Falla Corregidor y la molinera
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Label: Claves
Magazine Review Date: 3/1985
Media Format: Vinyl
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: D8405
Author: Lionel Salter
It had long been known that The three-cornered hat, which established Falla's reputation when it was produced by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1919, had been preceded two years earlier by a mime version of Alarcon's novel which Falla had scored for chamber orchestra; but it was not until 1981 that the manuscript of El corregidor y la molinera, as it was called, was unearthed, Listeners to BBC Radio 3 may have heard its first performance in this country in April 1983: its first commercial recording, which appears here, is splendidly crisp and idiomatic, bringing out all Falla's sly allusions (which belie the common view that this austere musician had no sense of humour). It is also generally brisker than was the BBC performance, making the disc quantitatively distinctly short measure at less than 36 minutes overall; but against this must be weighed excellent alert playing and vivid sound quality in which I should only have liked greater depth. Teresa Berganza, of course, makes her minute-and-a-half contribution as to the manner born.
The trumpet-and-drum fanfare and her preliminary folksong, which begin the ballet, do not exist in this early version (they were added so as to allow time for Picasso's drop-curtain to be admired), nor do those favourite set-pieces, the miller's farruca and the Corregidor's minuet-like dance (inserted for Massine and Woizikovski respectively); and there is only the embryo of the brilliant final jota. The first scene, however, is not radically very different from the ballet version, but the second scene is a great deal less 'symphonic' in thought: instead, it graphically mirrors the incidents of the complex action in the technique known in the firm world as ''Mickey Mouse-ing''. To appreciate this fully—and Falla himself set great store by this ''musical dialogue'', which he declared ''cost me so much work and produced so novel an effect''—it is necessary to know precisely what is happening on the stage all the time, and it is to be regretted that a guide to the action is not given in the sleeve-note. Nevertheless there is much pleasure to be had from the witty instrumental writing, and Diaghilev's eagerness to have the work expanded for his company is very understandable. In meeting his demands and responding to Massine's influence, Falla sacrificed much subtle characterization in favour of developing large-scale colourful scenes; and anyone who knowsThe three-cornered hat and is curious to see how a sensitive composer's mind works will find this record of absorbing interest.'
The trumpet-and-drum fanfare and her preliminary folksong, which begin the ballet, do not exist in this early version (they were added so as to allow time for Picasso's drop-curtain to be admired), nor do those favourite set-pieces, the miller's farruca and the Corregidor's minuet-like dance (inserted for Massine and Woizikovski respectively); and there is only the embryo of the brilliant final jota. The first scene, however, is not radically very different from the ballet version, but the second scene is a great deal less 'symphonic' in thought: instead, it graphically mirrors the incidents of the complex action in the technique known in the firm world as ''Mickey Mouse-ing''. To appreciate this fully—and Falla himself set great store by this ''musical dialogue'', which he declared ''cost me so much work and produced so novel an effect''—it is necessary to know precisely what is happening on the stage all the time, and it is to be regretted that a guide to the action is not given in the sleeve-note. Nevertheless there is much pleasure to be had from the witty instrumental writing, and Diaghilev's eagerness to have the work expanded for his company is very understandable. In meeting his demands and responding to Massine's influence, Falla sacrificed much subtle characterization in favour of developing large-scale colourful scenes; and anyone who knows
Falla Corregidor y la molinera
Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music.
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £8.75 / month
Subscribe
Gramophone Full Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £11.00 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.