Sarah Richmond - Falla: The Three Cornered Hat; Nights in the Gardens of Spain; Seven Spanish - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

SOMM Recordings is pleased to announce a devoted to the singular 20th century Spanish composer and pianist, Manuel de Falla, with three late-Romantic scores that capture the very essence of Spain The Three-Cornered Hat, Nights in the Gardens of Spain and Seven Spanish Folksongs.Against the backdrop of the First World War, Falla found fame and recognition in Spain as not only a leading composer, but one with a growing international reputation. This status was confirmed when Sergei Diaghilev commissioned the ballet, El sombrero de tres picos, for the Ballet Russes to perform in London in 1919, with stage designs by Pablo Picasso. The ballet, like the novel by Pedro Antonio de Alarcon that inspired it, incorporates Spanish storytelling that conjures up everyday village life, and Falla's music is rich in echoes of traditional Spanish folk tunes. Following a musically enriching sojourn in Paris from 1907 to 1914, Falla returned to Spain with the completed Siete canciones populares españolas and sketches for what would become Noches en los jardines de España. Subtitled 'symphonic impressions for piano and orchestra,' Noches en los jardines de España is a three-movement portrayal of the sounds and sights of Falla's native Andalusia rendered magical under the cover of darkness. Following the premiere in Madrid in 1916, Falla himself was the soloist for the work's first performance in London in 1921.While El sombrero de tres picos and Noches en los jardines de España were Falla's imaginative evocations of Spanish folk music, both the texts and the melodies of Siete canciones populares españolas were traditional, although Falla's original arrangement for soprano and piano added much to the effectiveness of these songs from different regions of Spain. This work is one of Falla's most arranged compositions; the orchestrated version here is by Luciano Berio.This recording featu