Falla: El amor brujo (1915 Version) & El retablo de maese Pedro

Featuring

Angel Gil-Ordóñez
Esperanza Fernández
Jorge Garza
Jennifer Zetlan
Alfredo García
Perspectives Ensemble

Manuel de Falla

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Instruments

For El retablo de Maese Pedro, Falla included a harpsichord, played at the premiere by Wanda Landowska, who was championing a revival of that instrument.

Composition History

Falla's El amor brujo was originally conceived as a 'gitanería in two acts' for the acclaimed Romani flamencista Pastora Imperio, with songs, spoken passages, and dancing.

Critical Reception

The 1915 premiere of El amor brujo met with critical failure in Spain, with reviewers deriding its characteristic Roma rituals of purification as 'not very Spanish'.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Manuel de Falla, one of the greatest Spanish composers of the early 20th century, believed that inspiration for folkloric music must be drawn directly from the people.

Composition History

El retablo de Maese Pedro was commissioned in 1918 by heiress Winnaretta Singer, the Princesse de Polignac, for her celebrated marionette theatre in Paris.

Compositional Technique

In El amor brujo, Falla notated the vocal part for Candelas with inflections and ornaments typical of a cantaor, requiring a flamenco singer grounded in cante jondo ('deep song').

Recording & Production

The version of El amor brujo heard on this release was reconstructed in 1986 by musicologist Antonio Gallego, based on Falla's 1915 notes and sketches.