A fantasy which was written by the vihuelist and composer from Seville (vihuela = instrument similar to the lute, of Spanish origins).
Andrés Segovia had the famous "Aria con Variazioni detta La Frescobalda" published (ed. Schott, Edition Andrés Segovia, GA 157) but he left this piece out, although he used to perform it in concerts. This arrangement integrates Segovia's work and allows a guitarist to play it as it was written by Frescobaldi: a suite made up of variations on a theme which had been sung originally and arranged for the keyboard (cembalo, organ etc.) by himself.
© Andrea Rollo 2000
- Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909): Sevilla (sevillanas) Op. 47 No.3 from the "Suite Española" (Spanish Suite) for piano - transcription for guitar by Andrea Rollo.
© Andrea Rollo 2002
- Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909): Torre Bermeja Op. 92 No. 12 from the "Piezas Características" (typical pieces) for piano - transcription for guitar by Andrea Rollo.
© Andrea Rollo 2004 Deposited in the S.I.A.E.
These well known compositions have been part of the guitar world heritage for about a century. In fact, they were first arranged for guitar by Francisco Tárrega (he and the composer were both Spanish and contemporaries), then by Miguel Llobet and Andrés Segovia, who improved them much using his talent and his experience of decades of recordings and public performances.
Since then, they have been included in the repertoire of many other younger guitarists from every nation.
The melody and the expressivity which Albéniz created for the piano are preserved using the classical guitar, too.
"Sevilla" originated from the regional variety of the fandango in Spain: "sevillanas" means " typical fandango of Seville", which Albéniz used to paint musically that town inside his "Spanish Suite".
The "Torre Bermeja" (the Bermeja Tower) is a fortification situated in Andalucía, Spain in the county of Cádiz. It was built in modern times and its view inspired Albéniz in this famous composition.
In my transcriptions I had to and liked to compare the edition of M. Llobet with the original works for piano having, at the same time, great consideration for the changes A. Segovia made later. He used to play this compositions in concerts, but never published it.