Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid
Encyclopedia
Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid (Night Music of the Streets of Madrid,), Opus
30 No. 6 (G. 324), is a quintettino (quintet
) for stringed instruments (ca. 1780), by Luigi Boccherini
, the Italian composer in service to the Spanish Court from 1761 to 1805.
Luigi Boccherini
was attached to the Court of the Spanish Infante, Luis Antonio (1727–85), brother of King Charles III of Spain (1759–88). For having married a common citizen, King Charles exiled the Infante from the Madrid Court to the Arenas de San Pedro
palace in Ávila
province. As a courtier of Luis Antonio, Boccherini joined the exile, and found himself with much time for composition
, and there completed more than one hundred pieces.
Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid describes the bustling streets of night-time Madrid
; about the composition, critic Jaume Tortella writes:
The composition was famous in Spain during Boccherini’s life; the best-known versions are arrangements of the Ritirata (Retreat) movement incorporated to the (G418) piano quintet, and the (G453) guitar quintet. The Night Music of the Streets of Madrid was published years after Boccherini’s death, because, he told his publisher: “The piece is absolutely useless, even ridiculous, outside Spain, because the audience cannot hope to understand its significance, nor the performers to play it as it should be played.”
Since the mid-twentieth-century revival of interest in the music of Luigi Boccherini, the Ritirata became well-known; Luciano Berio
used it as the basis for a composition superimposing the four known settings of the Ritirata, all playing concurrently, ebbing and flowing synchronously and asynchronously. Despite its slightly jokey nature, like Berio’s folk-song settings, his Ritirata interpretation is attractive and approachable, acknowledging and expanding upon Boccherini’s composition.
In 1975, the Boccherini Quintet
, on the Ensayo record label, recorded an exceptional interpretation of Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid, that in 1976 won the Grand Prix du Disque
, by the Académie Charles Cros.
s, a viola
, and two cello
s, the Night Music of the Streets of Madrid quintet is in the C major
key
, and is approximately 13 minutes in duration.
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
30 No. 6 (G. 324), is a quintettino (quintet
Quintet
A quintet is a group containing five members.It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single unit....
) for stringed instruments (ca. 1780), by Luigi Boccherini
Luigi Boccherini
Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini was an Italian classical era composer and cellist whose music retained a courtly and galante style while he matured somewhat apart from the major European musical centers. Boccherini is most widely known for one particular minuet from his String Quintet in E, Op. 11, No...
, the Italian composer in service to the Spanish Court from 1761 to 1805.
Background
The Italian composerComposer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Luigi Boccherini
Luigi Boccherini
Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini was an Italian classical era composer and cellist whose music retained a courtly and galante style while he matured somewhat apart from the major European musical centers. Boccherini is most widely known for one particular minuet from his String Quintet in E, Op. 11, No...
was attached to the Court of the Spanish Infante, Luis Antonio (1727–85), brother of King Charles III of Spain (1759–88). For having married a common citizen, King Charles exiled the Infante from the Madrid Court to the Arenas de San Pedro
Arenas de San Pedro
Arenas de San Pedro is a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 6,682 inhabitants. Its seal depicts a large castle located in the town. The seal says "Siempre incendiada", meaning "always on fire"...
palace in Ávila
Ávila (province)
Ávila is a province of central-western Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered on the south by the provinces of Toledo and Cáceres, on the west by Salamanca, on the north by Valladolid, and on the east by Segovia and Madrid. Ávila has a...
province. As a courtier of Luis Antonio, Boccherini joined the exile, and found himself with much time for composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
, and there completed more than one hundred pieces.
Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid describes the bustling streets of night-time Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
; about the composition, critic Jaume Tortella writes:
- “Taking its inspiration from nocturnal street scenes of Madrid, it seems to look back nostalgically to the gaiety and bustle of Spain’s capital, recalling the sound of the city’s church bells ringing for evening prayer, the popular dances that were the delight of its young people, and the blind beggars singing their typical viellas de rueda until the soldiers from the local garrison sound the midnight curfew with their Retreat.”
The composition was famous in Spain during Boccherini’s life; the best-known versions are arrangements of the Ritirata (Retreat) movement incorporated to the (G418) piano quintet, and the (G453) guitar quintet. The Night Music of the Streets of Madrid was published years after Boccherini’s death, because, he told his publisher: “The piece is absolutely useless, even ridiculous, outside Spain, because the audience cannot hope to understand its significance, nor the performers to play it as it should be played.”
Since the mid-twentieth-century revival of interest in the music of Luigi Boccherini, the Ritirata became well-known; Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
used it as the basis for a composition superimposing the four known settings of the Ritirata, all playing concurrently, ebbing and flowing synchronously and asynchronously. Despite its slightly jokey nature, like Berio’s folk-song settings, his Ritirata interpretation is attractive and approachable, acknowledging and expanding upon Boccherini’s composition.
In 1975, the Boccherini Quintet
Boccherini Quintet
The Boccherini Quintet was a string quintet founded in Rome in 1949 when two of its original members, Arturo Bonucci and Pina Carmirelli, discovered and bought, in Paris, a complete collection of the first edition of Luigi Boccherini's 141 string quintets, and set about to promote this long...
, on the Ensayo record label, recorded an exceptional interpretation of Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid, that in 1976 won the Grand Prix du Disque
Grand Prix du Disque
The Grand Prix du Disque is the premier French award for musical recordings. The award was inaugurated by l'Académie Charles Cros in 1948 and offers prizes in various categories. The categories vary from year to year, and multiple awards are often made in any one category in the same year...
, by the Académie Charles Cros.
Instrumentation
Composed for two violinViolin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, a viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, and two cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
s, the Night Music of the Streets of Madrid quintet is in the C major
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
, and is approximately 13 minutes in duration.
Movements
Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid comprises these movements:- Le campane de l’Ave Maria — The Ave Maria Bell; the main church calls the faithful for the Ave Maria prayers.
- Il tamburo dei Soldati — The Soldiers’ drum.
- Minuetto dei Ciechi — The Minuet of the Blind Beggars; Boccherini directed the cellists to place their instruments upon their knees, and strum them, like guitars.
- Il Rosario — The RosaryRosaryThe rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
, a slow section not played in strict time. - Passa calle — The Passacaglia of the Street Singers, known as Los Manolos, lower-class loudmouths; not a true passacagliaPassacagliaThe passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used by contemporary composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often, but not always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre....
, yet imitates their singing. In Spanish, passacalle denotes “pass along the street”, singing as one seeks amusement. - Il tamburo — The drum.
- Ritirata — the retreat of the Madrid military night watch; the Watch’s patrol, announcing the curfewCurfewA curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...
, and closing the streets for the night.
Popular culture
- The girlfriend of an undercover policeman plays a recording of Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid in the film CruisingCruising (film)Cruising is a 1980 film directed by William Friedkin and starring Al Pacino. The film is loosely based on the novel of the same name, by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker, about a serial killer targeting gay men, in particular those associated with the S&M scene.Poorly reviewed by critics,...
(1980). - The “Passa calle” was played in the opening of Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympic Games; and is in the end of the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the WorldMaster and Commander: The Far Side of the WorldMaster and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
(2003).
External links
- Boccerini, La Música Nocturna de Madrid at YoutubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. Accessed December 2008