Concierto de Aranjuez for modern classical guitar and symphony orchestra by Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre: stylistic and genre features

Concierto de Aranjuez for classical guitar and symphony orchestra written by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre in 1939 is in the author’s spotlight. The traditional tripartite structure with the tempo correlation Allegro con spirito-Adagio-Allegro gentile fits perfectly into the genre canons of a classical concert: not coincidentally this concert is considered an eloquent example of Spanish Neoclassicism. The particular significance is the sound concept of the second movement based on the melodic legitimacy of saelta, a religious song appeared as an imitation of the psalmody of the canonical religious service. The texts of saelta reflect events and emotions of the Holy Week. Thanks to the fact that a genre of secular music involves the concepts and means of musical expression of a religious genre, adds to the second part an enormous depth and sensitivity, provoking a very strong emotional reaction of the listener. We mention in parentheses that Concierto de Aranjues is one of the most performed concerts for modern classical guitar in the world, while the second part is very often performed as an autonomous creation.

Joaquin Rodrigo

Joaquín Rodrigo y Vidre (b. 1901–d. 1999) was born in Sagunto, in the province of Valencia, Spain, on 22 November 1901, the feast day of St. Cecilia, patron saint of music. Rodrigo was a productive composer for over six decades, and his roughly two hundred works include masterpieces for orchestra, chamber ensemble, chorus, solo voice, piano, and especially guitar, an instrument on which he was not proficient but the one with which his legacy is inextricably connected. Indeed, by far and away his most famous work is the Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra, composed in 1938–1939 and premiered in 1940. The middle movement’s main theme has provided inspiration for a whole assortment of arrangements by jazz artists such as Miles Davis and Chick Corea, and it has often been quoted in music for film and television. The unfortunate consequence of this melody’s viral popularity, however, is that it has tended to put much of his other music in the shade. Rodrigo’s achievement is remarkable because he lost his eyesight at age three as a result of diphtheria. Fortunately, the family moved to the city of Valencia in 1906, where advanced institutions for educating the deaf and blind were located. He received excellent training in piano, violin, and composition, as well as in regular academic subjects. Rodrigo became proficient in reading Braille notation for both words and music. He would eventually use a machine to type up his musical ideas in Braille, which he would then dictate to an assistant to write out in conventional notation. The music would thereafter be played at the piano so that he could hear it and make any necessary changes. In 1927 he moved to Paris to continue his studies in composition with Paul Dukas, at the École Normale de Musique. It was during his years in Paris that he met and married Victoria Kamhi, a Sephardic Jewess from Istanbul who was studying piano there. Composer and wife returned to Spain for good in 1939, settling in Madrid after the end of the Spanish Civil War and on the eve of World War II. The successful premiere of the Concierto de Aranjuez cemented his reputation as a leading figure in Spanish music. He also became a music critic for Radio Nacional, the newspaper Pueblo, and he assumed administrative responsibilities for ONCE, the national organization for the blind. Rodrigo’s international reputation began to grow steadily during the 1950s, and he would be the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees, at home and abroad. He passed away at the age of ninety-seven, two years after Victoria. His legacy is preserved and promoted by the Fundación Victoria y Joaquín Rodrigo in Madrid (see online), which maintains his apartment as both a museum and a research archive. It is headed by the composer’s daughter, Cecilia (b. 1941).

M. DE FALLA, M. PONCE VE J. RODRIGO’NUN ESERLERİNDE BULUNMUŞ ORTAK TEMATİK MOTİFİN İNCELENMESİ

The Iberian Peninsula has been home to different societies for centuries. With the arrival of Andalusia Umayyads to these lands (711), Eastern culture started to flourish in this geography. Andalusia's architecture, music, literature and popular culture have been able to preserve its traditional structure until today. Towards the end of the 19th century, Spanish piano music started its golden age, and composers used Andalusian folkloric elements in their own musical language. In this study, the characteristics of Spanish music are mentioned, and these musical features are supported by giving examples from the works of Spanish composers. The focus of the study is the common thematic motif which was found in three separate works composed by Manuel de Falla (1876-1946), Manuel Ponce (1882-1948), and Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1909). These works are respectively En los Jardines de la Cierra de Cordoba part of Noches en las Jardines de Espana, the first movement of Concierto del Sur (Allegro moderato) and the last movement of Concierto para una Fiesta (Allegro moderato). The thematic motif in the mentioned works has the same sound material and rhythmic structure. Distinctive aspects of this motif specific to Andalusia have been investigated.