El sombrero de tres picos

Manuel de Falla

L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Ernest Ansermet, cond.)

Non-Stop to Madrid Now Boarding

The Spanish composer Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) originally intended the music of El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) to accompany a pantomime. The hat in the title is worn by the local magistrate, and the piece tells of a love triangle involving the politician, a local miller, and his unfaithful wife. The work was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev, whose Ballets Russes premiered Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. As it evolved, it became more of a traditional ballet score, with two songs sung in flamenco's "cante-jondo" style. It premiered in London in 1919, with sets by Pablo Picasso.

Falla isn't nearly as famous as his esteemed collaborators, but when you hear his vivid, imagistic writing, you'll understand how he earned a place in their midst. He's the closest thing in Spanish music to someone like Béla Bartók, a proud nationalist whose compositions invoke generations-old folk themes. El sombrero de tres picos begins in a restive mood, with impressionistic swirling strings offset by flutes imitating birdsong (Falla's most dazzling inspirations are often carried by the high wood-winds). A few minutes into the second section, a grandiose jousting dance erupts. That's when the composer hauls out artifacts from his ongoing search for the Andalusian soul, including a deeply moving, heroic melody that returns bigger than ever in the final scene. The piece is organized into six sections, and the music for each is largely episodic. When a theme recurs, it usually comes back profoundly changed, hinting at new narrative wrinkles waiting in the wings. (That's a frequent Falla trick: During the "Ritual Fire Dance" from his short opera El amor brujo, included here, the composer twists ceremonial voodoo melodies into surreal configurations.)

This recording is guided by Ernest Ansermet, who conducted the piece's London premiere. A mathematician who came to music late in life, Ansermet founded this ensemble, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and recorded regularly at Geneva's acoustically lush Victoria Hall—his discography is revered by audiophiles for its pristine sound quality. Throughout El sombrero de tres picos and El amor brujo, Ansermet is extremely attentive to the details of Falla's orchestrations, particularly the flashes of tense harmony that lurk below the main themes. Unlike those who turn Falla's picturesque scenes into tourist music, Ansermet shines precise light on the less showy aspects. In his conception, the expected bravado is countered by moments of doubt, yielding a complex, detailed mosaic.

Genre: Classical
Released: 2000, Decca
Catalog Choice: Night in the Gardens of Spain, Arthur Rubinstein, Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 18
Next Stop: Isaac Albéniz: Echoes of Spain, John Williams
After That: Daniel Barenboim: Iberia Book 1 and 2
Book Pages: 269–270

Share this page: