de La;ande

The reissue game continues. All of this material has been available more or less continuously in recent years, with the exception of Frühbeck's Three-Cornered Hat, which only resurfaced quite recently on an EMI twofer accompanied by Atlántida. The reason it reappears here, evidently, stems from the fact that this two-disc set contains all of Victoria de Los Angeles' stereo Falla recordings; and despite the fact that she sings for about 60 seconds in total in "Hat", it's always a pleasure to hear Frühbeck's big-hearted, expansively Romantic but always exciting way with the music.

The music of Spain has exercised an exotic fascination, but often in forms adapted by foreign composers. Manuel de Falla is representative of a group of Spanish composers who won international recognition. He was born in 1876 in Cádiz, where he first studied, moving later to Madrid and then to Paris, returning to Madrid when war broke out in 1914. Strongly influenced by the traditional Andalusian cante jondo, he settled in Granada, where his friends included the poet Federico García Lorca.

The music of Spain has exercised an exotic fascination, but often in forms adapted by foreign composers. Manuel de Falla is representative of a group of Spanish composers who won international recognition. He was born in 1876 in Cádiz, where he first studied, moving later to Madrid and then to Paris, returning to Madrid when war broke out in 1914. Strongly influenced by the traditional Andalusian cante jondo, he settled in Granada, where his friends included the poet Federico García Lorca.

La vida breve is the first great work by Manuel de Falla, not only on account of the brilliance of his achievement, but also because in this score the powerful musical personality of the composer shines through. It introduces an orchestral scope that was previously unheard of in Hispanic musical theatre; there are direct references to folklore; there is the very remarkable role of the choir, and the incredible ability to evoke the magic of the Albaicín in Granada. The idea of the story came to Falla when he read, in the periodical Blanco y Negro, a short poem of clear social content, written by Carlos Fernández-Shaw, which would become the heart of the libretto. ‘I am filled with emotion at the prospect of releasing this disc, because for all Spanish conductors Manuel de Falla’s La vida breve is the highpoint of Spanish opera and a fundamental work in our repertoire.’ – Juanjo Mena

This festival is organized every year since 7 years. It was born of the desire of some fans to promote the gypsy music to an amateur audience, offering the widest panorama of this culture, and inviting the best European groups on the matter. Translated from the editor