MANUEL DE FALLA                                        1876 - 1946

Chanson du Feu Follet     (Ritual Fire Dance)

With his elder contemporaries, Albéniz and Granados, de Falla was one of the first Spanish composers to win international renown, and was possibly the most gifted of the three. Whilst he learnt a great deal from French colleagues, his art remained deeply rooted in the folk music of Spain, and much of his early efforts were concentrated on a thorough study of ‘Cante Jondo’, the primitive song of Andalusia.

In 1907, anxious to extend his musicianship, de Falla took a week’s return ticket to Paris. In the event he did not return to Madrid for three years, having in the meantime significantly improved his technique and gained the friendship of Debussy, Ravel and Dukas. El Amor Brujo, (Supernatural Love) the first major work to be completed after his return in 1914, was written as a loosely linked entertainment featuring the gypsy dancer Pastora Imperio, reportedly the only woman ever to have aroused the interest of this austere, lifelong bachelor! 

The story concerns a beautiful gypsy girl and her suitor, who are haunted by the spectre of her dead lover which comes between them, persecuting the young woman. Her pretty girl friend is persuaded to act as a lure and succeeds in diverting the amorous ghost, and the two lovers at last achieve freedom to be alone together while church bells peal out as a sign of Christian triumph over sorcery.

The music includes the famous ‘Ritual Fire Dance’, hypnotic and terrifying, in which the heroine Carmela and the other gypsies form a ‘magic circle’ and on the stroke of midnight begin the ritual fire dance in a vain effort to drive away the evil spirit.

Completed in 1915, the original version, scored for just 10 instruments, was performed for the first time in Madrid.