"Romance Anónimo" (''Anonymous Romance'') is a piece for guitar, also known as "Estudio en Mi de Rubira" (''Study in E by Rubira''), "Spanish Romance", "Romance de España", "Romance de Amor", "Romance of the Guitar", "Romanza" and "Romance d'Amour" among other names. Its origins and authorship are currently in question. It is suspected of originally being a solo instrumental guitar work, from the 19th century. It has variously been attributed to Antonio Rubira, David del Castillo,Sobre el Romance
(mentioning David del Castillo) by Juan Dotras. The work in question is not the one with similar title, calle
"Romance sans paroles"

Francisco Tárrega Francisco de Asís Tárrega Eixea (21 November 185215 December 1909) was a Spanish composer and classical guitarist of the late Romantic period. He is known for such pieces as Capricho Árabe and ''Recuerdos de la Alhambra''. He is often calle ...

, Fernando Sor,

Daniel Fortea Daniel Fortea i Guimerà (28 April 1878 in Benlloc, Spain – 5 March 1953 in Castellón de la Plana, Spain) was a Spanish guitarist, composer, and music educator. Biography In his childhood, Fortea learned the clarinette, guitar and bandurria ...

Miguel Llobet Miguel Llobet Solés (18 October 187822 February 1938) was a classical guitarist, born in Barcelona, Spain. Llobet was a renowned virtuoso who toured Europe and America extensively. He made well known arrangements of Catalan folk songs for the ...

, Antonio Cano, Vicente Gómez, and

Narciso Yepes Narciso Yepes (14 November 19273 May 1997) was a Spanish guitarist. He is considered one of the finest virtuoso classical guitarists of the twentieth century. Biography Yepes was born into a family of humble origin in Lorca, Region of Murcia. ...

. The ''Anónimo'' (anonymous) part of its name has been incorporated over the years due to this uncertainty. The question of authorship has probably been propagated by three main reasons: the lack of claim by its true author, the desire to avoid paying copyright fees, and the desire of publishing companies to claim the lucrative copyright of this world-famous piece. The style of the piece is that of the parlour music of the late 19th century in Spain or South America, having a closed three-part form: the first in the

minor key In Western music, the adjectives major and minor may describe a chord, scale, or key. As such, composition, movement, section, or phrase may be referred to by its key, including whether that key is major or minor. Intervals Some intervals ...

and the second being in the

major key In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in classical, Western art, and Western pop music. The group features a '' tonic note'' and its corresponding '' chords'', ...

, with the third being a restatement of the first.

Early recordings

The earliest recording of "Romance" is on a

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...

(from the "Viuda de Aramburo" label) featuring guitarists Luis and Simon Ramírez, made in Madrid sometime between 1897 and 1901. The work in question is titled "Sort-Estudio para Guitarra por S. Ramirez". It is highly likely that the name "Sort" — as it occurs on the cylinders's title — refers to Fernando Sor, as Sor's surname is sometimes also spelled "Sort" or "Sorts". The recording may be heard on the Doremi CD release "Tarrega, His Disciples, and Their Students" (DHR-7996) and online at the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive.Estudio para Guitarra by Simón Ramirez
(the titles are mixed up
Link
shows "Estudio para guitarra Turca", "Marcha Turca", etc. which are obvious errors)

Possible origins

Early published versions

Antonio Rubira

An early publication of the work, known as ''"Estudio para Guitarra" de Rovira'' was published by J.A. Medina e Hijo in Argentina probably in 1913, or with complete certainty before 1925, when the publisher ceased activities;Enciclopedia de la Guitarra
, Francisco Herrera which is attributed to

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

guitarist Antonio Rubira. Guitarist and composer Isaías Sávio (Montevideo, 1900 — São Paulo, 1977) who published the work in 1959 titled "Romance de Amor (Estudo em Mi) Música de Antonio Rovira (Segunda metade do século XIX)" has published information which also cites Antonio Rubira as author (see "Violào e Mestres" Junio, 1966 / Sào Paulo, Brasil): Sávio gives information that Juan Pargas (who knew Rubira) gave the ''Estudio de Rovira'' to the guitarist Juan Valles in 1876 (1878?). Sávio also mentions that the work became popular in Buenos Aires, and began to be published by some, such as Spaniard Pedro Maza, and that the work appears in the method of Pedro Mascaró y Reissig (published in Montevideo in 1919), on page 14, with the title "Conocido por Estudio de Rovira". Publishing company Ricordi of Argentina currently publishes the piece and attributes authorship to Antonio Rubira.
details

Manuscripts

The earliest manuscripts of the piece documented so far, are from the late 19th century: one attributing authorship to Antonio Rubira; and an unsigned version which shows a note at the bottom stating "Melodia de Sor" (Sor's melody) arguably attributing the piece to Fernando Sor. A noticeable difference between these manuscripts and the famous version of Yepes is the inverted arpeggio. Both manuscripts, though believed to be from the late 19th Century, have not been formally dated, and are not believed to be in the handwriting of the alleged authors, but rather are believed to be copies made by students or musicians (also note that Fernando Sor died in 1839). The Ukrainian folk song Nich Yaka Misyachna (''Beautiful Moonlight'') could be a precursor of the piece. Although some correlation can be made between

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Moonlight Sonata The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, marked ''Quasi una fantasia'', Op. 27, No. 2, is a piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. The popular name ''M ...

(especially the arpeggio), the Romance guitar piece and the Ukrainian folk song, the latter has enjoyed much success through Eastern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, while being vastly different from the Spanish/Argentine song and its various arrangements. Notably, since European music is largely governed by the same harmonic principles, similarities between unrelated original compositions are not only inevitable, but ubiquitous.

Disproved origins

(1927 — 1997) interpreted and is listed as the author of the piece in René Clément's 1952 film '' Jeux interdits'' (''Forbidden Games''). The popularity of the film gave the piece worldwide fame. Yepes currently has the copyright of this composition in Spain although recordings and manuscripts of this song predate 1952. Newer publications show Yepes as the arranger and the piece being of anonymous authorship, or authored by Fernando Sor. The official statement from Narciso Yepes and the Yepes heirs is that Narciso Yepes, being a young boy, originally composed the piece for his mother when he was about seven years old (c. 1934) and soon thereafter performed it between acts at the Teatro Guerra, in

Lorca, Spain Lorca () is a municipality and city in the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia in south-eastern Spain, southwest of the city of Murcia. The municipality had a population of 95,515 in 2020, up from the 2001 census total of 77,477. Lorca is ...

. Some time later, he recounts, when he was thirteen years old he attended a performance in Valencia and heard his composition performed by another guitarist, who indicated the authorship as "anonymous". Yepes contends that the melody had been plagiarized (with some changes to the arrangement) by someone who, he assumes, must have attended that first performance. However, Yepes was born 1927 and cannot be the author of the work, since it was already recorded in 1900 and published before 1925 (possibly 1913) by J.A. MEDINA e HIJO; and in 1919 in the method of Pedro Mascaró y Reissig, etc. Vicente Gomez (1911–2001) published it and performed it in 1941 in the Hollywood movie '' Blood and Sand'' with

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James'', ' ...

and

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

, also attributing authorship of the song to himself.

Other arrangements

* Swedish singer

Lill Lindfors Maj Lillemor "Lill" Lindfors (born 12 May 1940) is a Swedish singer who has performed in Scandinavia since the 1960s. Career She was born in Helsinki, Finland, and made her debut as a revue actress in Uddevalla in 1960. The following year s ...

covered the piece as "Du är den ende" (Eng: "You are the only one") in 1966, with Swedish lyrics by poet Bo Setterlind with an orchestral arrangement by

Marcus Österdahl Marcus Österdahl (born 27 January 1943, in Stockholm, Sweden), is a Swedish musical director and entrepreneur. The Telstars In 1963, Österdahl was one of the founder members of The Telstars, a pop-jazz group consisting of some of the most ...

, also included on her 1967 album '' Du är den ende''. Record producer Curt Pettersson asked for a Latin/Mediterranean influenced arrangement and

used his Höfner-bassguiter to create a significant sound that created a ‘shot-gun’ effect for attention. A long time later, Lill Lindfors heard from Bo Setterlind that his lyrics version was not based on a love affair, but instead aimed at

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

. * The

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

song "Tema de Amor" was performed in the 1968 Argentinian film '' Digan lo que digan'' (Let Them Talk) and it used this song as the melody with lyrics. * The Dutch Duo de Koning recorded the song as ‘Ave Maria klinkt zacht door de nacht’ probably in 1968 * This piece was the melody for the 1970

Françoise Hardy Françoise Madeleine Hardy (; born 17 January 1944) is a French former singer and songwriter. Mainly known for singing melancholic sentimental ballads, Hardy has been an important figure in French pop music since her debut, spanning a career o ...

song "San Salvador". * The first song of Al Bano and Romina Power was a vocal version, titled "Storia di due innamorati" in 1970. * The

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

song "Quiero" from the 1975 album '' El Amor'' used this song as the melody, with added lyrics. * German singer

Bernhard Brink Bernhard Brink (born 17 May 1952 in Nordhorn) is a German Schlager singer, TV and radio presenter. Life After school Brink studied German law in Berlin but never graduated. Brink is a German singer of Schlager songs. Since the 1970s he has ...

performed a vocal version in 1976 (title: "Liebe auf Zeit"). * An

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

version of the piece was used as

background music Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...

for the 1980 arcade game ''

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

''. * Andy Williams recorded a version titled "Vino de Amor" by

Tony Hiller Anthony Toby Hiller (30 July 1927 – 26 August 2018) was an English songwriter and record producer. He was best known for writing and/or producing hits for Brotherhood of Man, including " United We Stand" (1970) and "Save Your Kisses for Me" (19 ...

and

Nicky Graham Nicholas Lynedoch Graham is a musician, songwriter and music producer from the UK. He was born in Durban, South Africa, in January 1945, before his family returned to the UK in 1960. His musical career began when joining UK band The End in 1965 ...

on his 1984 album '' Greatest Love Classics'' * Japanese singer

Yōko Oginome , real name , is a former pop idol, actress and voice actress, who gained popularity in the mid-1980s. Her fans often call her Oginome-chan. She is represented by the talent management firm Rising Production. Career Oginome spent most of her ...

recorded the song as her 1993 single "

Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

". * German group B-Tribe used a fragment of it on the track "Desesperada" from their 1998 album '' Sensual Sensual''. * Eddie Vedder played a version as an opening for the Pearl Jam song " Better Man" at an August 18, 2000 concert at the Deer Creek Music Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. * The Korean drama ''

Autumn in My Heart ''Autumn in My Heart'' () is a 2000 South Korean romantic television drama starring Song Seung-heon, Song Hye-kyo, and Won Bin. The series is the first installment of season-themed tetralogy '' Endless Love'' drama series directed by Yoon Seok ...

'' (2000) used this song in its soundtrack. * American rock band

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist ...

included this piece as the first song on their debut album '' I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love'', released 2002. It is the only instrumental piece released by the band. *

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

used a fragment of the piece in his track "Romance" on his 2005 album '' Light + Shade''. * The

Buck 65 Richard Terfry (born March 4, 1972), better known by his stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian alternative hip hop artist. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, countr ...

song "The Outskirts" from the 2007 album '' Situation'' uses this piece as backing. * Cantopop singer

Eason Chan Eason Chan Yick Shun (born 27 July 1974) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Chan was ranked sixth in the 2013 Forbes China Celebrity Top 100 List. In 2006 Chan's Cantonese album ''U87'' was named one of ''Time'' magazine's "Five Asian Albums W ...

included this piece on his 2011 album title release, '' Stranger Under My Skin''. It is a bilingual English and Cantonese song with lyrics by Chow Yiu-Fai. *

Lykke Li Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson (born 18 March 1986), known as Lykke Li (), is a Swedish singer. Her music often blends elements of indie pop, dream pop and Electronic music, electronic. Her debut studio album, ''Youth Novels'', was released in 2008 ...

covered the piece as "Du är den ende" for the Swedish film ''Tommy'' in 2014. * A vocal version including lyrics, which is called ''Forbidden Games (Jeux Interdits)'' (sometimes also ''Romance of Love'') was arranged by B. Parker and Marc Lanjean; and has been performed by artists such as

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she w ...

and Tom Jones * Similarly titled Finnish translation "Kielletyt leikit" ("Forbidden Games") was one of the signature songs of

Carola Carola is a female given name, the Latinized form of the Germanic given names Caroline or Carol. People named Carola include: Acting * Carola Braunbock (1924–1978), Czech-born East German actress *Carola Höhn (1910–2005), German actres ...

and the opening track of her debut album. *

Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born 22 July 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on 22 July 1946 in A ...

has performed a two vocal versions; one in French (title: "Amour Défendu") and one in German (title: "Walzer der Liebe") *

Ginette Reno Ginette Reno (born Ginette Raynault; 28 April 1946) is a Canadian author, composer, singer, and actress. She has received nominations for the Genie and Gemini Awards and is a multi-recipient of the Juno Award. She is a gold and platinum selli ...

has also performed a vocal version, titled ''Forbidden Games''. *

Los Niños de Sara Los Niños de Sara (in Spanish, "Sara's children") is a Spanish-speaking Gypsies musical group from Montpellier, France. They perform on their own, but they are best known for the involvement in the musical group Alabina. Background They are co ...

, Alabina's French gypsy musicians, did a flamenco version called "Romance Anonimo".

Bibliography

*Herrera, Francisco, ''Enciclopedia de la Guitarra'' (Spanish), Piles, Editorial de Música / Valencia, 2004.

References

External links

*
Narciso Yepes speaks on Forbidden Games Romance
Narciso Yepes explains his authorship of the Romance
''Qué (no) sabemos del Romance ¿Anónimo?''
by Santiago Porras Álvarez (''This web-article by Álvarez is from 27 September 2002 and lacks some information which is given in Francisco Herrera's "Enciclopedia de la Guitarra"'')
Public domain music recording

Free score
for Romance a
the International Music Score Library Project
{{Authority control Parlor songs Spanish folk music Compositions for guitar Anonymous musical compositions Lill Lindfors songs Compositions with a spurious or doubtful attribution My Chemical Romance Romance (music)