Fast Facts

• Talented pianist

• Used folk music and flamenco from his home area of Andalusia (an-duh-loo-sea-uh)

• Lived in Spain and France before moving to Argentina where he spent the rest of his life

• Wrote only a few pieces but often considered Spain’s greatest composer of the 20th century

Manuel de Falla
Flamenco and Folk Songs

Manuel de Falla (Dey-Fah-Yah) was born in Cádiz, Spain. He began piano lessons with his mother. His family moved to Madrid when he was fourteen and he attended the local conservatory. His teacher had a deep love of Spanish folk music which he shared with de Falla who began introducing folk elements, especially flamenco themes, into his music. His early compositions were mostly chamber works and zarzuelas, a traditional Spanish stage production similar to an opera. In 1907, de Falla moved to Paris where he met other composers who influenced his mature style. In 1914, due to the onset of World War I, de Falla returned to Madrid where he wrote several of his best-known works (including The Three-Cornered Hat). de Falla moved to Granada in 1921 where he completed several compositions, including a harpsichord concerto and music for a puppet theater.

Following the Spanish Civil War, de Falla moved into self-imposed exile in Argentina in 1939. Although the Spanish government offered a generous pension for his return, de Falla refused. He died at his home in 1946 and requested to be buried in Argentina. However, the Spanish dictator arranged for his body to be returned to Spain to be buried in the Cádiz Cathedral. Although never a particularly prolific composer, through these works, and others, de Falla was widely recognized as the leading Spanish composer of his generation.

Spanish Love Triangle

De Falla wrote a two-scene ballet called The Magistrate and the Miller’s Wife with accompaniment by a chamber orchestra in 1917. The story, based on a popular Spanish novel, The Three-Cornered Hat, portrayed a corrupt magistrate, an honest miller, and his faithful wife. The official’s various underhanded schemes fail to seduce the beautiful woman, who remains with her steadfast husband. Sergei Diaghilev, the impresario of the Ballets Russes, saw a performance of de Falla’s ballet and asked de Falla to expand the work to a full-length ballet. This two-act version for full orchestra, retitled The Three-Cornered Hat, was completed in 1919. The production featured choreography and dancing by Leonid Massine and sets and costumes by Pablo Picasso. De Falla compiled the music into two concert suites for orchestra. The music is filled with Spanish folk tunes and dance, as well as colorful orchestration bringing the village to life.

El Sombrero de tres picos suite no. 2
I. Tango der Nachbarn (Seguidillas)
”The Neighbors’ Dance”

• Seguidillas rhythm

• Opening fanfare reminiscent of the Spanish flamenco guitar

Composers often write lots of music, but only some of it becomes famous. Below are some important works by de Falla which are still performed today:

•   El amor brujo (The Sorcerer Love) featuring Danza ritual del fuego (Ritual Fire Dance)

•   El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat)

•   Noches en los jardines de España (Nights in the Gardens of Spain)

Fun Facts

• de Falla started piano lessons at age nine, but soon had to find a new teacher, when his left to become a nun.

• At 15, de Falla was interested in becoming a journalist and started two magazines. However, after attending a concert featuring Grieg, he was inspired to become a musician.

• de Falla was born Manuel María de los Dolores Falla y Matheu. When he was 23, he began using de with his first surname, professionally using the name Manuel de Falla.

• de Falla’s first important work was a one-act opera called La vida breve (The Brief Life). It won first prize in a musical competition. The award was 2500 pesetas (approximately $16) and a production at the Royal Theater in Madrid. However, the production never happened.

• In 1926, de Falla wrote a Harpsichord Concerto for Wanda Landowska, a Polish pianist and harpsichordist who was influential in the revival of harpsichord. de Falla’s concerto was the first written for harpsichord in the 20th century.

• de Falla was featured on Spain’s 100-pesetas banknote in 1970.

• The Three-Cornered Hat ballet production in Paris featured sets and costumes by Pablo Picasso.

If you liked, “The Neighbors’ Dance”, try: