Asturias
Isaac Albéniz (trans. Juan Vicente Mas Quiles)
This is the fifth movement of Albéniz's Suite Española.
General Info
Year:1886 / 1978
Duration: c. 6:35
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 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
- 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 5. Asturias is subtitled Legend and consists of a solea, an Andalusian Gipsy dancing song with verses consisting of three lines of eight syllables. The central part has been borrowed from Cantos de España and has nothing in common with the popular Asturian music; it rather evokes a Moorish or oriental atmosphere.
- Program Note from publisher
Asturias is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the province of Asturias and contains some of the territory that was part of the larger Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. Divided into eight comarcas (counties), the autonomous community of Asturias is bordered by Cantabria to the east, by León (Castile and León) to the south, by Lugo (Galicia) to the west, and by the Cantabrian sea to the north.
Asturias is situated in a mountainous setting with vast greenery and lush vegetation, making it part of Green Spain. The region has a maritime climate. The most important cities are the communal capital, Oviedo, the seaport and largest city Gijón, and the industrial town of Avilés.
- Program Note from Wikipedia
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
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)
- Tango in D (arr. Campbell-Watson) (1890/1933)
- Trois Pièces (arr. Mule) (1922)
Resources
- Albéniz, I.; Mas Quiles, J. (1978). Suite Española "Asturias" [score]. Molenaar Edition: Wormerveer, Netherlands.
- Asturias. Wikipedia. Accessed 1 November 2021
- Perusal score
- Suite Española No. 1. Wikipedia Accessed 1 November 2021