Asturias, for 2 Marimbas, 4 Players (Isaac Albeniz [1860-1909], arr. JJG 2015)

Originally published as the Preludio from Cantos de España, for Piano (1892), this is better known as the fifth piece in a collection titled Suite Española, published in 1912 by Hofmeister.  Though some of the other pieces in the collection incorporate elements of the music from their respective geographical areas, the Andalusian Flamenco rhythms of this one have little to do with the Atlantic region of Asturias.  It is probably best known today in an arrangement for guitar by the Spanish composer and guitarist Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909) made popular by guitarist Andrés Segovia (1893-1987). The A section mimics the guitar technique of alternating the thumb and fingers of the right hand, playing a pedal-note open string with the index finger and a bass melody with the thumb. The theme itself suggests the rhythm of the buleria—a song from the flamenco repertoire; the accents in the louder passages suggest the footwork of a flamenco dancer. The B section, in a slower tempo, begins with music reminiscent of a copla — an ancient Spanish form of sung verse; the music alters between a solo and accompaniment that is typical of flamenco. The middle of this section is written in the style of a malagueña, another flamenco style; it borrows two earlier motives and develops them. After a brief repetition of the copla-like melody  (rounding out the smaller ABA form of this slow section), the A section is repeated in its entirety.  The work closes with a coda that recalls material from the B and A sections, in that order.

The 2nd marimba must range down to C2 for Player 4. $8 for 2 copies of score & demo.