Enrique Granados [1867-1916]

Started by Scion7, July 03, 2016, 02:19:20 AM

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Scion7

July 03, 2016, 02:19:20 AM Last Edit: July 04, 2016, 06:08:30 AM by Scion7
Spanish composer - one of the great pianists of his time - and one of the few composers to die as a direct result of warfare.
The passenger ship he was on - the Sussex - was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the English Channel in 1916 while Granados and his wife, Amparo, were returning from the U.S. - where his opera Goyescas was being premiered in New York, and where he had personally performed on piano for President Wilson. The ship did not sink; however, many passengers were tossed into the ocean from the explosion, including Granados' wife - he attempted to rescue her, and both drowned.



From The New Grove:
                                       . . . relatively few of his 140-odd works were published or performed regularly in his lifetime. A comprehensive view of his work has been hampered by the prevailing but misconceived tendency to divide his music into three compositional periods – known, misleadingly, as the 'Nationalistic', the 'Romantic' and the 'Goyesque' – with a disproportionate emphasis on his Goyescas. Sadly, the greater part of his diverse and extensive output remains obscure and unpublished and, as yet, no detailed study has been made of his life.

New York Times critic R.D. Darrell stated:

             One genuine atrocity of the First World War was the wanton U-boat torpedoing - without warning at 3 p.m., 24 March 1916 - of the French steamship Sussex plying its way cross-channel from Folkstone to Dieppe, with some 350 passengers. The Sussex itself managed to stay afloat although its bow had been blown off, but its passengers and crew were forced to abandon ship.  There were at least 80 casualties - a tragic loss even in wartime, but incalcuably costly to the world of music. For among those drowned, in a vain effort to save his wife, and only a few months short of his 49th birthday, was one of Spain's greatest composers, Enrique Granados.
     Señor and Señora Granados had been on their way home to Barcelona (and their six children) from an American trip to attend the premiere of his short opera, Goyescas, at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, 28 January 1916. And their traged was given an Appointment in Samarra poignance by the ironic fact that the couple's original travel plans (which would have brought them across the channel at an earlier date) were changed at the last minute to accept an invitation to a White House reception.
     Born Pantelon Enrique Granados y Campina, 27 July 1867, in Lerida, Catalonia, Granados displayed early musical interests and pianistic skills. He studied with several teachers in Barcelona and later with De Beriot in Paris, but the major influence was undoubtedly that exerted by Felip Pedrell, with whom he studied composition for three years.  Composer, folklorist, and writer, Pedrell was primarily responsible for the renaissance of Spanish music towards the end of the 19th century - a renaissance to which he not only contributed many of his own varied creations but largely inspired the now widely known creations of an extraordinary triumvirate of pupils.  Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Granados (seven years Albeniz's junior), and Manuel de Falla (nine years Granados' junior).
     Although Granados wrote several tarzuela-like operas (Goyescas was the last of a series begun with Maria del Carmen in 1898), as well as a number of orchestral and chamber works, he was seldom at his best in the larger forms.  What apparently was a spellbinding personality (which won him many close friends even among rival pianists) and patently was a magically imaginative improvisatory genius found their fullest expression in relatively short, lyrical compositions for piano and for solo voice with piano accompaniment. Of the former, the set of 12 Danzas Españolas (1893) is the best known internationally - indeed the popularity of one of these (no. 5 in F minor, subtitled Payera or Andaluza) often has tended to obscure, for the general public, not only its no-less engaging companions but all the rest of Granados' output.  His songs (Canciones Amatorias and Tonadillas "in the olden style") have been slower to win world renown but in recent years they too have begun to command widespread admiration, particularly in recorded performance by Montserrat Caballe.
     The consensus of critical opinion, outside as well as inside Spain, ranks as preeminent among all Granados' compositions - as quintessentially "Spanish," indeed, as Albinez's masterpiece, Iberia - the piano suite bearing the same name as his last opera, Goyescas.  In each case the music is basically the same, too, but unlike the usual sequence in which opera excerpts are later arranged as piano solos, Granados wrote his piano pieces first. It was only later that he arranged them to form a one-act, three-scene stage work for which a text had to be laboriously fitted (by Fernando Periquet.)  Probably the awkward nature of this procedure partially accounts for the fact that, whereas the piano suite quickly won critical admiration and that of the public, the opera has never enjoyed such status outside of Spain.
     Granados himself has eloquently stated his purpose: to give "a personal note, a mixture of bitterness and grace, to rhythm, color and life that are typically Spanish: and a sentiment suddenly amorous and passionate, dramatic and tragic, such as is seen in the works of Goya."   


   Chamber                                                                                       Orchestral
===========================                                ======================================
Intermezzo (from Goyescas)                                                           La nit del mort, desolacío poema after A. Mestres, 1898
Escena religiosa, for violin, organ, piano, and timbales, H.53             Marcha de los vencidos, 1899
Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano, Op.50, H.140, 1894                         Suite sobre cantos gallegos, 1899
Romanza for Violin and Piano, H.115                                               Boires baixes, sym. poem after Roviralta, c1901
Violin Sonata, H.127                                                                      Dante, sym. poem after Dante: La divina commedia, 1908
Quintet for Piano and Strings in G-, Op.49, H.112, 1895                   Suite de navidad: Final, piano, chamber orch, 1914–15
Spanish dance (unspecified)                                                           Intermezzo, 1916 [from the opera Goyescas]
Danza Espaqola No.6, for guitar
Valses Poeticos (complete), for guitar
Madrigal, for cello and piano
Danza gallega, for cello and piano
Trova, for cello and piano
3 Preludios for Violin and Piano, H.135

    Piano
=================================================================
A la antigua; Bourrée, H.1   
A la cubana, Op.36, H.2   
A la pradera, Op.35, H.3   
Album: Paris, 1888 (40 pieces, some incomplete), H.4   
Allegro appassionata, H.5   
Allegro de concierto in C, Op.46, H.6, DLR 5:8   
Andalucía-Petenera, DLR 3:6   
Apariciones: Valses románticos, DLR 7:5   
Aparición, H.10, DLR 3:18   
Arabesca, H.11   
Barcarola, Op.45, H.14   
Bocetos: Colección de 4 obras fáciles, H.16   
Canción morisca, H.22   
Canto del pescador, DLR 3:8   
Capricho español, Op.39, H.30   
Carezza (Waltz), Op.38, H.31   
Cartas de amor: 4 Valses íntimos, Op.44, H.32   
Clothilde (Mazurka) H.35   
Cuentos de la juventud ('Scenes of Childhood'), Op.1   
Dans le bois, DLR 3:11   
Danza característica, H.41   
Danza lenta, Op.37, H.44   
Dolora in A-, H.48   
El jardí d'Elisenda (arr. from vocal suite 'Elisenda'), H.75   
Elvira (Mazurka), H.51   
En la aldea ('In the Village'; 7 Pieces in 2 Books), H.52   
7 Escenas infantiles ('7 Childhood Scenes'), H.54   
Escenas poéticas, Series 1, H.55   
Escenas poéticas, Series 2, H.56   
6 Escenas románticas, H.57, DLR 5:7   
Estudio (Andantino espressivo), H.58   
Estudios Expresivos (Expressive Studies), H.124   
7 Estudios   
Exquise (Gypsy Waltz), H 59, DLR 7:7   
Exquise, H.59   
Fantasia: Cheherezada   
Goyescas (Serenata goyesca; Dusk), H.63   
Goyescas, H.64, DLR 2:4   
Illusory Serenade   
Impromptu, Op.39, H.70   
2 Impromptus, H.144   
Improvisation on Themes of 12 Spanish Dances 
Jácara, Op.14, H.74   
Intermezzo, for orchestra (arrangement from Goyescas), H. 71   
Galante: Allegro, for piano   
Fandango: Energico, for piano   
Andaluza: Andantino, quasi allegretto, for piano   
Arabesca: Largo a piaacer, for piano   
Bolero: Andante, for piano   
El Pelele, for piano 
L'Himne dels morts, H.67 
La Berceuse, DLR 3:9
La góndola: Escena poética, DLR 3:25   
La sirena (Waltz) H.123   
Libro de horas (Book of Hours), H.77   
Los soldados de cartón (March), H.126   
Marcha Militares, H.82   
Marcha real (arr. of Spanish national anthem), DLR 3:22   
María del Carmen, (tran. of a recording by Granados), H.84   
Mazurka (alla polacca) in Eb, H.87   
Mazurka in A-, H.86 
4 Melodías, DLR 3:10   
2 Military Marches, H.145   
Minuetto, for pedal piano, H.92, DLR 3:17   
Moresque y canción árabe, H.95   
Oriental: canción variada, intermedio, y final, H.101   
Paisaje, H.104   
Parranda-Murcia, DLR 1:4   
Pastoral, DLR 3:12   
Países soñados: palacio encantado en el mar, leyenda, DLR 5:9   
Piano Sonata in A (trans. of F. Courcelle), DLR 6:1   
Piano Sonata in E (trans. of work attributed to D. Scarlatti), DLR 6:1   
24 Piano Sonatas (after D.Scarlatti), H.143   
6 Pieces Based on Spanish Folksongs, H.125, DLR 5:2 
Preludio in D 
Rapsodia aragonesa, H.113   
Rêverie-improvisation, H.114   
Sardana H.118   
Serenata, DLR 3:20   
24 Sonatas (transcriptions of D. Scarlatti), H.143, DLR 6:1
12 Spanish Dances, Op.37, H.142   
Valse de concert, Op.35, H.146   
7 Valses poéticos, H.147, DLR 7:8   
Valses sentimentales (Sentimental Waltzes), DLR 8:4.1-10   
Villanesca: Allegretto, alla pastorale, for piano
Rondella Aragonesa: Allegretto, poco a poco accelerando, for piano   
Valenciana: Allegro arioso, for piano   
Romántica: Molto allegro brillante, for piano   
Melancólica: Allegretto, for piano

When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#1
July 03, 2016, 02:31:16 AM


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When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#2
July 03, 2016, 02:32:44 AM Last Edit: July 03, 2016, 04:56:45 PM by Scion7
Unfortunately, this is a reconstruction from a sketch, only the first nine pages of which are "complete" and that is for the first movement.  The other two movements are made from other piano pieces.  It's nice to listen to - but authentic it ain't.   :-\



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When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#3
July 03, 2016, 02:34:06 AM


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When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#4
July 03, 2016, 02:48:25 AM


^ click to enlarge
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Spineur

#5
July 03, 2016, 02:57:07 AM
Quote from: Scion7 on July 03, 2016, 02:48:25 AM


^ click to enlarge
Margaret Price did also a songs CD on the Orfeo label, with half of it devoted to Granados.  It is one of my all time favorite.

Scion7

#6
July 03, 2016, 02:57:30 AM


^ click to enlarge
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#7
July 03, 2016, 03:01:00 AM Last Edit: July 03, 2016, 03:03:18 AM by Scion7
Turnabout vinyl LP.  Anyone have this?



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When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#8
July 03, 2016, 03:08:23 AM
the piano quintet:

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When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#9
July 03, 2016, 03:12:12 AM Last Edit: July 03, 2016, 02:44:11 PM by Scion7


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This release features expansion on the Violin Sonata - they found the 2nd movement, and fleshed out the short sketches for the 3rd & 4th movements:



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^ How's that for a pretentious pose?  :P
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

71 dB

#10
July 03, 2016, 03:18:11 AM
For the Piano Trio and the Piano Quintet there is also this:

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Scion7

#11
July 03, 2016, 03:19:17 AM Last Edit: July 03, 2016, 03:27:32 AM by Scion7
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Other chamber pieces, such as:

    Oriental, oboe, string qt, lost
    Melodía, violin, piano, c1903, lost 
    Andante, violin, piano, lost

- we won't be able to enjoy.   :-X
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#12
July 03, 2016, 03:31:25 AM Last Edit: July 03, 2016, 03:34:27 AM by Scion7
This one is, of course, on M.I.'s short-desert-island-discs list!

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more stuff:

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When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#13
July 03, 2016, 03:37:20 AM Last Edit: July 03, 2016, 02:42:53 PM by Scion7
The only completed part of the sonata was the first movement, which this release reflects:



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Another take of the Piano Trio:

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When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#14
July 03, 2016, 03:45:13 AM Last Edit: July 03, 2016, 03:49:31 AM by Scion7
Quote from: Spineur on July 03, 2016, 02:57:07 AM
Margaret Price did also a songs CD on the Orfeo label, with half of it devoted to Granados.  It is one of my all time favorite.



This?  Still at Amazon UK - used.
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#15
July 03, 2016, 02:41:32 PM


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When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#16
July 03, 2016, 05:19:14 PM


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When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#17
July 03, 2016, 05:25:39 PM


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When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#18
July 03, 2016, 05:37:09 PM


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When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

#19
July 03, 2016, 05:39:10 PM
Anyone else prefer the chamber pieces and the orchestral works over the solo piano music by this composer?  :blank:
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."
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