Concerto for harpsichord, flute, oboe, clarinet, violin and cello

The first performance of Falla’s Harpsichord Concerto - given by its dedicatee Wanda Landowska and members of the Pablo Casals Orchestra in Barcelona in 1926 - was not a great success. The problem was not so much that it was under-rehearsed, although that was certainly a factor, as that it seemed so severe, so self-consciously modernist and so lacking in the traditional Spanish attractions of sensual melody and provocative rhythms. Coming from the composer of El Amor brujo and El sombrero de tres picos, it was difficult to take.

Certainly, it was a radical departure for Falla. Buth it was inspired in part by the nature of the instrument it was written for. Although a note in the score offers the alternative of “harpsichord (or piano)” - virtuoso harpsichordists were a rare phenomenon in the 1920s - it is essentially a harpsichord piece. It draws on the baroque associations of the instrument and the back-to Bach manner of Stravinsky. At the same time, it goes still further back in search of a Soldier’s Tale kind of primitivism and comes right up to date with harmonies and gestures clearly related to the latest in Parisian fashion.

Falla’s Harpsichord Concerto is not, however, un-Spanish. In fact, it is through the Spanish element that, against all apparent odds, it achieves its extraordinary stylistic unity. The first movement is based on the fifteenth- century Castilian popular song “De los álamos vengo, madre” which is developed in a variety of ways - not all of them unlyrical - in alternation with the aggressively polytonal ritornello introduced in the opening bars.

The second movement is an interesting reminder of one of the formative experiences behind the work - the impression made on the composer by a religious procession, accompanied by particularly evocative oboes and bassoons, during Holy Week in Seville. The processional inspiration of the Lentodetermined its melodic content(actually based on an old Spanish chant), its deliberate pace, its outdoor sound and its very peculiar fervour.

The final Vivace - which, though written before the other two, is thematically related to both of them - is a more sophisticated invention. It is a tribute to the Spanish side of Scarlatti and at the same time a compendium of subtly witty allusions to jazz harmonies, mischief à la Groupe des Six, and even a traditional Spanish dance rhythm.

Gerald Larner©

Although Falla’s Harpsichord Concerto was given successful performances in Paris, London and Madrid after its unfortunate Barcelona première, it was not recognised as the masterpiece it is until it was heard at the ISCM Festival in Sienna in 1928. Interestingly, the soloist on all these early occasions, apart from the first, was not Wanda Landowska but the composer himself. She had given him valuable advice on writing the harpsichord part in El Retablo de Maese Pedro but he had given her no opportunity to collaborate on the solo part in the concerto and, in fact, had given her little time to learn it. So it is perhaps not surprising that, although she greeted the score with enthusiasm when she first received it, she gave only two more performances (both in the United States) and failed to record it. She clearly preferred the the Concert champêtre which Poulenc wrote for her, with characteristic charm and wit, in 1929. - G.L.