Asturias

Asturias (Leyenda) is a musical work written by the Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz.

It was originally written for the piano and set in the key of G minor. It was first published in Barcelona, by Juan Bta. Pujol & Co., in 1892 as the prelude of a three-movement set entitled Chants d'Espagne.

The name Asturias (Leyenda) was given to it posthumously by the German publisher Hofmeister, who included it in the 1911 "complete version" of the Suite española, although not Albéniz never intended the piece for this suite. Despite the new name, this music is not considered suggestive of the folk music of the northern Spanish region of Asturias, but rather of Andalusian flamenco traditions^[1]. Leyenda, Hofmeister's subtitle, means legend. The piece is noted for the delicate, intricate melody of its middle section and abrupt dynamic changes.

According to guitarist and guitar scholar Stephen Yates, the first guitar transcription of the piece was probably by Severino García Fortea, although Segovia's transcription is the most famous and most influential^[2]. The piece has become one of the most important works of the classical guitar repertoire.

Usage

• The beginning of Spanish Caravan by The Doors, from the album Waiting for the Sun, contains the main theme.
• It was performed during Nicolas Sarkozy's inauguration as President of France on May 16th, 2007, because his wife at the time, born Cécilia Ciganer-Albéniz, is the great-granddaughter of the composer, Isaac Albéniz.
• The main theme is used extensively in the soundtrack of the 2008 film Mirrors.

References

External links

• http://stanleyyates.com/articles/albeniz/leyenda.html
• Performance by John Williams on guitar.
• Performance by Rostislav Sharaevsky on marimba.

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