Spanish
GuitarLibrettos
Nationalist Movement
Zarzuelas
Spanish
Guitar
Librettos
Nationalist Movement
Zarzuelas
The guitar originated in the Middle
East, before the birth of Christ, in the form of primitive wood instruments with
strings made out of animal guts. These early instruments were slowly
transformed by the Arabs, and later by the Greeks and Romans, into the
predecessors of the modern guitar. According to some historians, it was
introduced in Europe during the Islamic occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. Another theory is that the
introduction in Europe occurred during the days of the Greek and Roman empires.
Supporters of the first theory believe the
predecessor of the guitar was the lute, a popular instrument in the Middle East
that was, allegedly, introduced into the Iberian Peninsula during the Islamic
invasion in the 7th century. Artisans in the Iberian Peninsula
modeled the present Spanish guitar from the Lute, the
Mandora, the Khitara from Asia Minor, and the
Moorish Oud. The lute was known
to Muslims in Spain and Portugal as the Qitar.
(Lute pictured)
Those that support the second theory believe it was introduced in Europe by the Greeks, and later into the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans. They maintain the instrument descends from the Middle Eastern “kithara”, which the Romans called the cithara. Since the kithara resembles the lira more than a guitar the supporters of this theory suggest that it was changed by the Romans into an instrument with an oval shaped box known as fidula, which subsequently evolved into the citole, the Latin guitar, and the vihuela - all predecessors of the modern guitar.
(Kithara pictured)
(Cithern pictured)
Although the manner of its introduction into Europe is in dispute, it seems
logical to believe that the development of what we know today as the Spanish
guitar was based on ancient Middle Eastern and European string instruments,
modified by Arab, Jewish, and European artisans, with special contributions by
the descendents of the Celts, Goths and Visigoths who lived in the Iberian
Peninsula since ancestral times.
The preferred string instrument in the XVI century was the vihuela, which was attributed mythological origins in that era; with players of this instrument often regarded as wise men. By the XVII century the vihuela and the four-string guitar disappeared in favor of the five-string guitar. In addition to the obvious musical enhancements afforded by the fifth string, the vihuela and the four-string instruments proved to be inadequate for the new style of guitar music introduced by Spanish artists, which emphasized the use of strummed cords, in what Spaniards call a “rasgueado” style. By the 17th century the new instrument became enormously popular not only in Spain and Portugal, but in England, France and Italy as well, where musicians and fans referred to it as the Spanish guitar.
(Vihuela pictured)
The first major change to the modern-day instrument
was the incorporation of a fifth string in the 16th century. Most
historians credit Vicente Espinel for this change, based
on comments by Lope de Vega; while some, including Velasco (1640) and
Sanz (1684), challenge this premise based on the fact
that five-string guitars coexisted with the vihuela in
both Spain and France since before the birth of Espinel.
In the late 18th century a six string was
added and its structure changed dramatically from the lute; the instrument
became larger, it had no “Rose”, and the frets were made of metal. Another
significant change to guitar music during this era was the replacement of the
old guitar tablatures by the five-line method.
The most important modification to the Spanish
guitar was made by Antonio de Torres Jurado in the early
1900s when he reinforced the instrument with fan bracing wood twigs in the inner
part of the soundtrack. This change did more than reinforce the instrument; it
also improved its projection of sound. He also increased the width of the neck,
established the ideal length of the fret board and the strings, implanted the
tied bridge, and developed the slender and beautiful design of the instrument.
More recent changes include the
introduction of Nylon strings, which produce more consistent tones and project
the sound much farther; and experiments with various types of woods, such as
spruce on the top and Brazilian rosewood on the back and sides, influenced by
artists like Andrés Segovia to help elevate this
instrument to the important position it enjoys today in the musical world.
(Spanish Guitar
pictured)
Librettos for Zarzuelas
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Writing librettos is one of the most essential elements in a musical, and often
sustains its composition. Many of the early librettos for Spanish zarzuelas
were based on foreign works, especially French and Italian, before the emergence
of a large number of authors that based their works on Spanish life and
customs. The art of writing librettos is probably the least appreciated in a
musical and yet one of the most dramatic elements of this genre. They often
define the qualities of a great musical along with the score, choreography,
costumes, set, etc.
Francisco Camprodón
was born in Vich
in 1816. His first work was for
Flor
de un Día
(Flower of a Day), which was well received by audiences in Spain. His librettos
of Una Vieja, El
Domió
Azul, Los Diamantes de la Corona, El Diablo en el Poder, El Relámpago,
and
Marina made him a popular
figure in Spain.
Luis de
Olona
was born in Malaga in 1823, and died
in Sarriá
in 1863. He
is well known for his librettos of
long zarzuelas such
as La Mensajera, El Duende, Por Seguir a una Mujer, Buenas Noches, Señor don
Simón, El Valle de Andorra, Catalina, El Sargento Federico, El Postillón de la
Rioja, El Juramento and
Los
Magyares.
Luis Mariano de
Larra wrote librettos for
Gaztambide’s
Las hijas de Eva and
La Conquista de Madrid. He
also wrote for
Barbieri’s Chorizos y
Polacos, Sueños de Oro, and
the popular El
Barberillo de
Lavapiés.
Miguel
Ramos Carrión
was born in Zamora in 1847, and
studied music at the Madrid Conservatory. Several well known zarzuela composers
such as Chapi,
Caballero and Chueca
based their compositions on his librettos.
His most popular works were
Cada loco con su tema, La mamá política, Los sobrinos del capitán Grant, La
tempestad, La bruja, and the very popular Agua, Azucarillos y Aguardiente, based
on life in the barrio of Recoletos, Madrid.
Two of the best and most
successful Spanish authors of librettos in the 20th century were Federico Romero and
Guillermo Fernández
Shaw. Their best
Zarzuelas are the famous
Doña Francisquita, Luisa Fernanda, La tabernera del puerto, La rosa del azafrán,
La chulapona, La meiga, El dictador, La severa, Los flamencos, Mambrú se va a la
guerra, Losa, Lozana, Peña Mariana, La duquesa del candil, El canastillo de
fresas, Un día de primavera, A todo color, La Lola se va a los puertos, El
gaitero de Gijón and
Tiene mucha razón don
Sebastián.
Ricardo de la Vega (1840-1909) was born in Madrid. His best librettos were for the zarzuelas La canción de la Lola, and his masterpiece La Verbena de la Paloma. Others include El señor Luis el tumbón, Pepa la frescachona, De Getafe al paraíso, la familia del tío Maroma, A casarse tocan, Al fin se casa la Nieves and El año pasado por Agua.
Some of the best writers of librettos for
small works include Javier de Burgos for
El baile de Luis Alonso, La boda de Luis Alonso, Los valientes and
Cádiz; Felipe Pérez y González
for
La Gran Via;
José López Silva and
Carlos Fernández Shaw for
La Revoltosa; and
Miguel Echegaray
for El dúo de
la Africana, La viejecita and
Gigantes y Cabezudos.
Carlos
Arniches
was born in
Alicante
in 1866 and died in Madrid in 1943.
His first script for the musical theater was in collaboration with Gonzalo
Cantó
and composer Ruperto
Chapí for “La
leyenda del Monje”
which premiered at the
Apolo
Theater in 1890. Other famous works include
El Santo de la Isidra, La Fiesta de San Antón, El amigo Melquíades, Don Quintín
el amargao, La
señoríta de Trévelez,
Es mi hombre, Que viene mi marido, La tragedia
del pedele,
and
El tío miserias, among others.
Arniches worked often
with other authors including
Ramón Asensio Mas,
on El
puñao
de rosas; Celso Lucio on
Panorama nacional, Los aparecidos, Los puritanos, Los camarones
and
El cabo primero; Enrique García Álvarez on
El iluso Cañizares,
El pobre Valbuena and
El terrible Pérez; Gonzalo
Cantó in La leyenda del monje and
Las campanadas;
and with Eloy Garay
in the long
zarzuela Mari Eli.
Brothers
Alvarez,
Seráfín
and
Joaquín
Quintero were born in
Utrera.
They began to write librettos for zarzuelas
when they were in their twenties.
Their first was for
Gilito, which premiered at the
Apolo
Theater in 1889. Others include
Esgrima y amor, El ojito derecho
and
La reja. By 1900 they were
writing five to six a year. They wrote over 200 librettos
during their long artistic career.
Some of their most famous librettos were for
El motete (music by José Serrano), El estreno (music by
Chapí),
El
genio alegre, El patio, El
nido, El amor que pasa, Amores y amoríos, Doña Clarines, Malvaloca, La reina
mora, La mala sombra, La buena sombra, Los borrachos, El traje de luces, La
venta de los gatos, El género ínfimo
and
La reina mora.
The Nationalist Movement
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The Spanish Nationalist movement emerged in the early 1830s as a reaction
against the virtual monopoly that Italian musicians exerted on theaters
throughout Spain; which supplanted native classical music with Italian operas.
The first successful opposition to Italian musical domination came in the 1840s
with the Zarzuelas, a home grown genre of music with spoken dialogue focused on
themes representative of Spanish every day life. Popular folklore, and the use
of traditional Spanish instruments such as the guitar and castanets, were added
to the orchestra to introduce a new native dimension.
One of the earliest and most popular composers of Zarzuelas was Francisco Asenjo Barbieri whose masterpieces “Pan y toros” (Bread and Bulls, 1864) and “El barberillo de Lavapiés” (The Little Barber of Lavapiés, 1874) are among the best Zarzuelas ever composed. Barbieri was also the eminent Spanish musicologist of his time and the discoverer of the “Cancionero de Palacio” in 1870. This huge collection of four hundred and sixty polyphonic songs from fifteenth and sixteenth century Spain was edited by Barbieri and published in Madrid in 1890. The importance of this collection and the effect it had on future generations of composers can not be overemphasized.
According to Manuel de Falla, who was often critical of this genre: “Two Zarzuelas by Barbieri have a special merit: Pan y toros and El barberillo de Lavapiés, for they evoke the rhythmic and melodic characters of Spanish song and dance at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries.” Zarzuelas did, indeed, exert a tremendous influence on many Spanish composers including Isaac Albéniz and Enrique Granados. Their wonderful works are characterized by the introduction of traditional Spanish folklore.
Felipe Pedrell (1841-1922) continued the work of Barbieri by delving into Spain's rich musical past. He found and resurrected the works of many great but nearly forgotten Spanish composers. Included in the eight volumes of his Hispaniae schola música sacra are compositions by Cabezón, Victoria, Morales, and other outstanding sixteenth-century Spanish polyphonists. He also compiled and edited a large collection of keyboard works by Spanish organists called “Antología de organistas clasicos españoles” (1908). At the other end of the musical spectrum, his publication of the “Cancionero musical popular español” in 1918-22 was also of immense importance, even if the purity of his editions was occasionally suspect. His success as a composer was limited at best, perhaps because of his tendency to "interpret his own doctrine too literally.” In attempting to give a national color to his operas"; he used an abundance of borrowed material, that quite often was not sufficiently integrated into the texture of his works. Today, Pedrell is mostly remembered as the teacher of his three famous students: Albéniz, Granados and Falla.
Shortly after the resurgence of the Zarzuela (circa 1850-1870), instrumental music, which had long been neglected in Spain, also experienced a revival. The most prominent Spanish instrumentalist of that era was Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), a violin virtuoso whose interpretative style and brilliant technique captivated audiences throughout Europe and North and South America. Sarasate was born in Pamplona, and educated at the Paris Conservatory, where he graduated at the tender age of thirteen with first place prizes in violin and solfaggio. At 15, he began touring Europe as a virtuoso. Some of the leading composers of that time, including Camille Saint-Saëns, Edourd Lalo and Max Bruch were so impressed with him that they dedicated some of their works to him. In addition to playing the violin Sarasate wrote 54 opus numbers for this instrument. His compositions are deeply rooted on Spanish folk music and, therefore, very much in line with the Nationalist movement that dominated his generation. His best works include four books on Spanish dances for violin and piano (1878-82), and Navarra for two violins and piano (1889).
Although there are some commonalities between Isaac Albéniz and Enrique Granados these two composers are completely different, not only from a musical perspective but as intellectuals. Both were born in Catalonia, approximately seven years apart. Both were students of Pedrell and ardent exponents of his nationalist doctrine. Both were renowned pianists and composers known primarily for their piano music; but their similarities fade here. Albéniz had an outgoing personality, was adventurous and less disciplined, and most of his music was inspired by the Andalusian culture. Granados was fairly introverted, disliked traveling and had no sense of adventure. Granados was born in Lerida, Catalonia, in 1867, and showed early signs of musical talent. After his family moved to Barcelona he began studying piano with Joan Baptista Pujol, and some years later he studied composition with Pedrell. In 1887 Granados went to Paris to study piano with Charles de Beriot, a renowned professor at the Conservatory. He returned to Barcelona in 1889, where he began his concert career shortly thereafter with a highly successful debut performance at the Teatro Lirico in 1890. His first success as a composer came in Madrid in 1898 with the opening of his opera Maria del Carmen, a work that earned him a decoration from the King of Spain.
Granados worked on his suite Goyescas for several years before they premiered in Barcelona on March 9, 1911, with the composer himself at the piano. He followed this wonderful piece with his “Tonadillas al estilo antiguo” (1912) for piano and voice. Both were inspired by the paintings of Francisco Goya (1746-1828), whom Granados idolized. As such, these musical pieces tend to look into the past when the cultural life of Madrid was concentrated in its streets and plazas, where “majas” and “majos” strolled down gas lit boulevards dressed in brightly colored costumes, when religious processions, street fairs, jugglers, clowns, musicians and even bullfights in local plazas, mixed with the general populace in a mayhem that was an integral part of life in this city. Granados, like Goya before him, was inspired by this great mélange of life and what he believed was the most colorful and romantic moment in his nation’s history.
When Granados presented the Goyescas at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, it was so successful that he was awarded the French Legion of Honor. The Paris Opera suggested to the composer that he write an opera based on the music, and he went to Switzerland to do so. The resulting opera was received enthusiastically in Paris, but the outbreak of the First World War prevented it from being staged. Granados then offered it to the New York Metropolitan Opera, which produced it, with the composer himself appearing onstage at its premiere on January 26, 1916. Immediately afterward, Granados accepted President Woodrow Wilson's invitation to give a recital in the White House. This recital meant losing passage on a ship that was to take him directly to Spain and returning instead by way of Liverpool. He and his wife were on the steamer Sussex when it was torpedoed by a German submarine as it crossed the English Channel. Granados found safety on a life raft but then attempted to rescue his wife and both perished on March 24, 1916.
The triumph of Spain’s greatest musicians on the international stage was not replicated at home, where they often treated with total indifference and, sometimes, open hostility toward their music. This unfortunate situation may have been attributed to the conservative taste of the Spanish musical establishment and concert-going public. The efforts of Sarasate, Albéniz, and Granados paved the way for Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) who is generally regarded as the greatest composer in the history of Spanish music.
Zarzuelas
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The Spanish Zarzuela traces its origins back to the seventeenth
century when a group of composers decided to create a new genre based on native
folklore and themes that could compete with the Italian opera. It bridges
classical and popular music with comedy and drama to produce a beautiful and
unique style that has afforded Spanish composers the opportunity to assert their
individuality. It has also helped preserve the culture of Spain in ways they
never expected.
The main characteristics of this form of Spanish lyrical theater are its
exuberant nationalistic music and its often poignant themes which are often
focused on passionate love stories, comedy, or political intrigue. It evolves
almost exclusively around Spanish culture, history and traditions.
Zarzuelas fall into two distinct categories: Antigua (Old, XVII and XVIII
century), and Moderna (Modern, since the mid XIX
century). The modern type includes two subcategories, the “Chico” (Short) genre
for one-act pieces; and the Zarzuela Grande which refers to those that have two
or more acts in formats similar to the Italian opera. This form of theatrical
entertainment has been an integral part of Spain’s artistic culture for almost
three centuries and is its equivalent to the French “opéra
comique”, British musicals, and the German “singspiel”.
The Zarzuela was named after a lodge on the outskirts of Madrid where King
Philip IV used to rest during the hunting season. Some of the earliest pieces
are those written by playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca
with music by Juan Hidalgo called “Jardin de la Falerina”
(1648) and “La fiera, el rayo y la piedra” (1652).
Sadly, the music of these early pieces has been lost. The earliest Zarzuela
music that has been preserved is “Los celos hacen estrellas”
composed by Juan Hidalgo and Juan Veléz.
After a somewhat difficult beginning the Zarzuela began to gain popularity in
the mid 18th century when Ramón de la Cruz composed (Los
segadores de Vallecas – 1768); followed by the wonderful
works of Barbieri, Breton, Chapí,
and others with their premiers of works such as “El Barberillo
de Lavapies”, “Jugar con fuego”, and “La verbena de la
Paloma”. Barbieri is considered one of the most important contributors
to the success of the zarzuela.
Interestingly, many of the early composers placed more emphasis on the
theatrical libretto, style, and the setting of the play, which was normally
Madrid, than on its music. The main reason for this was the
Madrileños (the people of Madrid) who were more interested in theater
plays based on issues and traditions of interest to them, with verse and prose
they could enjoy, than on listening to music. This mindset changed during the
Golden Age of the Zarzuela (usually attributed to the last 10 years of the 19th century) when
sophisticated musical ensembles and beautiful arias were introduced.
The 20th century saw a diversification of the zarzuela not only
because of the quality of the music by composers such as
Torroba, Vives and Sorozábal, but because of the
sophistication of their dramas and the adoption of settings in various parts of
Spain. Examples of these changes include Guerrero’s Los
Gavilanes, and Usandizaga “Las golondrinas”.
Some of the best and most popular zarzuelas written in the 20th
century include Vives’ “Doña Francisquita” and
Torroba’s “Luisa Fernanda”, both based on Madrid settings
and popular Spanish music.
Recent productions show the influence of foreign music, such as jazz, and begin
to resemble traditional musicals more than the original Spanish zarzuelas.
Fortunately for Spain and its culture the music and librettos of the traditional
zarzuelas remain popular to audiences in Spain, Latin America, and other
countries; and performances by some of the best sopranos and tenors in the world
may help preserve this wonderful heritage.
