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The Songs & The Plays - Kean on Shakespeare

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The Songs & The Plays Listen on Youtube Love’s Labours Lost (1593-94) A revised and polished version of this play was presented for Queen Elizabeth I and her court at Christmas 1598. However the elevated language and subject matter of the drama suggests it was always intended for a sophisticated and highly literate audience. There are two parallel plots – one ‘high’ comedy and one ‘low’ comedy. In the high comedy the King of Navarre and his friends make a pact to ‘fast and study’ and to have no contact with women for three years. No sooner have they agreed than the Princess of Aquitaine and her ladies in waiting arrive to discuss ‘state matters’. Inevitably the King falls in love with the Princess and his friends with the French ladies in waiting. The Gentlemen find loophole in their vows and woo and win women with a dance. The Ladies become aware of their broken vows and treat the noblemen with scorn. In the low comedy the page Moth and the clown Costard ridicule the exaggerated m...
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Joaquin Turina - biographical notes & my translations

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  Joaquin Turina 1882-1949 At the age of 20, Turina left his home in Seville, to study in Paris where he studied composition with D’Indy. However it was his first meeting with Albeniz and Falla that had a profound effect on his life. Albeniz had taken Falla and Turina to a café on the Rue Royale: “There I realised that music should be an art, and not a diversion for the frivolity of women and the dissipation of men. We were three Spaniards gathered together in that corner of Paris and it was our duty to fight bravely for the national music of our country.” In 1914, the war prompted his return to Spain. He performed his piano works and songs at a concert in honour of him and Falla, at the Ateneo de Madrid. He travelled extensively performing his work and wrote theatrical pieces with Gregorio Martínez Sierra, all Andalusian in essence, brilliant, vigorous and lyrical and inspired by Spanish folk music. During the Civil War, Turina was one of the musicians welcomed to the open...
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Spain’s National Identity in Music

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  Spain’s National Identity in Music The songs in this recital are in Castillian Spanish, the national language of Spain, but they have been individually chosen to reflect the accent and idiom of all the Spanish regions. Each one has its own rich cultural heritage and folklore. The “Nationalist” composers included in this recital found musical inspiration in regional folk music and their compositions created enduring images of Spain as a whole. Until the end of the C19th, Italian music was the only classical influence in Spain. There was no indigenous Spanish musical identity and Zarzuela (operettas) was the first attempt at creating a national style. We might compare them to Gilbert & Sullivan operas, both in humour and popular appeal; they contained political satire, which needed continual revision, and they never received the international attention and prestige of Italian Opera. Spain’s National music grew from the exploration of its folk melodies by composers with a ...
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The Song of Spain - Canción Clásica de España

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  The Song of Spain The sounds of guitars, castanets, stamping feet, clapping hands and melodic turns are the most familiar aspects of Spanish music to visitors and holidaymakers. Striking melodies, indigenous rhythms and dances have picturesque qualities, which have inspired many non-Spanish composers, particularly Bizet, who composed “Carmen” without ever setting foot in Spain! Yet Spain has as many musical styles as it does regions. All its songs have strong rhythmic structures, but the modes, rhythms, cadences and ornamental figures of each region are distinct. However, there is a North-South divide in almost a straight line from Alcantara to Valencia. This line follows the fall of the Caliph of Cordoba and the invasions by the Moors in C11 th to C13 th .   The music of the North is quasi European despite its obvious turns and modal eccentricities, which clearly lend it an exotic character. Essentially its music is mono-rhythmic, happy and lively with a strong dance...
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Spain: Heart of Fire - The Inspiration & the Passion

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  Spain: Heart of Fire The Inspiration & the Passion From the mountains to the sea, Spain has a special fascination for travellers and tourists. Few people ever experience the classical music of this passionate culture. Laments, lullabies and serenades, little known outside Spain, were the inspiration for this album.     After meeting her favourite opera singer Teresa Berganza, and encouraged by her friend Rosario Serrano, the renowned Spanish flamenco dancer, Helena began two years of intensive study to research a personal programme of Spanish Song. “I wished to pay tribute to this beautiful and passionate music. Spain has inspired composers from many countries, but only Spanish composers capture its true spirit.” The recital programme was performed by Helena at various historical halls and music venues across the UK with her accompanist Graham Jackson, LRAM. ARCM.  The Instituto Cervantes in Manchester hosted the recital with lectures and a photographic...
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