Recuerdos de la Alhambra
Encyclopedia
Recuerdos de la Alhambra
(Memories of the Alhambra) is a classical guitar piece composed in 1896 by Spanish
composer
and guitar
ist Francisco Tárrega
. He wrote it in Granada
.
A virtuoso on his instrument, Tárrega was known as the "Sarasate
of the guitar". His repertoire included many original compositions for the guitar (Capricho Árabe
, Danza Mora, et al) as well as guitar arrangements of works written for other instruments by composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven
, Frédéric Chopin
and Felix Mendelssohn
. As with his friend Isaac Albéniz
and many of their Spanish contemporaries, Tárrega had an interest in combining the prevailing Romantic
trend in classical music with Spanish folk elements, which he did with Recuerdos de la Alhambra and his transcriptions for guitar of several of Albeniz's piano pieces, notably the fiery Asturias (Leyenda).
Recuerdos de la Alhambra shares a title with the Spanish language translation of Washington Irving's
1832 book, Tales of the Alhambra
, written during the author's four-year stay in Spain. It contains extensive examples of the tremolo technique often performed by advanced classical guitarists.
(as played by Narciso Yepes
), for The Killing Fields
(under the title Étude
), and in the film Sideways.
Performed and arranged by Jonathon Coudrille
, it was used as the title music for the British television series Out of Town.
Performed by Pepe Romero
, it was also used in the Season 6 episode of The Sopranos
entitled Luxury Lounge.
Ruggiero Ricci
created an arrangement of this piece published by Ovation Press.
Gideon Coe on BBC Radio 6Music uses this tune as a musical background at approximately the half-way point of his evening weekday show.
The A-section of the piece is written in a minor key, and the B-section is written in the major key of the same root (more specifically, A-minor and A-major). This gives the song a melancholy feel in the beginning, and then it resolves to an uplifting feel. This device is used in other Spanish guitar songs as well, such as the anonymous Spanish Romance
(also known simply as Romance or Spanish Folk Song).
Alhambra
The Alhambra , the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra , is a palace and fortress complex located in the Granada, Andalusia, Spain...
(Memories of the Alhambra) is a classical guitar piece composed in 1896 by Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
composer
Composer
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...
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Francisco Tárrega
Francisco Tárrega
Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea was an influential Spanish composer and guitarist of the Romantic period.-Biography:Tárrega was born on 21 November 1852, in Vila-real, Castelló, Spain...
. He wrote it in Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
.
A virtuoso on his instrument, Tárrega was known as the "Sarasate
Pablo de Sarasate
Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués was a Navarrese Spanish violinist and composer of the Romantic period.-Career:Pablo Sarasate was born in Pamplona, Navarre, the son of an artillery bandmaster...
of the guitar". His repertoire included many original compositions for the guitar (Capricho Árabe
Capricho Árabe
Capricho árabe is a showpiece and classical guitar standard by Spanish composer Francisco Tárrega in 1892....
, Danza Mora, et al) as well as guitar arrangements of works written for other instruments by composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
and Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
. As with his friend Isaac Albéniz
Isaac Albéniz
Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual was a Spanish Catalan pianist and composer best known for his piano works based on folk music idioms .-Life:Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz and his wife Dolors Pascual, Albéniz...
and many of their Spanish contemporaries, Tárrega had an interest in combining the prevailing Romantic
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
trend in classical music with Spanish folk elements, which he did with Recuerdos de la Alhambra and his transcriptions for guitar of several of Albeniz's piano pieces, notably the fiery Asturias (Leyenda).
Recuerdos de la Alhambra shares a title with the Spanish language translation of Washington Irving's
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
1832 book, Tales of the Alhambra
Tales of the Alhambra
Tales of the Alhambra is a collection of essays, verbal sketches, and stories by Washington Irving.-Background:Shortly after completing a biography of Christopher Columbus in 1828, Washington Irving traveled from Madrid, where he had been staying, to Granada, Spain...
, written during the author's four-year stay in Spain. It contains extensive examples of the tremolo technique often performed by advanced classical guitarists.
Soundtrack use
Recuerdos de la Alhambra has been used as title or incidental music several times, including the soundtrack for René Clément's Forbidden GamesForbidden Games
Forbidden Games , is a 1952 French-language film directed by René Clément and based on François Boyer's novel, Jeux interdits.While not initially successful in France, the film was a hit elsewhere. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and is still one of the most popular French films...
(as played by Narciso Yepes
Narciso Yepes
Narciso Yepes was a Spanish guitarist.-Biography:Yepes was born into a family of humble origin in Lorca, Region of Murcia. His father gave him his first guitar when he was four years old. He took his first lessons from Jesus Guevara, in Lorca...
), for The Killing Fields
The Killing Fields (film)
The Killing Fields is a 1984 British drama film about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, which is based on the experiences of two journalists: Cambodian Dith Pran and American Sydney Schanberg. The film, which won three Academy Awards, was directed by Roland Joffé and stars Sam Waterston as...
(under the title Étude
Étude (song)
"Étude" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1984 . It is from the album The Killing Fields, the soundtrack album for the film of the same name . It was reissued in 1990, when it was used in a commercial for Nurofen...
), and in the film Sideways.
Performed and arranged by Jonathon Coudrille
Jonathon Coudrille
Jonathon Xavier Coudrille is an English artist, musician and writer. He was born in November 1945 on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, an area with which he is still closely associated. His father was the artist and ventriloquist Francis Coudrill...
, it was used as the title music for the British television series Out of Town.
Performed by Pepe Romero
Pepé Romero
Pepe Romero is a world-renowned classical and flamenco guitarist. He is particularly famous for his outstanding technique and colorful musical interpretations on the instrument....
, it was also used in the Season 6 episode of The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
entitled Luxury Lounge.
Ruggiero Ricci
Ruggiero Ricci
Ruggiero Ricci is an Italian-American violinist known for performances and recordings of the works of Paganini. He was born in San Bruno, California. Ricci's brother was cellist and his sister Emma played violin with the New York Metropolitan Opera.He is the son of Italian immigrants. His...
created an arrangement of this piece published by Ovation Press.
Gideon Coe on BBC Radio 6Music uses this tune as a musical background at approximately the half-way point of his evening weekday show.
Performance notes
The piece showcases the challenging guitar technique known as tremolo, wherein a single melody note is plucked repeatedly by the ring, middle and index fingers in such rapid succession that the result is an illusion of one long sustained tone. The thumb plays a counter-melody on the bass between melodic attacks. Many who hear this piece initially in a non-live setting can mistake it for a duet rather than a challenging solo effort.The A-section of the piece is written in a minor key, and the B-section is written in the major key of the same root (more specifically, A-minor and A-major). This gives the song a melancholy feel in the beginning, and then it resolves to an uplifting feel. This device is used in other Spanish guitar songs as well, such as the anonymous Spanish Romance
Romance (song)
"Romance Anónimo" is a piece for guitar, also known as "Estudio en Mi de Rubira" , "Spanish Romance", "Romance de España", "Romance of the Guitar", "Romanza" and "Romance d'Amour" among other names.Its origins and authorship are currently in question...
(also known simply as Romance or Spanish Folk Song).
External links
- Free sheet music for Recuerdos de la Alhambra from freestave.com