Search - Manuel de Falla, Jesús López-Cobos, Alicia Nafe :: de Falla: El Amor Brujo; 7 Canciones Populares Españolas

A different way of hearing a masterpiece

Richard Zencker | Scottsdale, AZ USA | 02/12/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've known the "revised" version of El Amor Brujo since childhood; it's a favorite. But about 30 years ago I became aware that it was not the original version. I couldn't believe this music was originally conceived for such small forces (the original scoring is for flute, oboe, trumpet, horn, bells, piano, and strings). I was interested in finding the score and possibly presenting it, but was unable to locate parts at the time.



Almost 20 years later I found this recording, which states "original version 1915" on the cover. It certainly sounds like a larger ensemble than the scoring would suggest (the score is available through Chester Novello).



Initially I was quite disappointed in this, since the original is not a ballet at all, but a zarzuela, with quite a bit of spoken dialogue. The Spanish is an Andalusian dialect, and may possibly be too idiomatic for some who know Spanish to follow. And the inability to see the important stage action may make it impossible to identify the characters. I cannot say, since I am not at all fluent in the language, and consequently thought the dialogue quite a distraction.



But lately I have become quite fond of this recording. As mentioned, the orchestral sound is quite stunning, and there is quite a bit here that de Falla later excised. The order of the movements is completely different, and some titles have been switched as well. The plot is rather different as well; instead of a jealous ghost, we have a story of an unfathful lover.



I feel that becoming familiar with this version has only increased my appreciation for the work. I am not sure I agree with the assertion in the notes that this "does not attain the artistic heights of the revised version." It would have been nice for this to have been filmed, since the action is an integral part of the work. (One thinks of Carlos Saura's film version, which is an expansion of the later revision.) I think the revised version was simply the result of an effort to make this work comprehensible to an international audience.



The disc also offers the "Seven Popular Spanish Songs" in an intriguing arrangement by Luciano Berio (!). At first I was none too pleased with the soloist, Alicia Nafe -- but again, time has altered this opinion, and I now feel her idiomatic approach suits this music quite well, since the material is "popular" rather than "operatic." It's also interesting that the obvious relation of the Jota here to the one that concludes "The Three-Cornered Hat" is unmentioned in the liner notes."