Concierto de Aranjuez

The Concierto de Aranjuez is a guitar concerto by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Written in 1939, it is by far Rodrigo's best-known work, and its success established his reputation as one of the most significant Spanish composers of the 20th century.

For other uses, see Concierto de Aranjuez (disambiguation).

Monument devoted to Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto in the city of Aranjuez

Inspiration
Royal Palace of Aranjuez

The Concierto de Aranjuez was inspired by the gardens at Palacio Real de Aranjuez, the spring resort palace and gardens built by Philip II in the last half of the 16th century and rebuilt in the middle of the 18th century by Ferdinand VI. The work attempts to transport the listener to another place and time through the evocation of the sounds of nature.

According to the composer, the first movement is "animated by a rhythmic spirit and vigour without either of the two themes... interrupting its relentless pace"; the second movement "represents a dialogue between guitar and solo instruments (cor anglais, bassoon, oboe, horn etc.)"; and the last movement "recalls a courtly dance in which the combination of double and triple time maintains a taut tempo right to the closing bar." He described the concerto itself as capturing "the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains" in the gardens of Aranjuez.

Rodrigo and his wife Victoria stayed silent for many years about the inspiration for the second movement, and thus the popular belief grew that it was inspired by the bombing of Guernica in 1937. In her autobiography, Victoria eventually declared that it was both an evocation of the happy days of their honeymoon and a response to Rodrigo's devastation at the miscarriage of their first pregnancy.[1] It was composed in 1939 in Paris.

Rodrigo dedicated the Concierto de Aranjuez to Regino Sainz de la Maza.

Rodrigo, nearly blind since age three, was a pianist.[2] He did not play the guitar, yet he still managed to capture and project the role of the guitar in Spanish music.[3]

Political context

In 1939, the Spanish Civil War had just ended, beginning (or continuing, depending on the part of Spain) the Spanish State of general Francisco Franco. A work premiered in Spain in this highly charged environment had to celebrate, or pretend to celebrate, or permit the interpretation that it was celebrating, the current political situation. The celebration of a palace and gardens of a sixteenth-century Habsburg king offered no ideological threat to the Francoist State, and was in harmony with its emerging policy of celebrating Spanish history, conservatively interpreted.

Composition

Composed in early 1939, in Paris, amid the tensions of the impending war, it was the first work Rodrigo wrote for guitar and orchestra. The instrumentation is unusual: rarely does the guitar face the forces of a full orchestra. Thus, the guitar is never overwhelmed.

Premiere

The premiere of the Concierto de Aranjuez was held on 9 November 1940 at the Palau de la Música Catalana, in Barcelona. It was performed by guitarist Regino Sainz de la Maza with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Barcelona conducted by César Mendoza Lasalle.

On 11 December 1940 the concerto received its first performance in Madrid, at the Teatro Español de Madrid conducted by Jesús Arámbarri, with the same soloist. The United States premiere was given by Rey de la Torre on 19 November 1959, with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Robert Shaw.

Structure

This concerto is in three movements, Allegro con spirito, Adagio and Allegro gentile. The first and last movements are in D major, while the famous middle movement is in B minor. Along with the solo guitar, it is scored for an orchestra consisting of two flutes (one doubling on piccolo), two oboes (one doubling on cor anglais), two clarinets in B♭, two bassoons, two horns in F, two trumpets in C, and strings.

First movement

The first movement’s 40-measure introduction begins with the solo guitar strumming a three-measure theme in 6/8. The theme is made of tonic, supertonic, and dominant chords and features a flamenco-like hemiola rhythm. As it repeats several times, the tonic chord’s uppermost note gets higher, starting with the third, then using the fifth, the tonic, and the fifth again.

Introduction (guitar)
1st theme (1st oboe and 1st violins)
2nd theme (guitar, D major to E♭ major)

Second movement

The second movement in B minor, the best-known of the three, is marked by its slow pace and quiet melody, introduced by the cor anglais, with a soft accompaniment by the guitar and strings. A feeling of quiet regret permeates the piece. Ornamentation is added gradually to the melody in the beginning. An off-tonic trill in the guitar creates the first seeds of tension in the piece; they grow and take hold, but relax back to the melody periodically. Eventually, a climactic build-up starts. This breaks back into the main melody, molto appassionato, voiced by the strings with accompaniment from the woodwinds. The piece finally resolves to a calm arpeggio from the guitar, though it is the strings in the background rather than the guitar’s final note that resolve the piece.

Introduction (guitar, B minor)
Theme (English horn)

Third movement

The third movement is in mixed metre, alternating between 2/4 and 3/4. At the beginning of the movement, four-measure phrases containing 9 beats in total are formed from one 3/4 measure followed by three 2/4 measures. As the movement progresses, the metre becomes more irregular. It begins with the guitar stating the theme in the "wrong" key of B major, but the orchestra restates it in the home key of D major.

Theme (guitar, B major)

Interpretations

The concerto was recorded for the first time in either 1947 or 1948 by guitarist Regino Sainz de la Maza with the Orquesta Nacional de España, conducted by Ataúlfo Argenta, on 78 rpm records.[4] This recording was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame.[5] Narciso Yepes then made two early recordings of the Aranjuez, both also with Argenta[6] – one in mono with the Madrid Chamber Orchestra (released between 1953 and 1955),[7] and the second in stereo with the Orquesta Nacional de España (recorded in 1957 and released in 1959).[8] Although Ida Presti gave the French premiere of the Concierto de Aranjuez in 1948,[9] the first female guitarist to record the concerto was Renata Tarragó (1958 or 1959) – who played with fingertips rather than fingernails – accompanied by the Orquesta de Conciertos de Madrid, conducted by Odón Alonso. William Yeoman provides an interesting discographical survey of recordings of the concerto in Gramophone magazine.[10] Due to his extremely lengthy recording career, Julian Bream had ample room to record Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" five times. Four of those recordings appeared on record albums and one was recorded on film for the final segment of the film series ¡Guitarra! A Musical Journey Through Spain. Each time Julian Bream used a different combination of orchestra and conductor.[11] Charo has played the Concerto in concert and in an album.

Until asked to perform and interpret Concierto de Aranjuez in 1991, the Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía was not proficient at reading musical notation, and José María Gallardo Del Rey advised and directed him musically. De Lucía claimed in Paco de Lucía-Light and Shade: A Portrait that he gave greater emphasis to rhythmical accuracy in his interpretation of the Concierto at the expense of the perfect tone preferred by classical guitarists.[12] Composer Joaquín Rodrigo later declared that no one had ever played his composition in such a brilliant manner.

At the request of Nicanor Zabaleta, Rodrigo transcribed the Concierto for harp and orchestra in 1974.[13]

A number of musicians have since reinterpreted the work, usually the second movement, perhaps most famously jazz musician Miles Davis in the company of arranger Gil Evans. On the album Sketches of Spain (1960), Davis says: "That melody is so strong that the softer you play it, the stronger it gets, and the stronger you play it, the weaker it gets."[14]

  • Deep Purple played "The Orange Juice Song" (David Coverdale and Jon Lord) on the sessions of the 1975 Come Taste the Band album, which is based around the famous second movement. It appears on the collection Days May Come and Days May Go.
  • Pre-eminent classical guitarist John Williams has recorded the Concierto numerous times, including on his CD and video "The Seville Concert" (1993; expanded 2003).
  • Violinist Ikuko Kawai's version, "Aranjuez", is an upbeat, faster update to the work.
  • Clarinettist Jean-Christian Michel's transcription of "Aranjuez" has sold some 1,500,000 copies.[15]
  • Guitarist Buckethead covered "Sketches of Spain" on his album Electric Tears as a tribute to Miles Davis.
  • Guitarist Uli Jon Roth's version "Air De Aranjuez" can be found on his album Transcendental Sky Guitar.
  • Bassist Buster Williams performs a solo bass transcription of the second movement of Concierto de Aranjuez on his album Griot Liberté (2006).
  • The jazz pianist Chick Corea used the beginning of the second movement as an introduction to his composition "Spain". Al Jarreau used the same intro in his arrangement of "Spain" as a vocalese.
  • A version of the Concierto, influenced by Davis's rendition, was performed by Jim Hall on his 1975 album, Concierto. Hall and his team perform Adagio interspersed with solo improvisations (the track runs over 19 minutes).
  • Jazz saxophonist Tom Scott performed the second movement on his 1985 release One night – One Day. This is the 2nd movement in entirety.
  • An arrangement of the Adagio by Kevin Bolton for a brass band led by a flugelhorn was recorded by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band as part of the soundtrack to the 1996 film Brassed Off.[16] The arrangement is sometimes referred to in jest as the Concierto d'Orangejuice, due to the pronunciation used in the film by actor Pete Postlethwaite.
  • The Modern Jazz Quartet has several recordings of the Concierto, one with Laurindo Almeida, another on the Last Concert CD and In Memoriam CD.
  • Jim Roberts of Orlando, FL, has two recordings, one with his trio and another with his Saxtet, both very listenable arrangements.
  • A version entitled "Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto de Aranjuez (Theme from 2nd movement)" was released by the Shadows in 1979.
  • A version of the Adagio was released as a single entitled "Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto" by Geoff Love, (under the name of Manuel & the Music of the Mountains) in 1976. This reached No. 3 in the British singles chart.
  • Lebanese female singer Fairuz has also used the music of the second movement on one of her songs "Le Bairut" (To Beirut). Also the Egyptian born Greek singer Demis Roussos popularized the song "Follow Me" which uses the same melody; the song was also used in the closing credits of the movie Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. In 1967, the French singer Richard Anthony brought out a single named "Aranjuez mon amour", with lyrics by Guy Bontempelli.
  • The Israeli singer Rita also sang a song on her second album that contained the melody of the second movement. The song was titled "Concierto de Aranjuez" or "The Rainbow Song" (Shir Hakeshet), and appeared on her 1988 album Yamey Ha-Tom.
  • Led Zeppelin's keyboardist/bassist John Paul Jones incorporated parts of the music during an improvisation section of their song "No Quarter" on their 1977 tour.
  • Spinal Tap's song "Break Like the Wind" from the album "Break Like the Wind" contains part of the music as a guitar solo
  • Electronic musician and composer Isao Tomita performed a version on his 1978 album Kosmos (Space Fantasy).
  • André Rieu performed the piece accompanied by the church bells of Maastricht in a performance available on the DVD Songs From My Heart.
  • Egyptian-Italian singer Dalida had a song entitled "Aranjuez La Tua Voce" which employed parts of the melody from the second movement. Her frequent collaborator Nana Mouskouri recorded a German language vocal version "Aranjuez, ein Tag verglüht" with Harry Belafonte's instrumentalists.
  • An arrangement of this piece is played by Takanori Arisawa a few times in a popular children's Japanese animation series, Digimon Adventure.
  • Singer Summer Watson included a version called "Aranjuez, ma pensée" on her self-titled 2002 debut album Summer.
  • Japanese Jazz-Fusion drummer Akira Jimbo (better known as a former drummer for groups such as Casiopea and Jimsaku) recorded an arrangement of this tune on the album Jimbo de Cover, which, as implied, is an album containing only his covers of other people's songs.
  • The Limited Edition Drum and Bugle Corps (1988–1992) used the opening portion of the Adagio movement, dubbed "Spain," as a warm-up piece.
  • The world famous flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía performed and recorded Concerto de Aranjuez in 1992. The performance was highly praised by Rodrigo.
  • Kimiko Itoh created a vocal/blues arrangement entitled "Follow Me" (a reprise of a song originally interpreted by Demis Roussos in 1982) for Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.
  • Herb Alpert's 1979 album Rise contains a track, "Aranjuez (mon amour)" (6:42) on Side 2.
  • The Cuban classic guitar player Leo Brouwer made a jazz style interpretation of the Concierto with the group Irakere.
  • Jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby included the composition in her 1984 album Concierto de Aranjuez.
  • Croatian guitar player Petar Čulić.
  • Carlos Santana arranged En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor.[17]
  • Sarah Brightman: En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor

Rodrigo's title of nobility

On 30 December 1991, Rodrigo was raised to the Spanish nobility by King Juan Carlos I with the title of Marqués de los Jardines de Aranjuez (English: Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez).[18]

References
  1. Rodrigo, Victoria Kamhi de (1 March 1992). "Hand in hand with Joaquín Rodrigo: my life at the maestro's side". Latin American Literary Review Press.
  2. Annala, Hannu; Heiki Mätlik (2008). Handbook of Guitar and Lute Composers. Mel Bay Publications. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-7866-5844-2.
  3. "Joaquín Rodrigo: A Life". Classicfm.com. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  4. Michael Macmeeken. "Liner notes for CD,'Concierto de Aranjuez: The Premier Recording.'". Incidentally, Macmeeken gives the date of the premiere of the Aranjuez, by Sainz de la Maza in Barcelona, as 9 Oct. 1940.
  5. "Latin Grammy Hall of Fame – 2001". Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  6. "The Spanish Legacy of Ataúlfo Argenta".
  7. The World's Encyclopaedia of Recorded Music, Supplement III [Jan. 1953-Dec. 1955].
  8. "Narciso Yepes and the Concierto de Aranjuez".
  9. John W. Duarte, "Presti, Ida," in Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001).
  10. William Yeoman. "Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez: which recording is best?". Gramophone.co.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  11. http://www.julianbreamguitar.com/concierto-de-aranjuez.html
  12. Concierto de Aranjuez on the official Website of Paco de Lucia Archived 25 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Ann Griffiths, "Zabaleta, Nicanor," in Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001).
  14. Shaw, Robert (2008). Hand Made, Hand Played: The Art & Craft of Contemporary Guitar. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-57990-787-7.
  15. CIDD, France-soir May 2009
  16. Mayer, Geoff (2003). Guide to British Cinema. Greenwodd Publishing Group. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-313-30307-4.
  17. Santana Brothers, Track 4
  18. "Otras disposiciones" (PDF). Boe.es. 31 December 1991. Retrieved 23 December 2017.

Other sources
  • Preface to the Ernst Eulenburg edition of the work, EE6785
  • Duarte, John W., (1997). Liner notes. Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez, etc. CD. EMI Classics 7243 5 56175 2 1.
  • Haldeman, Philip. "Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez; Fantasia para un Gentilhombre". American Record Guide. March–April 1998: pp. 182–183.
  • Wade, Graham (1985). Joaquín Rodrigo and the Concierto de Aranjuez. New York: Mayflower. ISBN 0-946896-15-1
  • Graham Wade: The Truth About Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’. Classical Guitar, 2015-07-15

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