El testament d'Amèlia is a popular Catalan

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. It tells the story of a young lady in her deathbed who knowingly drank the poisoned drink given to her by her stepmother, whom she knows had been sleeping with her husband. The song featured in a number of song books in the early twentieth century, including Joan Gay's 1901 ''Cançons populars de Catalunya'' and Enric Morera's 1910 ''Cançons populars catalanes''. Miguel Llobet arranged the song for solo guitar in 1900. It is commonly known as the first part of

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 Americas, America extensively. He made well known arrangements of Catalan folk son ...

's ''Canciones Populares Catalanas''. Llobet's

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed ...

arrangement has become the accepted classic version for this piece. It has been recorded by Llobet,

Andrés Segovia Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987), was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were either students of Segovia or students of Segovia's students. Segovia ...

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

Julian Bream Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perc ...

Pepe Romero Pepe Romero (born 8 March 1944, in Málaga, Spain) is a classical and flamenco guitarist. Biography Early life Pepe Romero was born in Spain, the second son of celebrated guitarist and composer Celedonio Romero, who was his only guitar ...

, David Russell, Guy Bacon,

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

, Stefano Grondona and many others.

Roberto Gerhard Robert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder (; 25 September 1896 – 5 January 1970) was a Spanish and British composer, musical scholar, and writer, generally known outside his native region of Catalonia as Roberto Gerhard.Malcolm MacDonald. 'Gerhard, Roberto' ...

quoted a fragment of the song in his ''L'Etranger'' (1954).

References

Spanish folk music Year of song unknown {{Catalonia-stub

See also

References