Danzas Fantásticas

Joaquin Turina

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This work may be found under its title in English, Three Fantastic Dances. It bears the designation Opus 22.

General Info

Year: 1919 / 1984
Duration: c. 16:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Piano
Publisher: Associated Music Publishers
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $120.00; | Score Only (print) - $18.00

Movements

1. Exaltación - 5:25
2. Ensueño - 6:20
3. Orgía - 4:55

Instrumentation

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Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Danzas fantásticas (Fantastical Dances) is one of Turina’s best-known works. He composed the music for piano, but an orchestrated version was premiered in February 1920 by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Madrid; Turina himself premiered the piano version four months later.

Each movement is set in a different area in Spain and includes a descriptive quotation by José Mas (1885–1941) from his novel La orgía. The first takes place in the northern region of Aragon, with the quote describing figures dancing a jota inside of a flower. The second is a zortziko — a dance from the Basque region — that depicts guitar strings performing “the lament of a soul help-less under the weight of bitterness.” The last is an Andalusian farruca, which is traditionally danced by men. This final movement includes a description of the mixed scents of flowers and manzanilla — a Spanish sherry. “And from the bottom of raised glasses, full of the incomparable wine, like an incense, rose joy.”

- Program Note from University of Texas Wind Symphony concert program, 4 December 2019

The work was inspired by the novel La orgía by José Mas, and quotations from the novel were printed on the score at the start of each dance:

1. Exaltación, a jota from Aragon
Parecía como si las figuras de aquel cuadro incomparable se movieran dentro del cáliz de uno flor.
It seemed as though the figures in that incomparable picture were moving inside the calyx of a flower.

2. Ensueño, a Basque zortziko in 5/8 time
Las cuerdas de la guitarra, al sonar, eran como lamentos de un alma que no pudiera más con el peso de la amargura.
The guitar's strings sounded the lament of a soul helpless under the weight of bitterness.

3. Orgía, an Andalusian farruca
El perfume de las flores se confundía con el olor de la manzanilla, y del fondo de las estrechas copas, llenas del vino incomparable, como un incienso, se elevaba la alegría.
The perfume of the flowers merged with the odor of manzanilla, and from the bottom of raised glasses, full of the incomparable wine, like an incense, rose joy.

The work was dedicated to Turina's wife, Obdulia Garzon

- Program Note from Wikipedia

Media

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State Ratings

Louisiana: V
Tennessee: VI
Texas: V. Complete
Virginia: VI

Performances

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University of Texas (Austin) Wind Symphony (Scott Hanna, conductor) – 4 December 2019
Banda Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Las Palmas, Canary Islands) (Alfonso Maribona, conductor) – 20 December 2014 (2014 Midwest Clinic)
Orchestra di fiati "Accademia" (Italy) (Massimiliano Pidò, conductor) – 2011

Works for Winds by This Composer

Danzas Fantásticas (arr. Boyd) (1919/1984)
Five Miniatures (arr. Krance) (1929/1959)
La Procession du Rocio (tr. Boyd) (1913/)
La Procession du Rocio (tr. Reed) (1913/1962/2013)

Resources

Danzas Fantásticas, Wikipedia Accessed 2 December 2019
Turina, J.; Boyd, J. (1984). Three Fantastic Dances = Danzas Fantásticas : op. 22 [score]. Union Musical Española: Madrid.