Iberia, Book I

Composer: ALBÉNIZ, Isaac
  • Albéniz composed his piano suite Iberia between 1905-1909. The entire work comprises four books, each containing three movements (12 total). Each movement of the suite represents the culture and sounds of a region in Spain.1
  • Movements in Book I (dedicated to Jeanne Escudier, the widow of Ernest Chausson)
    1. Evocación (Evocation)
      • This first movement “evokes” a nostalgic musical impression of Spain.
      • Listen for rhythms of Spanish folk dances like fandango, and the whole tone scale, a favorite of musical Impressionists.2
    2. El puerto (The Port)
      • The second movement of Book 1 was inspired by Santa María, a fishing port town on the Bay of Cádiz.
      • The style is a zapateado [pronunciation], a peppy Spanish folk dance.
      • Listen for imitation of guitar strumming.3
    3. El Corpus en Sevilla (Corpus Christi in Seville)
      • The third movement of Book 1 was inspired by the Corpus Christi celebrations in Seville.
      • Listen for the interruption of the march-style procession by the saeta [pronunciation], an improvised song to the Virgin.4

Sources

  1. Hadassah Sahr, review of Twelve Nouvelle Impressions: Historical and Cultural Factors Relating to the Performance of Isaac Albeniz’s “Iberia” Suite by Lisa M. Lewis, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education no. 150 (2001): 73-74, https://www.jstor.org/stable/40319102.
  2. Yale Fineman, “Alhambrismo! The Life and Music of Isaac Albeniz,” University of Maryland Libraries (2004), accessed July 10, 2019, https://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/1913.
  3. Ibid.
  4. John Henken, “Iberia Book 1,” L. A. Phil, accessed February 16, 2024, https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/1990/iberia-book-1.

Cut IDs

15172 41691 42870 41693 15174 41692 15173