for solo piano and five instruments
Written between December 1995 and February 1996, ‘‘In memoriam Manuel de Falla’’, for piano and five instruments, was premiered in Madrid on April 17th, 1996 by pianist Ulrike Engels and the soloists of the Grenada orchestra, conducted by the work’s dedicatee Yvan Nommick.
The idea of this chamber concerto comes from Yvan Nommick himself, then a resident of the Casa de Velázquez as a musicologist, who suggested Vincent Paulet that he write a piece to be played as a sequel to de Falla’s ‘‘Concerto’’ for harpsichord.
In the premier concert program (organized for the fiftieth anniversary of Manuel de Falla’s death), Yvan Nommick made the following comments:
The score divides itself into five movements: introduction and ‘‘Letanía’’ (Litany), ‘‘Danza’’ (Dance), ‘‘Noche’’ (Night), ‘‘Danza’’, ‘‘Adiós’’ (Farewell). Its formal structure, obviously symmetrical, corresponds to the sequence A-B-C-B-D, whereas a very simple melodic and harmonic material, exposed in the first measures and developed throughout the piece thanks to a well-mastered variation technique, ensures its overall unity. The instruments are the same as in de Falla’s ‘‘Concerto’’, except that the piano replaces the harpsichord and the oboe also plays the English horn part.
‘‘In memoriam Manuel de Falla’’ is, according to the composer, ‘‘a great meditative piece, out of which two fast-paced dances emerge.’’ The presence of de Falla is conjured up by the melismatic style of the different themes or motifs, and the construction of certain chords based on superimposed fifths; it reveals itself fully in the last movement (‘‘Adiós’’) with the quotation of the initial chord in the first passage of ‘‘El amor brujo’’ (‘‘A Love Bewitched’’) titled ‘‘Medianoche’’ (‘‘Midnight’’). The repetition of this chord, interrupted by fragments from the previous movements creates an atmosphere of far-away bells ringing which progressively soothes the listener into a dreamy state of timelessness. Two short chords, in the lower range of the piano, lead the piece to its conclusion.
(from Vincent Paulet’s French translation of the Spanish version)
(fl, ob, Cl, Vln, Vcl)
composed in: 1995 – 1996
premiered in: 1996, Madrid, at the Institut Français, for the fiftieth anniversary of Manuel de Falla’s death, by Ulrike Engels, piano, and the soloists of the Ciudad de Granada orchestra, conducted by Yvan Nommick
duration: 18’30
publisher: Jobert
discography: Jacqueline Méfano (piano), Ensemble 2E2M, conducted by Paul Méfano, 2000 (MFA/Radio-france, « Concertos de chambre », MFA 216035)
also in the repertoire of Carole Carniel, Geneviève Girard, Véronique Briel and Jean-Marc Bouché (piano), Atelier Musical de Touraine, Bernard Calmel, François-Xavier Roth and Pierre Roullier (cond.)