MANUEL DE FALLA

by Suzanne Demarquez ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 31, 1968

As with the Stuckenschmidt Maurice Ravel, this biography-by-works of the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla is a translation from the French (could this be a French series?). Again it outlines the life of the man merely as a frame for his compositions. For example, this meld: ""For the future composer of La Atlantida, Cadiz truly represented a predestined birthplace."" De Falla came to music young, in an environment ""suitable for providing nourishment for a receptive and magnifying imagination."" As a student, he went to Madrid, lived in Paris in his thirties, returned to Spain until the war years, when he found refuge in Argentina. His personal life remained subordinated to his performance as artist. The author traces influences of pedagogues and composers (the French, particularly Debussy, was strong), his roots in Spanish idioms and lore. She analyzes the works in the chronology, quotes from Figaro on the posthumous Atlantida which had taken his attention from 1926 to his death: ""Not a gospel but a Summa; not a search for a new world of sonority but a return to the purest sources of tradition."" A contained, competent study.

Pub Date: July 31, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Chilton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1968

Categories: NONFICTION