UMS Concert Program, April 11, 1975: Spanish Rtv Symphony Orchestra Of Madrid --

Concert: Tenth
Complete Series: 3941
Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

The University Musical Society
of
The University of Michigan
Presents
Spanish RTV Symphony Orchestra of Madrid
ENRIQUE GARCIA ASENSIO, Conductor
NARCISO YEPES, Guitarist
ANGELES CHAMORRO, Soprano
FRANCISCO ORTIZ, Tenor
Friday, April 11, 1975, at 8:30 Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
TROGRAM
Melodias Vascas.............Jesus Guridi
Prelude, from "La Verbena de la Paloma"......Tomas Breton
Cancion EspafiolaDe Espana Vengo, from "El Nino Judio" . . . Pablo Luna
Angeles Chamorro
RomanzaTus ojos me miraron, from "La Villana".....Amadeo Vives
Francisco Ortiz
Duet, from "La Revoltosa"..........Ruperto Chapi
Miss Chamorro and Mr. Ortiz
intermission
Concierto de Aranjuez...........Joaquin Rodrigo
Allegro con spirito Adagio
Allcjiro gentile
Narciso Yepes
Second Suite, from "El Sombrero de Tres Picos" .... Manuel de Falla
Los vccinos
Danza del molinero Danza final
Orchestra available on Philips Records. Yepcs available on London Records.
Tenth Concert Ninetysixth Annual Choral Union Series Complete Programs 3941
PROGRAM NOTES
Melodias Vascas.............JESUS Guridi
(18961961)
Like Joaquin Turina, Jesus Guridi studied in Paris at the Schola Cantorum, directed by Vincent d'Indy. An excellent organist, he advanced his studies in this field in Brussels.
The Spanish Basque contribution to the wide range of Spanish Nationalism has been rich, varied, and constant. One cannot forget the names of Arriaga, Usandizaga, Donostia, and Guridi, keeping in mind at the same time the eighteenthcentury clavichord musicians and the modern avantgarde representatives.
Guridi met with success in all types of music, and almost always used Basque traditions as a basis for his compositions. "Melodias Vascas" premiered in Madrid shortly after the Civil War. In this work Guridi shows a special instinct for the selection of themes to be sung (almost all are found in the songbook by Resurreccion Maria de Azkue), since each shows a different stylistic image in a range varying from religious primitivism to the rhythmic instrumental factor, which is almost akin to Stravinsky; from neoclassicism to the Baroque style of Handel, and reaching the direct emotions of the people, as in "Zortziko," the most widelyknown Basque melody. Love and courting songs, elegiac and nuptial melodies, dance accents, medita?tion or narration appear in perfectly balanced entity. Technical knowledge, native heritage and personal inspiration are united, resulting in much beauty as well as total naturalness.
Zarzuela Selections
"Zarzuela" takes its name from the place in which it was first performed: the Zarzuela Royal Palace, built near the Pardo, in an area in the country, which was rich in "zarzas" (bramble bushes). "Zarzuela" is considered a Spanish version of the Opera comique--the alternation of sung and spoken parts. The first "Zarzuela" pieces date from the twelfth century and were based on the works of Calderon de la Barca and Lope de Vega; as time passed the "Zarzuela" evolved through a period of direct Italian influence until, at last, it became completely nationalized by Barbieri, and converted into the typical Spanish theater of the people.
At one moment in its history (the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth) at least seven or eight theaters in Madrid were performing "Zar?zuela," and during each season there were more than two hundred premieres of such works. "Zarzuela" scores became the exclusive vocation of many Spanish composers who, in other circumstances, might have composed symphonic works. One prime example is Ruperto Chapi, from Alicante, the composer of "La Revoltosa," a lyrical piece of great beauty and perfection which has enjoyed enduring success through the decades. Another is Amadeo Vives, from Catalunia, who was a great friend and col?laborator of Falla. He concentrated on the folkloric inspiration in the "Zarzuela," and many times used classic themes from the works by Lope de Vega, as in "La Villana," which takes place in the Castille. Pablo Luna, from Aragon, was very suc?cessful for his "Zarzuela" pieces, creating the "Cancion Espanola" sung in "El Nino Judio." With its Spanish rhythm and comic treatment, the soprano issues her song of homesickness: "I am leaving Spain, I come from Spain." This melody has been included in the repertoire of the great Spanish divas, and is today sung by Victoria de los Angeles, Pilar Lorengar, and Montserrat Caballe.
Concierto de Aranjuez..........Joaquin Rodrigo
(1902 )
Joaquin Rodrigo, a disciple of Paul Dukas, gained fame during the period of his residency in Paris. His universal popularity and prestige can be attributed, however, to the premiere of "Concierto de Aranjuez" in 1940.
In Spanish music, including the compositions of Falla, the soul of the guitar is a constant note. For that reason, Falla wrote his brief, but very orientating "Homenaje a Debussy" (Homage to Debussy); Rodrigo created his "Concierto de Aranjuez," in which Spanish music regresses to a more typical mode of expression. It is here that the composer sets aside his esthetic neoclassicism, rooting it in the essential character of the Spanish people. A similar evolution of style can be recalled from the experiences of Scarlatti and Boccherini in the eighteenth century; Scarlatti, and, later, Boccherini belonged to the Spanish Court and visited, on frequent occasions, the royal palaces near Madrid. There arose a parallel with the court of Versailles, born of ItalianFrench taste, in Aranjuez and La Granja, influenced by the surroundings of palace, gardens and fountains and, in the case of Aranjuez, the River Tajo and its forest.
For these reasons, Rodrigo's concerto, as in the works of Boccherini, combines the Spain of the people with the style of the Italian courts. The form of "Concierto de Aranjuez," and the structure of its melody recalls the Italianale past of Madrid in whose salons the guitar was present in solo and chamber works of Boccherini. In the extreme tempi Rodrigo recreates popular airs and rhythms, whose direct Hispanic flavor is differentiated from the "Andalusianism" of the nineteenth century in order to situate itself in the light song styles predominant in the eighteenth century.
Rodrigo utilized this stylistic evolution for the benefit of today's audiences, whose taste has accustomed itself to dissonance. His evocative power is most effective, especially as it is pervaded with a certain amount of irony. Another of the composer's achievements is that of prolonging the guitar's discourse and, at times, producing an animated background with frequent and surprising individual interventions. It must be pointed out, as well, that the ability to include nationalistic influences, so typical of Falla, is characteristic of Rodrigo as well.
Second Suite, from "El Sombrero de Tres Picos" .... Manuel de Falla
(18761946)
"El Sombrero de Tres Picos" was born as a pantomime, based on a theme by Pedro Antonio de Alarcon as adapted by Martinez Sierra, and was revised into a ballet upon request of Serge Diaghilev, who presented it in the Alhambra Theatre in London, July 22, 1919.
Falla's style approaches that of the predominant tendencies of the time, particu?larly those of Stravinsky. Despite the fact that his general style enlarged the universal acceptance of Spanish Nationalism, his use of folkloric elements was of more im?portance in his early works. A Granadine "Canto de Boda" (Wedding Song) was transformed into the Dance of "Los vecinos" (The neighbors); the "Canto de Granada," previously used in the "Siete Canciones Populares" reappears; it is heard again in "El Pano Moruno," or fragments of children's songs and street songs, very familiar to Spaniards, as well as in an interesting orchestral transcription for guitar. It is interesting to note that in "El Sombrero de Tres Picos" the presence of neoScarlattian language, which Falla develops in "Retablo de Maese Pedro" and especially in the "Concierto para Clave y Cinco Instrumentos" was later widely cultivated by his successors: the Halffter family, Beautista and Nin. In the final dance, one cannot ignore the influence of Stravinsky, and the orchestral color, which seems to render homage to the composer Emmanuel Chabrier, whom Falla greatly admired.
INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATIONS197576
Choral Union Series Hill Auditorium
Hague PhilharmonicMartinon.......Sunday, October 5
Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra of HamburgJurgens Thursday, October 16
Moscow State SymphonySvetlanov.....Saturday, October 25
Scottish National OrchestraGibson.....Saturday, November 8
Los Angeles PhilharmonicMehta.....Thursday, November 20
Stockholm PhilharmonicRozhdestvensky . . . Monday, November 24 Detroit Symphony Orchestra Ceccato and Bachauer . Sunday, January 11
Luciano Pavarotti, Tenor........Sunday, February 15
Gulbenkian Festival Orchestra of LisbonTabachnik . . Friday, March 19
Detroit Symphony OrchestraCeccato......Friday, March 26
Series of 10: $60, $50, $40, $30, $20
Choice Series Power Center
Martha Graham Dance Company.....Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
October 17, 18, & 19
Mario Escudero, Flamenco Guitarist.....Saturday, November 1
Fiesta Folklorico, Mexico........Monday, November 3
Bob Greene's "World of Jelly Roll Morton" . . Wednesday, November 19
Canadian Opera Company, La Boheme.....Saturday, January 10
Christopher Parkening, Guitarist......Friday, January 30
The Four Romeros, Guitarists.......Monday, February 9
Dancers of Ljubljana, Yugoslavia......Sunday, February 22
P.D.Q. BachPeter Schickele......Thursday, February 26
Royal Tahitian Dance Company.......Monday, March 1
The Pennsylvania Ballet.....Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
March 29, 30, & 31
Series of 4: $28, $22, $18, $14
Series of 8: $56, $44, $36, $28
Chamber Arts Series Rackham Auditorium
Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichordist......Monday, October 13
Tokyo String Quartet........Wednesday, October 22
Paillard Chamber Orchestra.......Monday, November 17
Pablo Casals Trio (piano, violin, cello).....Sunday, November 23
Beaux Arts Trio (piano, violin, cello)......Friday, January 16
Prague Madrigal Antiqua.........Sunday, January 25
Berlin String Quartet.........Monday, March 22
Waverly Consort, "Las Cantigas de Santa Maria" . . Thursday, April 1
Series of 8: $40, $30, $20
Asian Series Rackham Auditorium
Burmese National Dance Theater......Sunday, October 26
Lhamo Folk Opera of Tibet........Sunday, November 2
Soloists of the Ensemble Nipponia......Thursday, March 4
Sitara, Kathak Dancer..........Tuesday, April 6
Series of 4: 15, $10, $8 New brochure available; series ticket orders now being accepted and filled in sequence.
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