Starter Packs

Complete your collection with these curated titles, grouped at a special discount.

Shop Now
SOMM Recordings

Falla: The Three Cornered Hat; Nights in the Gardens of Spai

$18.99

Details

Composer
Manuel de Falla
Artist
Sarah Richmond, Ulster Orchestra
Format
CD
Label
SOMM Recordings
Released
Jan 17, 2025
Catalog #
SOMMCD 0694
UPC
748871069428

About

SOMM Recordings is pleased to announce a release devoted to the singular 20th century Spanish composer and pianist, Manuel de Falla, with three late-Romantic scores that capture the very essence of Spain: The Three-Cornered Hat, Nights in the Gardens of Spain and Seven Spanish Folksongs. Against the backdrop of the First World War, Falla found fame and recognition in Spain as not only a leading composer, but one with a growing international reputation. This status was confirmed when Sergei Diaghilev commissioned the ballet, El sombrero de tres picos, for the Ballet Russes to perform in London in 1919, with stage designs by Pablo Picasso. The ballet, like the novel by Pedro Antonio de Alarcon that inspired it, incorporates Spanish storytelling that conjures up everyday village life, and Falla's music is rich in echoes of traditional Spanish folk tunes. Following a musically enriching sojourn in Paris from 1907 to 1914, Falla returned to Spain with the completed Siete canciones populares españolas and sketches for what would become Noches en los jardines de España. Subtitled 'symphonic impressions for piano and orchestra,' Noches en los jardines de España is a three-movement portrayal of the sounds and sights of Falla's native Andalusia rendered magical under the cover of darkness. Following the premiere in Madrid in 1916, Falla himself was the soloist for the work's first performance in London in 1921. While El sombrero de tres picos and Noches en los jardines de España were Falla's imaginative evocations of Spanish folk music, both the texts and the melodies of Siete canciones populares españolas were traditional, although Falla's original arrangement for soprano and piano added much to the effectiveness of these songs from different regions of Spain. This work is one of Falla's most arranged compositions; the orchestrated version here is by Luciano Berio. This recording features the Ulster Orchestra with their Principal Guest Conductor, Jac van Steen. The soloist for Noches en los jardines de España is the London based Brazilian pianist, Clelia Iruzun, one of SOMM's long-time collaborators and treasured artists. She is undoubtedly amongst the finest pianists in South American and Iberian repertoire currently performing in Europe, and several composers have dedicated works to her. The prize-winning Irish mezzo soprano, Sarah Richmond, is making her CD debut in Siete canciones populares españolas. Jac van Steen's previous SOMM releases include acclaimed recordings of Mozart piano concertos with Peter Donohoe and Valerie Tryon (SOMMCD 278-2); The Deeper the Blue, an intriguing exploration of colour and timbre in music featuring Vaughan Williams, Ravel, Dutilleux, and Kenneth Hesketh (SOMMCD 275); and the International Classical Music Awards-nominated pairing of concertos by Albeniz and Mignone with Clelia Iruzun (SOMMCD 265).

Tracklist 18 tracks

  1. 1 Introduction 01:31
    Track
    1
    Title
    Introduction
    Duration
    01:31
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Performer
    Sarah Richmond
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  2. 2 Part I: La tarde (Afternoon) 05:26
    Track
    2
    Title
    Part I: La tarde (Afternoon)
    Duration
    05:26
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  3. 3 Part I: Danza de la molinera (Dance of the Miller's Wife) - El corregidor (The Corregidor) 03:47
    Track
    3
    Title
    Part I: Danza de la molinera (Dance of the Miller's Wife) - El corregidor (The Corregidor)
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  4. 4 Part I: Las uvas (The Grapes) 04:28
    Track
    4
    Title
    Part I: Las uvas (The Grapes)
    Duration
    04:28
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  5. 5 Part II: Danza de los vecinos (The Neighbours' Dance) 03:34
    Track
    5
    Title
    Part II: Danza de los vecinos (The Neighbours' Dance)
    Duration
    03:34
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  6. 6 Part II: Danza del molinero (The Miller's Dance) 07:25
    Track
    6
    Title
    Part II: Danza del molinero (The Miller's Dance)
    Duration
    07:25
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Performer
    Sarah Richmond
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  7. 7 Part II: Danza del Corregidor (Dance of the Corregidor) 06:21
    Track
    7
    Title
    Part II: Danza del Corregidor (Dance of the Corregidor)
    Duration
    06:21
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  8. 8 Part II: Final Dance: Jota 06:24
    Track
    8
    Title
    Part II: Final Dance: Jota
    Duration
    06:24
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  9. 9 I. En el Generalife (In the Generalife) 10:25
    Track
    9
    Title
    I. En el Generalife (In the Generalife)
    Duration
    10:25
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Performer
    Clélia Iruzun
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  10. 10 II. Danza lejana (Distant Dance) 05:01
    Track
    10
    Title
    II. Danza lejana (Distant Dance)
    Duration
    05:01
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Performer
    Clélia Iruzun
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  11. 11 III. En los jardines de la Sierra de Córdoba (In the Gardens of the Sierra de Córdoba) 08:15
    Track
    11
    Title
    III. En los jardines de la Sierra de Córdoba (In the Gardens of the Sierra de Córdoba)
    Duration
    08:15
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Performer
    Clélia Iruzun
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  12. 12 No. 1. El paño moruno 01:24
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 1. El paño moruno
    Duration
    01:24
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Performer
    Sarah Richmond
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  13. 13 No. 2. Seguidilla murciana 01:28
    Track
    13
    Title
    No. 2. Seguidilla murciana
    Duration
    01:28
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Performer
    Sarah Richmond
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  14. 14 No. 3. Asturiana 02:02
    Track
    14
    Title
    No. 3. Asturiana
    Duration
    02:02
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Performer
    Sarah Richmond
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  15. 15 No. 4. Jota 03:11
    Track
    15
    Title
    No. 4. Jota
    Duration
    03:11
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Performer
    Sarah Richmond
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  16. 16 No. 5. Nana 01:17
    Track
    16
    Title
    No. 5. Nana
    Duration
    01:17
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Performer
    Sarah Richmond
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  17. 17 No. 6. Canción 01:15
    Track
    17
    Title
    No. 6. Canción
    Duration
    01:15
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Performer
    Sarah Richmond
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen
  18. 18 No. 7. Polo 01:32
    Track
    18
    Title
    No. 7. Polo
    Duration
    01:32
    Composer
    Manuel de Falla
    Performer
    Sarah Richmond
    Ensemble
    Ulster Orchestra
    Conductor
    Jac van Steen