Songs of the Land: Folksongs and Canciones

Description

The intertwining between classical and folk music is so tight that all attempts to trace clear-cut boundaries between these two different fields are doomed to failure. Influences between these two domains are bidirectional and constant. Favourite tunes from the classical repertoire (such as famous melodies from operatic arias) become part of popular culture, and are given “folk” versions which employ formulas and style from the sphere of non-Classical music; conversely, most Classical composers (virtually all, indeed) have employed tunes and melodies from the folk repertoire in their oeuvre. This is particularly true, and was done with particular deliberation, in the case of nationalist music (whereby “nationalist” should be read as a rather neutral term, certainly not as loaded with negative implications as it is today). It was, rather, the desire of honouring one’s homeland, one’s fatherland, by giving an august habit to the tunes one had heard since their infancy, sung by mothers and grandmothers.
This Da Vinci Classics album offers a fascinating itinerary among works by diverse composers, who all looked with favour and sympathy to the folk repertoire and employed it in their “classical” works.
Manuel de Falla’s Siete canciones populares españolas (1914) stands as one of the most compelling examples of the synthesis between folk tradition and art music in Spanish musical history. This collection of seven short pieces for voice and piano not only reflects Falla’s deep engagement with Spanish folk idioms but also elevates them to a higher artistic level through sophisticated harmonic, rhythmic, and textural treatment. Unlike many composers who merely incorporate folk melodies for local color, Falla sought to capture the essence of Spanish folk music, transforming it into a new and distinct musical language.
Born in Cádiz in 1876, Falla spent a significant part of his career in Paris, where he was immersed in a vibrant artistic environment that took great interest in Spanish musical traditions. At the time, French composers such as Debussy, Ravel, and Albéniz were actively exploring Spanish idioms in their compositions. However, upon his return to Spain in 1914, Falla embarked on a more profound exploration of his country’s musical heritage. The Siete canciones reflect this renewed focus, demonstrating his ability to distill the essence of Spanish folk music while maintaining its authenticity.
One of the defining features of Siete canciones is the diversity of the folk material that Falla selected. Each song represents a distinct regional tradition, showcasing the rich variety of Spain’s musical landscape. El paño moruno is based on a traditional melody from Murcia, characterized by its modal inflections and rhythmic vitality. The Seguidilla murciana, derived from Andalusian folk music, is a lively dance in triple meter, while Jota originates from Aragón, incorporating the characteristic rhythmic drive of the genre. In contrast, Asturiana evokes the mournful, introspective qualities of folk songs from northern Spain, utilizing a hauntingly static harmonic background to support its plaintive melody.
In Jota, for instance, the accompaniment mimics the percussive quality of traditional folk instruments, reinforcing the rhythmic impulse of the dance. Similarly, Polo employs aggressive strumming patterns, evoking the intense, passionate nature of flamenco singing.
Modal harmonies play a crucial role in evoking the authenticity of folk music within Siete canciones. This is particularly evident in Asturiana, where Falla employs a static, drone-like accompaniment that underscores the lamenting nature of the melody, creating an atmosphere of profound melancholy. Nana, a lullaby of Andalusian origin, further exemplifies this modal approach through its oscillation between major and minor tonalities, reminiscent of the Arabic influences that shaped much of southern Spain’s musical heritage.
Falla was a close friend of Joaquín Rodrigo, a musician whose fame achieved immortality mainly thanks to two works for guitar and orchestra (Fantasia para un gentilhombre and Concierto de Aranjuez), but whose output encompasses many different genres and offers notable examples of his artistry.
With Falla, Rodrigo shares the attachment of their Spanish origins, their common experience in France (where they were in roughly the same years, and where they belonged to the same cultural circles), and their unforgettable contribution to the development of a quintessentially “Spanish” idiom in music – in dialogue precisely with that French culture which had previously dominated the “Spanishness” in music, seeing it as one further instance of exoticism.
En Jerez de la Frontera is a lighthearted, high spirited song in which a simple man, a miller, is certain of his wife’s faithfulness, in spite of the mayor’s interest in her. Love is the protagonist also of Adela (as of many other folksongs!), but in this case Adela, a “pretty girl”, is unfortunate in her love affairs, since she loses her health due to the lack of attention by her beloved Juan. In De ronda, what appears to be a praise of an apple is in reality the veiled appreciation of a beautiful girl, desired passionately by an admirer.
A very different approach is that found in Benjamin Britten’s longtime engagement with folksong. He began to be interested in it in the early 1940s during his time in the United States. As a composer temporarily distanced from his homeland, Britten sought to reconnect with his cultural roots through the arrangement of traditional melodies. His Folksong Arrangements transcend mere transcription; rather than simply harmonizing pre-existing tunes, Britten reimagines them as if they were original compositions, integrating them into his unique musical language.
The first collection, British Isles (1943), was conceived as part of Britten’s recital repertoire with tenor Peter Pears. Its success led to six further volumes, encompassing English, Irish, Scottish, and French melodies.
Britten’s folk song settings thus embody a dual function: they preserve a vital element of English musical heritage while simultaneously serving as a vehicle for his distinct compositional voice. Through these works, Britten successfully bridged the gap between oral tradition and art music, ensuring that these melodies continue to resonate within both popular consciousness and classical performance practice.
In I will give my love an Apple, the lover outlines his future life with his beloved as a happy life, without any imperfection or limits: love itself broadens the experience of humankind and confers it an unlimited dimension. Sailor Boy has rather inconsequential lyrics: in the first stanza a pleasant walk of lovers in the spring grass is imagined, whilst in the second stanza the protagonist desires a sailor’s life, which is “cleaner” than a blacksmith’s. Master Kilby is depicted as describing the beauty of his own Nancy, for whose sake he is ready to sacrifice everything. The Soldier and the Sailor is a merry song, in which some “prayers” uttered by the Soldier are echoed by the Sailor’s “Amens”: he prays first for the Queen’s happiness and for her prosperity, and then for plenty of alcoholic drinks for them both. Bonny at morn is a slightly malicious song with echoes from Scotland; while The Shooting of his Dear is a rather tragical tale of a young lover who happens to shoot his beloved taking her for a swan (but it was also forbidden to shoot swans).
The Welsh Folksongs by Stephen Goss demonstrate the liveliness of this tradition of arranging folksongs up to our days. Dafydd y Garreg Wen (David of the White Rock) recounts the tale of an actual person, the musician David Owen who lived in the eighteenth century. Legend has it that this was his last song, uttered on his deathbed. Wrth fynd hefo Deio i Dywyn does not deal with the most important mysteries of human life or the cosmos; it merely discusses a shopping day in Tywyn. Suo-gân, just like Falla’s Nana, is a simple lullaby, and, as happens with many similar works, is as full of melancholy as it is of tenderness. Lliw Gwyn Rhosyn yr Haf (White Rose of Summer) is yet another instance of a lover seeing his dear one as a white summer rose. A lover’s sorrowful song for his deceased belle is sung in Lisa Lân (Fair Lisa), whilst Hela’r ‘Sgyfarnog (Hunting the Hare) is a spirited hunting song.
Although Mátyás György Seiber was Hungarian, and Hungarian folklore is one of the richest, most interesting, and better studied worldwide (also thanks to composers/ethnomusicologists such as Bartok and Kodaly), he dedicated his attention rather to French songs, which are interpreted in a rarefied and touching manner. The first song, once more, speaks of love and death; the two lovers see each other in the beloved’s eyes, but the male protagonist is dying. By way of contrast, the second is merry and ironic, downplaying young men in favour of young damsels. In the third, once more, the “apples in the garden” are rather open symbols for the ladies fancied by the poet, who appeals to a nightingale for learning the bird’s musical art. The final song brings humour and good spirits back, with the portrait of an ill lady who owes her sickness to too many glasses of wine, but who prefers drinking over keeping her good health.
With Heitor Villa-Lobos, finally, we cross the Ocean and meet the most important representative of Brazilian music, who made ample use of folksong (and especially of traditional rhythms) in his music. He was able also to intertwine Brazilian music with Bach, the composer who inspired him most deeply and constantly; and this is observed in the numerous Bachianas Brasileiras authored by him. No. 5 is no exception; the version for voice and guitar is excerpted from a longer work for soprano and eight cellos. It features a magnificent Aria, reminiscent of Bach’s Air on the G string and of the Brazilian saudade at the same time. Modinha refers to a love song typical for the Baroque and Romantic era, whose syncopated rhythm enhances its melancholic style; a trait also found in Melodia Sentimental, whose touching accents are the expression of a tender love.
Together, these songs display the variety of inspiration which characterizes folk music, and the recurring themes which transcend time and place and are found in virtually all human cultures: love, both happy and sad; faithfulness and betrayal; male pastimes such as hunting; maternal tenderness, etcetera. The artful settings by the great composers whose works are recorded here bear witness to the lasting legacy of this heritage common to the entire human species.
Chiara Bertoglio © 2025