''Goyescas'', Op. 11, subtitled ''Los

majo ''Majo'' (masc.) or ''maja'' (fem.), also ''manolo'' and ''manola'', after the most popular names, were people from the lower classes of Spanish society, especially in Madrid, who distinguished themselves by their elaborate outfits and sense of ...

s enamorados'' (''The Gallants in Love''), is a piano suite written in

1911 A notable ongoing event was the race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * ...

by Spanish composer

Enrique Granados Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 – 24 March 1916), commonly known as Enric Granados in Catalan or Enrique Granados in Spanish, was a composer of classical music, and concert pianist from Catalonia, Spain. ...

. It was inspired by the work of the Spanish artist

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His p ...

. The piano pieces have not been authoritatively associated with any particular paintings with two exceptions: *''El amor y la muerte'' (Love and death) shares its title with one of Goya's prints from the series called ''

Los caprichos ''Los caprichos'' (''The Caprices)'' is a set of 80 prints in aquatint and etching created by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya in 1797–1798, and published as an album in 1799. The prints were an artistic experiment: a medium for Goya's cond ...

'' *''El pelele'' (The straw man) is one of Goya's tapestry cartoons Paseo Andalucía (detalle) Goya lou

This piano suite is usually considered Granados's crowning creation. It forms part of the standard Romantic piano repertoire and is sometimes recorded by pianists who are not particularly associated with Spanish music.

Writing of the ''Goyescas''

The piano writing of ''Goyescas'' is highly ornamented and extremely difficult to master, requiring both subtle dexterity and great power. Some of them have a strong improvisational feel, the clearest example of this being the fifth piece, called ''El amor y la muerte'' (''Love and Death''). The fourth piece in the series (''Quejas, ó la maja y el ruiseñor''—''The Maiden and the Nightingale'') is the best known piece from the suite. It resembles a nocturne, but is filled with intricate figuration, inner voices and, near the end, glittering bird-like trills and quicksilver

arpeggio A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...

s. Mexican songwriter

Consuelo Velázquez Consuelo Velázquez Torres (August 21, 1916 in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco – January 22, 2005, Mexico City), also popularly known as Consuelito Velázquez, was a Mexican concert pianist and composer. She was the composer of famous Mexican ballads ...

based her 1940 song ''

Bésame Mucho "Bésame Mucho" (; "Kiss Me A Lot") is a bolero song written in 1940 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez. It is one of the most popular songs of the 20th century and one of the most important songs in the history of Latin music. It was re ...

'' on this melody. This piano suite was written in two books. Work on ''Goyescas'' began in 1909, and by 31 August 1910, the composer was able to write that he had composed "great flights of imagination and difficulty." Granados himself gave the première of Book I at the

Palau de la Música Catalana Palau de la Música Catalana (, en, Palace of Catalan Music) is a concert hall in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed in the Catalan '' modernista'' style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

on 11 March 1911. He completed Book II in December 1911 and gave its first performance at the

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by acoustician Gustave Lyon together with architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed in 1927 by ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

on 2 April 1914. ''El pelele'' (''The Straw Man''), subtitled ''Escena goyesca'', is usually programmed as part of the ''Goyescas'' suite; Granados gave the première in the Teatre Principal at

Terrassa Terrassa (, es, Tarrasa) is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona, '' comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ...

, on 29 March 1914.

The suite

*''Los requiebros'' (The Compliments) *''Coloquio en la reja'' (Conversation at the Window) *''El fandango de candil'' (Fandango by Candlelight) *'' Quejas, o La Maja y el ruiseñor'' (Complaint, or the Girl and the Nightingale) *''El Amor y la muerte (Balada)'' (Ballad of Love and Death) *''Epilogo: Serenata del espectro'' (Epilogue: Serenade to a Spectre) *''El pelele: Escena Goyesca'' (The Puppet: Goya Scene)

Publication

Book One (the first four numbers of the suite) was published in Barcelona in 1912.

Recordings

20th century

*Granados: the composer's playing of the work was captured on piano roll
Goyescas, Part 1, Los Requiebros
as recorded by Granados on piano roll, c. 1913, Paris *Alicia de Larrocha

Alicia de Larrocha Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle (23 May 192325 September 2009) was a Spanish pianist and composer. She was considered one of the great piano legends of the 20th century. Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history", ''Time'' "o ...

was noted for her performances of ''Goyescas'' of which she made several recordings; a version on the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

label was a winner at the

34th Annual Grammy Awards The 34th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1992, recognizing accomplishments by musicians from the previous year (1991). Natalie Cole won the most awards (three), including Album of the Year. Paul Simon opened the show. Performers ...

(Best classical instrumental solo recording 1991). * Douglas Riva * Thomas Rajna

21st century

Garrick Ohlsson Garrick Olof Ohlsson (born April 3, 1948) is an American classical pianist. He is the only American to have won first prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition, at the VIII competition in 1970. He also won first prize at the Busoni Com ...

Kun-Woo Paik Kun-woo Paik (born March 10, 1946 in Seoul) is a South Korean pianist. He has performed with multiple orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic. Early life Kun-Woo Pa ...

Opera

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". * January ...

Granados wrote a one-act

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, also called ''

Goyescas ''Goyescas'', Op. 11, subtitled ''Los majos enamorados'' (''The Gallants in Love''), is a piano suite written in 1911 by Spanish composer Enrique Granados. It was inspired by the work of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. The piano pieces have no ...

'', to a Spanish libretto by Fernando Periquet y Zuaznaba, using melodies from the piano suite. This was first performed in 1916. A film called ''Goyescas'' was based on the opera.

References

* Kennedy, Michael (2006), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', 985 pages,

External links

* {{Authority control Compositions by Enrique Granados Spanish compositions for solo piano Suites (music) Music based on art 1911 compositions 1910s in Spanish music Francisco Goya