Suite Española No. 1, Op. 47

• Suite Española No. 1 is a series of piano pieces which Albéniz composed over the course of several years, between 1882-89.¹
• Like in Iberia, each movement of this suite is inspired by a region in Spain.²
• The suite was commissioned in 1886, but by the time of Albéniz’s death in 1909, he had submitted only four movements. Albéniz’s editors added four more of his short works to the set posthumously, to complete the original plan for an eight-movement suite.³
  • The original four pieces were “Granada,” “Cataluña,” “Sevilla” and “Cuba.”

Movements

1. Granada – Serenata
2. Cataluña – Curranda (The curranda is a Catalonian triple-meter dance, related to the French courante.)
3. Sevilla – Sevillana
4. Cádiz – Saeta (Saeta indicates a religious song.)
5. Asturias – Leyenda (This is one of the pieces that Albeniz’s publisher added to the set after the composer’s death. The publisher chose to name this movement after Asturia, a region in western Spain, but the music is more reflective of the the flamenco style of Andalusia. Leyenda (also part of the publisher’s chosen title) means “legend.”)
6. Aragón – Fantasía
7. Castilla – Seguidillas
8. Cuba – Capricho (Cuba was still part of Spain when Albéniz composed Suite Española. The subtitle “capricho” indicates a nocturne.)⁴

1.  “Suite Española No.1, Op.47 (Albéniz, Isaac),” IMSLP, accessed January 5, 2021, https://imslp.org/wiki/Suite_Espa%C3%B1ola_No.1%2C_Op.47_(Alb%C3%A9niz%2C_Isaac). 
2.  Maureen Bouja, “A Tour of Spain: Albéniz’ Suite Española,” Interlude (May 8th, 2019), accessed January 5, 2020, https://interlude.hk/tour-spain-albeniz-suite-espanola/.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.