Description
Manuel de Falla’s Spanish Dance from the opera “La Vida Breve” has always captivated musicians all over the world. It has been arranged for solo guitar, guitar duo, solo piano, piano duo, and violin and piano. For the first time, Falla sought to bring elements of Spanish folk music, flamenco, and especially the gypsy ‘cante jondo’, or ‘deep song’, to the classical stage.
In this arrangement guitar and piano are not “ranked” as soloist and accompanist. Both instruments are interwoven, just as in flamenco, where the singer, dancer, and guitarist interact in passionate expression. The inspiration we derived from the style of flamenco is reflected in both parts. Idiomatic chord voicings and guitar techniques from the world of flamenco were also added to the guitar part.
The piano part in this arrangement is quite challenging. The virtuosic, brilliant clavier style of Domenico Scarlatti (who also lived and composed in Spain) was a big influence on the arrangement of the piano part. It calls for brisk jumps, hand- crossings, use of the entire range of the keyboard, and precisely defined articulations.
Detailed performance notes by the arrangers are included with the score.