Early works Albéniz's early works were mostly "
salon style" music. His first published composition,
Marcha Militar, appeared in 1868. A number of works written before this are now lost. He continued composing in traditional styles ranging from
Jean-Philippe Rameau,
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Frédéric Chopin and
Franz Liszt until the mid-1880s. He also wrote at least five
zarzuelas, of which all but two are now lost. Perhaps the best source on the works is Albéniz himself. He is quoted as commenting on his earlier period works as:There are among them a few things that are not completely worthless. The music is a bit infantile, plain, spirited; but in the end, the people, our Spanish people, are something of all that. I believe that the people are right when they continue to be moved by
Córdoba,
Mallorca, by the copla of the
Sevillanas, by the
Serenata, and
Granada. In all of them I now note that there is less musical science, less of the grand idea, but more colour, sunlight, flavour of olives. That music of youth, with its little sins and absurdities that almost point out the sentimental affectation ... appears to me like the carvings in the
Alhambra, those peculiar arabesques that say nothing with their turns and shapes, but which are like the air, like the sun, like the blackbirds or like the nightingales of its gardens. They are more valuable than all else of Moorish Spain, which though we may not like it, is the true Spain.
Middle period (
MNAC) During the late 1880s, the strong influence of Spanish style is evident in Albéniz's music. In 1883 Albéniz met the teacher and composer Felipe Pedrell. Pedrell was a leading figure in the development of nationalist Spanish music. In his book
The Music of Spain,
Gilbert Chase describes Pedrell's influence on Albéniz: "What Albéniz derived from Pedrell was above all a spiritual orientation, the realization of the wonderful values inherent in Spanish music." Felipe Pedrell inspired Albéniz to write Spanish music such as the
Suite española, Op. 47, noted for its delicate, intricate melody and abrupt dynamic changes. In addition to the Spanish spirit infused in Albéniz's music, he incorporated other qualities as well. In her biography of Albéniz, Pola Baytelman discerns four characteristics of the music from the middle period as follows: 1. The dance rhythms of Spain, of which there are a wide variety. 2. The use of
cante jondo, which means deep or profound singing. It is the most serious and moving variety of
flamenco or Spanish gypsy song, often dealing with themes of death, anguish, or religion. 3. The use of exotic scales also associated with flamenco music. The
Phrygian mode is the most prominent in Albéniz's music, although he also used the
Aeolian and
Mixolydian modes as well as the
whole-tone scale. 4. The transfer of guitar idioms into piano writing. Following his marriage, Albéniz settled in
Madrid, Spain, and produced a substantial quantity of music in a relatively short period. By 1886 he had written over 50 piano pieces. Albéniz biographer Walter A. Clark says that pieces from this period received enthusiastic reception in the composer's many concerts. Chase describes music from this period, Taking the guitar as his instrumental model, and drawing his inspiration largely from the peculiar traits of
Andalusian folk music—but without using actual folk themes—Albéniz achieves a stylization of Spanish traditional idioms that while thoroughly artistic, gives a captivating impression of spontaneous improvisation...
Córdoba is the piece that best represents the style of Albéniz in this period, with its hauntingly beautiful melody, set against the acrid dissonances of the plucked accompaniment imitating the notes of the Moorish
guzlas. Here is the heady scent of jasmines amid the swaying palm trees, the dream fantasy of an Andalusian "
Arabian Nights" in which Albéniz loved to let his imagination dwell.
Later period While Albéniz's crowning achievement,
Iberia, was written in the last years of his life in France, many of its preceding works are well-known and of great interest. The five pieces in ''
Chants d'Espagne (Songs of Spain
, published in 1892) are a solid example of the compositional ideas he was exploring in the "middle period" of his life. The suite shows what Albéniz biographer Walter Aaron Clark describes as the "first flowering of his unique creative genius", and the beginnings of compositional exploration that became the hallmark of his later works. This period also includes his operatic works—Merlin,
Henry Clifford, and Pepita Jiménez. His orchestral works of this period include Spanish Rhapsody
(1887) and Catalonia'' (1899), dedicated to
Ramon Casas, who had painted his full-length portrait in 1894.
List of Opera Compositions •
The Magic Opal (1892–1893) •
Pepita Giménez (January 1895) •
Henry Clifford (May 1895) •
Merlin (1897–1902) •
Lancelot (1902–1903, incomplete) •
Guinevere (unrealized) == Impact and legacy ==