| |
Rainy
days are for Romantic piano music. Painting & Music are
inexorably intertwined with Spanish identity in Enrique Granados's
ornamental Goyescas,
Los Majos Enamorados
(The
Majos in Love),
a piano suite of 6 pieces that were inspired by the paintings of Goya.
Granados said most poetically: "I
am enamored with the psychology of Goya, with his palette, with
him, with his muse the Duchess of Alba….That whitish pink of the
cheeks, contrasting with the blend of black velvet; those
subterranean creatures, hands of mother-of-pearl and jasmine
resting on jet trinkets, have possessed me." The
turn of the 20th century was a time of ardent nationalism in
Spain, with much discussion about Spanish identity.
Granados, like many artists of the time, looked to Goya in an
attempt to capture the essence of the Spanish soul. Maja
derives from the word maya, the month of May, and majismo
was the wearing of national dress, after Andalusian May Day
costumes -- the nobility sought to emulate the dress and
mannerisms of the romantic, bohemian majos and majas.
The most famous of these was the Duchess of Alba and she is
dressed in maja costume in the famous portrait, The
Duchess of Alba, above.
She is also rumored to be the subject (the identity of the model
remains uncertain) of the scandalous paintings, La Maja Desnuda
(The Naked Maja) and La Maja Vestida (The Clothed Maja). Granados
also admired Goya's ability to paint emblematic Spanish scenes, in
particular those depicting Madrilenõ life -- unlike his
compatriots Falla and Albeniz, Granados was centered on Castilian,
not Andalusian, culture. Goyescas
is embellished
romantic music, with particularly difficult passages that
forcefully alternate rhythms and tempos. In Coloquio en
la Reja - Dúo de Amor (Dialogue at the window, Love Duet) the
music has the complexity and intricacy of the ornamental grill (reja)
through which the lovers court. The sense of sensual
yearning in the former gives way to the deeper El Amor y la
Muerte (Love and Death) which changes in mood from reverie to
passionate tragedy. Granados said of the Goyescas, "All
of the themes…are united in el amor y la muerte...intense
pain, nostalgic love and the final tragedy - death." In
1916, Granados was a passenger on the ill-fated Sussex
which was torpedoed by a German U-Boat in the English
Channel. Granados jumped into the ocean to save his wife
Amparo, only to drown along with her. There are differing
accounts of this incident but we prefer this one which has all the
elements of his music… love, passion…el amor y la muerte….
Listen:
Goyescas,
Los Majos Enamorados
(The Majos in Love)
See:
The
Duchess of Alba, Hispanic
Society of America, New York
Permalink
Save
to del.icio.us
Digg
This!
|
|
|
