Aragon

Isaac Albéniz

Isaac Albéniz (trans. Juan Vicente Mas Quiles)

This is the sixth movement of Albéniz's Suite Española .

General Info

Year:1886 / 1978
Duration: c. 4:40
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Piano
Publisher: Molenaar Edition
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - €137.86   |   Score Only (print) - €22.94

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet Solo-I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone I-II
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:

• Bass Drum
• Castanets
• Crash Cymbals
• Snare Drum
• Tambourine
• Triangle

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

It was in 1886 that Isaac Albéniz started writing this eight-part suite for piano, shortly after his study period with Liszt. His manuscript only comprises the first three and the last of the actual set of eight pieces. The other parts were added, after the composer's death, by his publisher who extracted them from other compositions.

These impressions of various Spanish regions illustrate the composer's ingenuity in portraying characteristic rhythms and his ear for refreshing key changes. With the exception of Cataluña, all the pieces are ternary in structure, the central section being a 'copla', a sung interlude in a dance form, usually marking a turn from major to minor tonality.

Movement 6. Aragón. This region is suggested by the popular jota aragonese, a dancing song in 3/4 or 3/8 which was very popular in the nineteenth century. The jota consists of a quiet copla (stanza) and an estribillo (chorus). The central part slinks along languidly in thirds. It is the most pianistic of all parts, whereas the other parts seem in fact idiomatic to the guitar.

- Program Note from publisher

Aragon is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to south): Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza. The current Statute of Autonomy declares Aragon a historic nationality of Spain.

- Program Note from Wikipedia

Media

• Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

• Banda de Música de Getafe (Spain) (José Alberto Pina Picazo, conductor) – 9 March 2019

Works for Winds by This Composer

• Aragón (tr. Mas Quiles). See: Suite Española
• Asturias (tr. Mas Quiles). See: Suite Española
• Cádiz (tr. Mas Quiles). See: Suite Española
• Cataluña (tr. Mas Quiles). See: Suite Española
• Cordoba
• Fête-Dieu à Seville (1909/1968) (tr. Cailliet)
• Granada (arr. Hautvast) (1886/2009)
• Granada (tr. Mas Quiles). See: Suite Española
• The Legend of Asturias (arr. Lopez) (2010)
• Midsummer Night's Serenade
• Sevilla (tr. Loritz) (1886/2011)
• Sevilla (tr. Mas Quiles). See: Suite Española
• Sevilla (tr. Mule) (1886/1978)
• Sevilla (tr. Nowak) (1886/1974/1997)
• Suite Española (tr. Mas Quiles) (1886/1978)
  • Aragón (tr. Mas Quiles) (1886)
  • Asturias (tr. Mas Quiles) (1886/1978)
  • Cádiz (tr. Mas Quiles) (1886/1978)
  • Cataluña (tr. Mas Quiles) (1886/1978)
  • Granada (tr. Mas Quiles) (1886/1978)
  • Sevilla (tr. Mas Quiles) (1886/1978)
• Tango in D
• Trois Pièces (arr. Mule) (1922)

Resources

• Aragon. Wikipedia. Accessed 1 November 2021
• Perusal score
• Suite Española No. 1. Wikipedia Accessed 1 November 2021