The work of composer Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) ranges from
late-romantic salon pieces to evocations of flamenco to stark
neoclassicism. Yet his music has met with conflicting reactions,
depending on the audience. In his native Spain, Falla is considered
the most innovative composer of the first half of the twentieth
century. Likewise, in the United States, Falla enjoyed a strong
following in the concert hall. But many of his works, especially
some of the "colorful" or "exotic" dances from The Three-Cornered
Hat and El Amor Brujo, were taken up during the Latin music craze
of the 1930s and 40s and appeared in everything from jazz and pop
arrangements to MGM musicals. Similarly enigmatic are the details
of Falla's life. He never sustained a lasting, intimate
relationship with a woman, yet he created compelling female roles
for the lyric stage. Although he became incensed when publishers
altered his music, he more than once tinkered with Chopin and
Debussy. Despite insisting that he was apolitical, Falla ultimately
took sides in the Spanish Civil War, initially allying himself
rather half-heartedly with Franco's Nationalists but later
rejecting the honors they proffered. All his life, his rigorous
brand of Roman Catholicism brought him both solace and agony in his
quest for spiritual and artistic perfection.
In Sacred Passions: The Life and Music of Manuel de Falla, Carol A.
Hess explores these contradictions and offers a fresh understanding
of this fascinating composer. Building on over a decade of
research, Hess examines Falla's work in terms of musical style and
explores the cultural milieus in which he worked. During a
seven-year sojourn to Paris just pior to World War I, Falla
associated with composers Dukas, Stravinsky, Ravel, and the rest of
the group known as les Apaches. Later, back in Spain, he played a
pivotal role in the remarkable cultural renaissance known as the
"Silver Age," during which Lorca, Bunuel, Dali, Unamuno-and of
course Falla himself-made some of their boldest artistic
statements.
Hess also explores a number of myths cultivated in earlier
biographies, including Falla's supposed misogynistic tendencies and
accusations of homosexuality, which have led some biographers to
consider him a saint-like ascetic. She offers a balanced view of
his behavior during the Spanish Civil War, a wrenching event for a
Spaniard of his generation, and one that Falla biographers have
left largely untouched. With superb analysis of his music and
enlightening detail about its critical reception, Hess also
examines Falla's status in some circles as little more than a
high-class pop composer, given the mass appeal of much of his
music. She incorporates recent research on Falla, draws upon
untapped sources in the Falla archives, and reevaluates his work in
terms of current issues in musicology.
Ultimately, Hess places Falla's variegated ouevre, which straddles
popular and serious idioms, securely among the best of his
better-known European contemporaries. What emerges is a gracefully
written, balanced portrait of a man whose lofty spiritual values
inspired singular musical utterances but were often at odds with
the decidedly imperfect world he inhabited."
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