction recalling the scale passages of the flamenco guitar, but balancing light single notes against finely resonant three-part chords. After these sixteen bars of setting the atmosphere, a catchy Iwo-part episodereveals the sophistication and vibrancy which Rodrigo could now achieve through the gui tar. A lyrical section, Allegro alla marcia, offers a sudden contras! in tempo and mood. A slow melodie line on the lower strings is voiced against chords and harmonies, and a repeated B flat in the bass evokes a drom or handclaps. After a little phrase in harmonies, the original themes return, dancing and agitated, the quintessence of the restless Spanish guitar. En los trigales, along with Bajando de la meseta, Entre olivares, and Junto al Generalife formed part of what the composer regarded as an 'imaginary suite that describes the Spanish landscape' entitled Par los campos de Espaiia (In the Countryside of Spain).' Julian Bream recorded En los trigales not long after the publication of the score. Narciso Yepes's interpretation of En los trigales was issued in 1961 on a ten-inch LP which provided Spanish solos (Two Pavanas by Milan, Tarrega's Recuerdos de la Alhambra and Alborada) along with his vintage version of Concierto de Aranjuez, conducted by Ataulfo Argenta. Lionel Sa! ter wrote concerning En los trigales: This is an imaginative and evocative impression of wheaifields on a summer 's day, with a light breeze rippling the golden ears into gentle and intermittent animation.

Rodrigo's extraordinary aurai sensitivity enabled him to achieve highly charged impressionistic images. Certainly in 13

this instance the varied sounds of a summer's day in the fields are gloriously realised and the work remains a fresh and stimulating pic ture of a Spanish landscape. In terms of the number of recordings, En los tri gales is the most popular of ali Rodrigo's solo pieces.

14

Chapter 3. Tiento antigua

FtPrt~,pcomposition of En los

trigales in 1938, andfollowing premiere of the Concierto de Aranjuez in Barcelona on 9 NovP.rnh