The Various Compositional Periods and Styles of Spanish Composer Manuel De Falla:

An Exploration of Early 20th Century Musical Innovations and Their Effects on the Composer

Vincent Muscarella

MUS 604: Seminar in Music History IV

December 10, 2018

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The turn of the century from the 1800s to the 1900s represented a revolutionary shift in musical

composition. This shift contributed to social conflict, political disarray, war, modern art, and literature.

Countries like France, Germany, Spain, and Russia created new musical identities that reflected the

cultures and current events of the time. In France, composers such as Debussy and Ravel were inspired by

the impressionist art of Claude Monet and other impressionist artists to create a new style of composition

which depicted vivid images and scenes that reflected aspects of real life. Innovations in harmony and

form created by the French impressionists inspired composers in other countries to embrace the ideas of

non-functional harmony and exoticism, using musical material from foreign folk sources such as music

from the far east, jazz, and Iberia.

​ allet in
In 1913, Igor Stravinsky shocked the musical world when he premiered his ​Rite of Spring B

Paris. The ballet featured heavily syncopated and accented rhythms, continually changing meters, Russian

folk melodies, provocative dance moves, and stunning sets and costumes. This ballet changed

20th-century music forever and set a new course for what is possible in classical composition. Perhaps

just as influential as the ​Rite,​ was the style of Neoclassicism which was embraced by composers such as

Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith, and Sergei Prokofiev. This style of composition harkens back to the clarity,

structured form, balanced melodies, and logical harmonies of the Classical and Baroque eras. This change

of aesthetic does not mean that the music produced by 20th-century composers in this style sounded

exactly like Bach and Beethoven. Neoclassical composers used the framework of music from the past and

applied their distinct styles and innovative techniques to the music in question.

Nationalism is a late 19th and 20th-century style that came about when composers found a new

sense of pride in their heritage and national traditions. Composers from countries such as Russia, Spain,

Germany, and France began to use traditional folk melodies, rhythms, and harmonies to create music

distinctly associated with their country of origin. These new musical styles, techniques, and innovations

inspired composers from a multitude of different regions in Europe, the United States, and Latin
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American countries. New forms such as Neoclassicism, Impressionism, and Nationalism crossed over

between different cultures, creating an inclusive and collaborative musical atmosphere in the early 20th

century.

Manuel De Falla was the most prominent Spanish composer of the early 20th century who

embraced the styles of Impressionism, Neoclassicism, and Nationalism. De Falla found inspiration from

composers Debussy and Stravinsky, as well as composers from his own country such as Granados and

Albeniz. De Falla was not afraid to cross genres and experiment with new styles which is why he is

known today as the most celebrated classical composer in the history of Spain.

Manuel De Falla was born on November 23, 1876, in the Andalusian city of Cadiz, a city that

would prove to be a significant influence on his life and his compositions. Composers from Andalusia

have a deep connection with their culture and its peoples, often collaborating and befriending one another.

De Falla began his love and studies for the piano at an early age in Seville with the guidance of his

mother. De Falla quickly learned works by Beethoven and Haydn such as the ​Pathetique Sonata​ and ​The

Seven Last Words of Christ​, as well as pieces by Grieg and Mozart. De Falla moved to Madrid to continue

his piano and harmony studies with Trago where he flourished as a student. De Falla wanted to absorb all

things Spanish and Andalusian including the popular ​Zarzuela​ operettas and the ​cante jondo ​singing style

of the flamenco tradition. Although De Falla had his roots in Andalusia and Spanish music, the place he
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wanted to study was Paris.

De Falla arrived in Paris during the summer of 1907 where he began to mature as a composer.

De Falla began to compose his first serious works which were still in the Spanish style utilizing ​cante

jondo,​ traditional folk music, and rhythms of Andalusia. These pieces included ​Four Spanish Pieces a​ nd

La Vida Breve,​ one of his most successful and essential operas of the time. The ​Montanesa f​ rom the ​Four

Spanish Pieces​ is one of the first examples of De Falla's incorporation of impressionism in his music. The

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​Suzanne Demarquez, ​Manuel De Falla​, (Philadelphia: Chilton Book Company, 1968), 1-13.
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movement is a musical description and image of the part of Castile that borders the Bay of Biscay. In

Debussy like impressionist fashion, De Falla uses musical techniques to depict the sound of bells

throughout the piece and paint a picture of the Spanish landscape. De Falla formally met Debussy in 1912

and had the chance to perform his ​La Vida Breve​ for the French master. This meeting started a mutual

friendship and working relationship between the two which had Debussy reading through and suggesting

ideas and changes to De Falla’s music. De Falla’s ​Three Songs ​were the composers first full experiment

in impressionist music. The first movement titled ​The Doves​ takes inspiration from Debussy works such

as ​Ariettes Oubliess, Proses Lyriques, Poemes de Baudelaire,​ and ​Il Pleure Dans Mon Coeur.​ De Falla

uses repetitive sextuplet patterns with a G# pedal point in the melody to bring forth the image of an opera

singer singing a recitative. The use of modulation and the harmony of the 9th also recall shades of

impressionistic technique and harmony. The ​Chinoisere ​movement is representative of an Asian museum

visited by De Falla in France. When the singer sings the word "China" in the movement, the percussionist

plays "traditional" Chinese rhythms over an accompaniment of a "Chinese" scale. This style is an

impressionistic technique called exoticism which Debussy was fond of using, taking musical ideas from
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foreign cultures and incorporating them into his pieces.

In 1920, De Falla wrote his only piece for the guitar entitled ​Pour Le Tombeau de Claude

Debussy​ in memory of the passing of his good friend. This piece is a funeral dirge which takes ideas from

Debussy’s ​La Soiree Dans Grenade​ and creates a sound of impressionism with a distinct Spanish sound

as well. De Falla believed that no other non-Spanish composer wrote Spanish music as well as Debussy.

Since Debussy never actually had the chance to visit Spain, his music was a Spain of "imagination" as De

Falla called it. The ​Homenaje a Debussy u​ tilizes impressionistic techniques such as harmonies for color

sake, chord extensions such as the dominant seventh, and unprepared shifts in rhythmic and melodic

figures. The piece utilizes the habanera rhythm that Debussy includes in his ​Soiree​, as well as a direct

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​Demarquez, ​Manuel De Falla,​ 45-51.
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quote of ascending parallel dominant seventh chords at the end of the piece. The death of Debussy and the

completion of this piece signified an end to the impressionist period of Manuel De Falla, but the
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composer never stopped using techniques from the French style in his later pieces.

Manuel De Falla biographer Carol A. Hess believes that the composer indeed found his voice and

calling in the neoclassical style. De Falla was influenced by the neoclassical concepts of Igor Stravinsky

such as "pure," "objective," and "universal" music. While most composers writing in the neoclassical

style cite inspiration from classical and baroque models, De Falla decided to go back even further to

Renaissance Spanish music. De Falla looks to sources such as the guitar music of Gaspar Sanz and

Cantigas de Alfonso X. The two pieces that best represent De Falla's neoclassical period are ​El Retablo

De Maese Pedro​ (Master Peter’s Puppet Show) and the Harpsichord Concerto. ​El Retablo​ was the first

piece that De Falla incorporated the Harpsichord in after being inspired by the legendary Harpsichordist

Wanda Landowska. Using the Harpsichord is a neoclassical technique employed by De Falla, using

instrumentation from past eras such as the Baroque. The harp-lute is also used in ​El Retablo a​ long with a

small chamber orchestra the size one would see in the music of baroque and early classical composers. De

Falla uses the title of ​Sinfonia ​for the opening of the puppet show which is based on the Baroque concerto

grosso. An octatonic scale is played in the trumpets with the start of the dialogue which is a direct

influence from the Russian style of Stravinsky. Music of the time of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of

Don Quixote, ​was the main focus of De Falla’s musical references and sources. Composers from this time

of the Renaissance include Sanz, Salinas, Ledsema, and Pedrell. De Falla’s new style was a departure

from what he calls his ​Andalucista s​ tyle, moving away from using the folk inspirations of his native

Andalusia and more towards the styles of the past. ​El Retablo​ went on to have many successful premieres

and had begun to be programmed alongside the neoclassical works of Stravinsky. Stravinsky commented

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​J.B. Trend, ​Manuel De Falla and Spanish Music,​ (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1929), 39-56.
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that he was moving away from "artificial" folklorism and towards a renewal of "objective" music and that
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De Falla was doing the same in his way.

The ​Harpsichord Concerto ​is a piece that was requested by legendary Harpsichord virtuosa Wanda

Landowska in 1923 for Manuel De Falla to compose. The conception of the concerto was a complicated

process for De Falla to complete, with arguments between him and Landowska and a heavy workload at

the time of the commission. Wanda Landowska ended up loving the piece in every way and thought it to

be something to be cherished. The classical ideas of clarity of form, use of pre-existing materials, and

varied timbres pervade the piece throughout and stay true to De Falla's new style of "objective" music. De

Falla uses 16th-century source material in the first movement by basing it on a song by Juan Vasquez

titled "De Los Alamos Vengo

Madre". The movement is presented in a sonata form, and the theme from Vasquez's song is heard

throughout. The second movement of the concerto features plainchant in the Spanish Catholic tradition. It

is said that the ​pange lingua moro hispano​ may be the specific inspiration for the opening of this

movement as it has been used by many Spanish composers before him. De Falla also employs the four

notes of the "psalm intonation" used to symbolize the Catholic church, used in past musical periods by

composers Haydn, Fux, Mozart, and Mendelssohn. De Falla's religious Catholic views began to become

more apparent in his writing during his neoclassical period. This use of catholic material is mostly

because the music he was using as source material was inspired by composers who were also devout

Catholics or who were employed by the church. The second movement uses canonic treatment of the

"psalm intonation" and moves it through different keys throughout the piece. The third movement of the

concerto is inspired by the keyboard music of Domenico Scarlatti with a hemiola feel of switching

between ¾ and 6/8 time, heavy use of ornaments, and difficult keyboard figurations. The movement is

more clearly in sonata form than the first movement and ends the piece was light and joyous flair. Manuel

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​Carol A. Hess, Sacred Passions: The Life and Music of Manuel De Falla (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2005), 137-148.
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De Falla's neoclassical phase is perhaps his most adventurous and creatively fulfilling period in his career

as a composer. De Falla was able to reach far into the past and use the inspiration of composers from the

Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras. Delving into neoclassicism was a cleansing experience after
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spending time with the French view of composition he embraced earlier.

It can is often argued that Manuel De Falla's entire compositional career was in the nationalist

style. Even when De Falla started to incorporate impressionism and neoclassicism into his music, there

was always a sense of Spanish folk song, harmonies, rhythms, and melodic materials in his compositions.

De Falla never strayed from embracing the sophisticated and lyrical flamenco technique of cante jondo

and music from the countries past. De Falla's ​Seven Spanish Popular Songs​ are a prime example of the

nationalist writings of the great Spanish composer. The songs in this set are all closely related to Spanish

forms and Andalusian cities and regions, such as ​El Pano Moruno​ which translates to (The Moorish

Cloth) and comes from the Andalusian province of Murica. De Falla used folklore influences and songs

from people like Jose Inzenga, Isidore Hernandez, and Jose Verdu. The songs that can be heard in the

Canciones include ​Eco de Espana, Cantos y Bailes Populares de España, Flores de Espana, and

Colección de Cantos Populares de Murica. El Pano Moruno​ from the Canciones employs the use of

chords arpeggiated in a rasgueado style which is akin to the strummed chord of a guitar. De Falla would

use compositional techniques to invoke the sounds of traditional Spanish instruments and flamenco

techniques alike. The ​Asturiana ​movement comes from the influence of northern Spain. The melody and

lyrics come from collections of Jose Hurtado and his ​Ciente Cantos Populares​ and B. Fernandez’s

Cuarenta Canciones Asturianos​. The song features a repetitive ostinato pattern of octave B notes in the

accompaniment with a simple and flowing vocal melody that compliments the accompaniment nicely. De

Falla includes ​Nana i​ n the set which is a Spanish lullaby that De Falla heard as a child from his mother.

The Vocal part is Andalusian in nature, with its influence from Indian music, while the instrumental part

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Hess, ​Manuel De Falla​, 159-162.
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of the movement comes from Persian and Moorish influence. The ​Polo​ movement is De Falla’s tribute to

the flamenco music of gypsy origins. Flamenco techniques of the ​punteado a​ nd ​palmadas​ and guitar

techniques such as ​falsetas a​ nd ​rasgueado a​ re incorporated into the piece to accent the flamenco
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influence.

​Noches en los jardines de Espana (​ Nights in Spanish Gardens), is a three-movement piece for

piano and orchestra. The piece is neither a concerto nor is it program music, De Falla defines it as

"Symphonic Impressions." The influence of Andalusian modes, rhythms, folk songs, cadences, and

ornaments are apparent throughout the entire piece. Like many of De Falla's pieces, the composer

includes effects in the piece that mimic the sounds of conventional Spanish instruments. The first

movement of this monumental piece evokes the beautiful hillside that overlooks the Alhambra palace,

known by many as the most beautiful place in all of Granada. The second movement of the piece entitled

Danza lejana​, translates to dance in the distance and uses many features of traditional Spanish dance

music. Pizzicato strings mimic the sound of the light tapping of dancing feet in a flamenco or cante jondo

style. The Third movement of the piece is "In the Gardens of the Sierra de Córdoba" which describes a

lively party at a Villa on a hillside above Cordoba. Gypsy musicians are playing, singing, and dancing in

the spirit of this movement and is represented by the flamenco style and rhythmic techniques such as the
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change in meter from 6/8 to ¾.

De Falla experienced a setback in his nationalistic style with the rise of Fascist leader Francisco

Franco in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The term "nationalist" took on a rather different

connotation with the new regime, representing the extreme side of pride in one's country. Franco and the

nationalists killed many on the Republican side of the Spanish public, including De Falla's good friend

Federico Garcia Lorca. There were massacres in major cities such as Granada and censorship of the news

and of art and culture. De Falla also lost his friend and fellow composer Maurice Ravel during this time, a

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Demarquez, ​Manuel De Falla​, 67-73.
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​Trend, ​Manuel De Falla​, 65-78.
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man that shared a lot of the same aesthetic views and religious views in life. With the term "nationalism"

twisted into a term that allowed for violence, killing, hate, and military control, De Falla had to retreat for
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some time to reassess his country and his pride.

The ballet ​El Amor Brujo​ translates to "The Love Wizard" and represents the gypsy world of

Andalusia. Candelas is a conventionally pretty and attractive gypsy who is haunted by the idea of the man

she was once involved with who is described as evil, irresistible, and ruthless. Carmelo is a young man

who is attracted to Candela and looks to court the gypsy and make her his own. Candela is accepting of

Carmelo's advances but must turn away due to the ghost who returns and frightened her away. Carmelo

thinks of a way to exercise the ghost out of the picture and asks Candela's friend Lucia if the ghost can

make love to her instead. Lucia agrees to this arrangement, and while the ghost is at his weakest during
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the act of lovemaking, Carmelo can defeat the ghost and show his true love to Candela.

The rhythm of the music and the rhythm of the movement in the dancing is inseparable in this

ballet. De Falla thought of the dance steps and how they would play out the entire time he was composing

the score for this ballet. The great Spanish tradition of dancing, flamenco, and cante jondo, especially in

the gypsy tradition, is perfected by De Falla and adapted for the stage. This ballet is known as De Falla's

most significant success in writing a piece that is purely Spanish and in the Andaluz idiom. Although this

is true, De Falla did not use any direct quotes from Spanish folk music or sources. The now-famous ​Ritual

Fire Dance​ from this ballet is a prime example of how De Falla used Spanish rhythms with different

accents in a very effective way. The harmonies in the ​Ritual Fire Dance​ are distinctly Spanish and could

be heard played on a guitar just as comfortably. The ballet features some of the most inventive and
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innovative uses of music, stage, dance, and nationalism of the early 20th century.

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Hess, ​Manuel De Falla, 2​ 13-223.
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​Trend, ​Manuel De Falla​, 79-81.
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​ Trend, ​Manuel De Falla​, 81-91.
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Many composers of the 20th century went through multiple periods of composition as the years

progressed. Some of these composers, besides the previously mentioned Manuel De Falla, include

Russian born Igor Stravinsky and American composer Aaron Copland. What distinguishes De Falla from

these other composers is the way the composer perfected these different styles of composition while still

keeping his Spanish and Andalusian identity in every piece. Whether it be opera, ballet, chamber music,

orchestral music, piano music, guitar music, or a puppet show, De Falla incorporated the styles of

Neoclassicism, Impressionism, and Nationalism expertly and seamlessly. The friends that De Falla made

on his journey through 20th-century stylistic endeavors include some of the most talented musicians and

composers of that time. These composers include Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and

Joaquin Turina. De Falla learned from these new friends and masters of 20th century composing styles

while always keeping his ideas fresh and creative. Manuel De Falla merely is one of the greatest

composers of the 20th century and the most celebrated composer to emanate from Spain. De Falla's

ability to compose in different styles and forms is a testament to the composer's creativity, insightfulness,

sensitivity, and pure musical talent.

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Bibliography

Demarquez, Suzanne. ​Manuel De Falla​. Philadelphia: Chilton Book Company, 1968.

Hess, Carol A. ​Sacred Passions: The Life and Music of Manuel De Falla.​
New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Trend, J.B. ​Manuel De Falla and Spanish Music.​ New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1929.