Description
Spanish pianist and composer Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) was a major figure in Spanish music. As a young man the musicologist and folk song collector Felipe Pedrell inspired him to incorporate elements of traditional Spanish folk music into his compositions. The solo piano work Suite Española, Op. 47. is a direct result of this influence and comprises eight pieces depicting different regions and musical styles of Spain. Written largely in 1886, the pieces were grouped together in honour of the Queen of Spain the following year.
In the third movement of the suite, arranged here, Albéniz cleverly combines romantic harmony with Spanish rhythm and melody to capture the essence of the Andalucian capital, Seville.
Many of Albéniz’s compositions were transcribed for the guitar, notably by Fransisco Tarrega (one of the fathers of modern classical guitar). Albéniz didn’t object, declaring once that he preferred Tárrega’s guitar transcriptions to his original piano works! Here Sevilla is presented in an arrangement for clarinet quartet: four clarinets (or four bass clarinets).
