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Monument devoted to Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto in the city of
Aranjuez.
The
Concierto de Aranjuez is a
composition for
classical guitar and
orchestra by the
Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Written in
1939, it is probably Rodrigo's best-known work, and its success established his reputation as one of the most significant Spanish composers of the twentieth century.
Concerto
Inspiration
.
The
Concierto de Aranjuez was inspired by the gardens at
Palacio Real de Aranjuez, the spring resort palace and gardens built by
Philip II in the last half of the 16
th century and rebuilt in the middle of the 18
th century by
Ferdinand VI. The work attempts to transport the listener to another place and time through the evocation of the sounds of nature.
.
According to the composer, the first movement is "animated by a rhythmic spirit and vigour without either of the two themes... interrupting its relentless pace"; the second movement "represents a dialogue between guitar and solo instruments (
cor anglais,
bassoon,
oboe,
horn etc.)"; and the last movement "recalls a courtly dance in which the combination of double and triple time maintains a taut tempo right to the closing bar." He described the concerto itself as capturing "the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains" in the gardens of Aranjuez.
.
Rodrigo and his wife Victoria stayed silent for many years about the inspiration for the second movement, and thus the popular belief grew that was inspired by the
bombing of Guernica in 1937. In her autobiography, Victoria eventually declared that it was both an evocation of the happy days of their honeymoon and a response to Rodrigo's devastation at the miscarriage of their first pregnancy. It was composed in 1939 in Paris.
[1]
.
Rodrigo dedicated the
Concierto de Aranjuez to
Regino Sainz de la Maza.
[2]
.
Rodrigo,
blind since age three, was a
pianist. He did not play the guitar, yet he still managed to capture the spirit of the guitar in
Spain.
Composition
Composed in early 1939, in
Paris, amid the tensions of the
pending war, it was the first work Rodrigo had written for
guitar and
orchestra. The instrumentation is unusual: rarely does the guitar face the forces of a full orchestra. Instead, the guitar is never overwhelmed, remaining the solo instrument throughout.
Movements
This
concerto is in three movements,
Allegro con spirito,
Adagio and
Allegro gentile.
.
The second movement, the best-known of the three, is marked by its slow pace and quiet melody, introduced by the
English horn, with a soft accompaniment by the guitar and strings. A feeling of quiet regret permeates the piece. Ornamentation is added gradually to the melody in the beginning. An off-tonic trill in the guitar creates the first seeds of tension in the piece; they grow and take hold, but relax back to the melody periodically. Eventually, a climactic build-up starts. This breaks back into the main melody, molto appassionato, voiced by the strings with accompaniment from the woodwinds. The piece finally resolves to a calm arpeggio from the guitar, though it is the strings in the background rather than the guitar’s final note that resolve the piece. The third movement is in mixed
metre, alternating between 2/4 and 3/4.
Premiere
On December 11, 1940 the concerto received its first performance in
Madrid, at the Teatro Español de Madrid conducted by
Jesús Arámbarri, with the same soloist, de la Maza.
Interpretations
A number of musicians have since reinterpreted the work, including jazz legend
Miles Davis in the company of arranger
Gil Evans. On the album
Sketches of Spain (1960), Davis says: "That melody is so strong that the softer you play it, the stronger it gets, and the stronger you play it, the weaker it gets." Violinist
Ikuko Kawai's version, "Aranjuez", is an upbeat, faster update to the work. Clarinettist
Jean-Christian Michel's transcription of "Aranjuez" has sold some 1,500,000 copies.
[citation needed] Guitarist Buckethead covered "Sketches of Spain" on his album
Electric Tears as a tribute to
Miles Davis. Bassist
Buster Williams performs a solo bass transcription of the second movement of Concierto de Aranjuez on his album
Griot Liberté (2006).
.
Until asked to perform and interpret Concierto de Aranjuez in 1991, the Spanish flamenco guitarist
Paco de Lucia was not proficient at reading
musical notation. De Lucía claimed in
Paco de Lucia-Light and Shade: A Portrait, that he gave greater emphasis to rhythmical accuracy in his interpretation of the Concierto at the expense of the perfect tone preferred by classical guitarists.
Joaquín Rodrigo later declared that no one had ever played his composition in such a brilliant manner.
.
A major interpretation of the Concierto, which stands strongly with Miles Davis's Sketches rendition, is that by
Jim Hall on his 1975's album,
Concierto (also featuring
Chet Baker,
Paul Desmond,
Ron Carter,
Steve Gadd, and
Roland Hanna). Hall's strong lyricism and outstanding sense of tone particularly giving the piece (performed in full and running to over 19 minutes) an understated power. The Concierto is, in many ways, the centrepiece of the album which is often regarded as Jim Hall's peak.
.
The piece also featured in the film
Brassed Off, with
Ewan McGregor, and was played by the
Grimethorpe Colliery Band. In that film, it is sometimes referred to as the 'Concierto d'Orangejuice.' This is a familiar name in the
brass band community (although it is often shortened to 'Orange Juice'); the arrangement they refer to was created by Bolton.
.
The Modern Jazz Quartet has several recordings of the Concierto, one with Laurindo Almeida, another on the Last Concert CD and In Memoriam CD. Jim Roberts of Orlando FL, has two recordings, one with his trio and another with his Saxtet, both very listenable arrangements.
.
A version entitled "Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto" was released by
The Shadows in 1979.
.
A version of the Adagio was released as a single entitled "Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto" by
Geoff Love, (under the name of Manuel & the Music of the Mountains) in 1976. This reached no 3 in the British singles chart.
.
Lebanese female singer
Fairuz, has also used the music of the second movement on one of her songs "Le Bairut" (To Beirut). Also the Egyptian born Greek singer
Demis Roussos used the same music for his song "Follow Me". In 1967, the French singer
Richard Anthony brought out a single named "Aranjuez Mon Amour", with lyrics by Guy Bontempelli.
.
Led Zeppelin's keyboardist/bassist
John Paul Jones incorporated parts of the music during an improvisation section of their song "
No Quarter" on their 1977 tour.
.
Andre Rieu performed the piece accompanied by the church bells of
Maastricht in a performance available on the DVD
Songs From My Heart.
Rodrigo's title of nobility
On 30 December 1991, Rodrigo was raised to the
Spanish nobility by
King Juan Carlos I with the title of
Marqués de los Jardines de Aranjuez (
English:
Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez).
[3]
Popularity
The
Adagio is likely the most famous, and most recognizable part of the piece, and used in numerous movies, television shows, and commercials. Consequently many people will have heard
Concierto de Aranjuez without knowing its title or composer. Many listeners and musicians assume that the piece is much older than it is, which became a problem for Rodrigo, since performers frequently failed to pay him royalties because they assumed the piece was out of copyright (as happened with the Davis/Evans
Sketches of Spain version, for instance)
[citation needed] .
.
This work is also featured in the film
School of Rock, when the children are playing in music class.
References
Other sources
- Preface to the Ernst Eulenburg edition of the work, EE6785
- Duarte, John W., (1997). Liner notes. Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez, etc. CD. EMI Classics 7243 5 56175 2 1.
- Haldeman, Philip. "Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez; Fantasia para un Gentilhombre". American Record Guide. March-April 1998: pp.182-183.
- Wade, Graham (1985). Joaquín Rodrigo and the Concierto de Aranjuez. New York: Mayflower. ISBN 0946896151
External links
Audio
This page was last modified on 5 November 2010 at 21:00.
