Rodrigo / Villa-Lobos : Concierto Aranjuez / Preludes + Presentation (ref. rec. : Julian Bream)

 Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez (Spanish: [xoaˈkin roˈðɾiɣo]; 22 November 1901 – 6 July 1999), was a Spanish composer and a virtuoso pianist. He is best known for composing the Concierto de Aranjuez, a cornerstone of the classical guitar repertoire. 

 Rodrigo was born in Sagunto (Valencia), and completely lost his sight at the age of three after contracting diphtheria. He began to study solfège, piano and violin at the age of eight; harmony and composition from the age of 16. Although distinguished by having raised the Spanish guitar to dignity as a universal concert instrument and best known for his guitar music, he never mastered the instrument himself. He wrote his compositions in Braille, and they were transcribed for publication. 

 Heitor Villa-Lobos^[a] (March 5, 1887 – November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music".^[1] Villa-Lobos has become the best-known South American composer of all time.^[2] A prolific composer, he wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works, totaling over 2000 works by his death in 1959. His music was influenced by both Brazilian folk music and stylistic elements from the European classical tradition, as exemplified by his Bachianas Brasileiras (Brazilian Bachian-pieces) and his Chôros. His Etudes for classical guitar (1929) were dedicated to Andrés Segovia, while his 5 Preludes (1940) were dedicated to his spouse Arminda Neves d'Almeida, a.k.a. "Mindinha". Both are important works in the classical guitar repertory. 

 

Inspiration and history

Royal Palace of Aranjuez

The Concierto de Aranjuez was inspired by the gardens at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, the spring resort palace and gardens built by Philip II in the last half of the 16th century and rebuilt in the middle of the 18th 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 classical 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 it 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.^[1] It was composed in 1939 in Paris.

Rodrigo dedicated the Concierto de Aranjuez to Regino Sainz de la Maza.^[2]

 

Julian Alexander Bream^[1] CBE (15 July 1933 – 14 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist.^[2] Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century,^[3] he played a significant role in improving the public perception of the classical guitar as a respectable instrument. Over the course of a career that spanned more than half a century, Bream helped revive interest in the lute.^[4]

 

Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999) Click to activate the English subtitles for the presentation (00:00-03:00) Concierto De Aranjuez - 1. Allegro Con Spirito (00:00) Concierto De Aranjuez - 2. Adagio (5:57) Concierto De Aranjuez - 3. Allegro Gentile (16:23) 

  Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) Prelude #1 (21:34) Prelude #5 (25:42) Prelude #3 (29:29) Prelude #4 (35:01) Prelude #2 (38:06) Suite Populaire Brésilienne - Mazurka-Chôro (40:50)  

Guitar : Julian Bream Monteverdi Orchestra Conductor : John Eliot Gardiner Recorded in 1971-78 Find CMRR's recordings on Spotify : https://spoti.fi/3016eVr