Granados: Goyescas: Piano: Instrumental Work

For Solo Piano-This volume brings together the most memorable and frequently played set of works for the piano by Enrique Granados one of Spain's greatest modern composers.

No. 4 from Goyescas-This ?Lament or the maiden and the nightingale? is the fourth movement of Granados? six-part piano cycle Goyescas (1909?11).The cycle?s title is derived from the name of the Spanish painterFrancisco de Goya whose paintings inspired Granados. The Goyescas conjure up Goya?s Spain of the late 18th century ? chivalrous and sensual but also melancholic and sombre. The overall theme is the life of two younglovers.The ?Quejas? are a turning point in the cycle because here jealousy leads to a lament that is joined by the song of the nightingale. The expressive intensity makes the movement the highpoint of the cyclefor many and G. Henle Verlag is now offering it as an individual Urtext edition.

This Piano suite written in 1911 is Enrique Granados’ most famous work even considered his crowning creation. Goyescas consists of 6 movements inspired by the paintings of Francisco Goya although the Piano pieces have not been authoritatively associated with any particular paintings.The Piano writing of the Spanish composer and acclaimed pianist is highly ornamented and extremely difficult to master which is especially true for this grand piece. Just as many of his other Piano works this suit has been transcribed for the classical Guitar and has so become not only part of the standard Romantic Piano repertoire but is also extensivelyplayed by skilled guitarists.Goyescas displays a wide array of styles moods and techniques the best known movement from the suite Quejas ó la maja y el ruiseñor resembles a nocturne but is filled with intricate figuration and glittering bird-like trills while El amor y la muerte has a strong improvisational feel. Not only does this virtuoso arrangement of Spanish tunes provide a welcome challenge to advanced pianists it is also guaranteed to dazzle audiences everywhere!

This mini-cycle of three songs for Voice and in this instance Guitar are ranked among the greatest of Granados’s musical achievements. The blend of beautiful melody formal integrity and control in the accompaniment creates a remarkable work. The songs set the poetry of Fernando Periquet a contemporary Spanish writer and generally concern the theme of romantic love. The texts are in Spanish untranslated.Spanish composer and pianist Enrique Granados was active in the decades around the turn of the last century. Granados’s life and work were cut tragically short when the passenger ship on which he was sailing was bombed by a German U-boat in the English Channel. Heis best known for his suite for Piano Goyescas which has been arranged for other instruments written in 1911 around the time that these songs were written.