Albéniz's "Corpus Christi en Sevilla": Musical Analysis

Albéniz

Rhythm: Binary regular, constant 2/4. Allegro grazioso, moderately fast and graceful. Black note = unit. The right hand plays the melody with staccato eighth notes. These articulated sixteenth notes should sound like half notes going into silence.

The left-hand notes attack with a quaver on the strong part of the bar, quietly leaving the rest of each bar. The three thirty-second notes in the introduction function as arpeggios, and four processional rolls give way to the tune of "La Tarara."

Melody: The theme dominating Section A is taken from a very popular song. It has a symmetrical scheme. The melody is 16 measures long. The melody is anacrustic for joint degrees, overlooking the 2nd and 3rd. The staccato interpretation gives a blank air, suggesting the passage of the military leading the procession.

The octave bolt motif presents a very solemn and expressive melody. The indications are very careful in nuance and acquire the tone of scenic dimensions. The tonality is F sharp minor. The piece is full of changes.

Texture: The texture is polyphonic with harmonic accompaniment. The theme has the transparency of texture captured by Scarlatti, with slight hints of dissonance. The contrapuntal treatment seems taken from Scarlatti. Albéniz also seeks to paint the tune of a band running through the streets of Seville.

The appearance of the bolt theme inserted in homophony treatment, based on harmony surrounding Chopin, features long arpeggios and chords on the serious melody. The silences highlight the complexity of the melodies. The melody acquires an impressive and virtuosic sound.

Timbre: Although the piece is for piano, there are specific timbral resources of the instrument. The thirty-second notes in the introduction represent the beating of the drums. The beating of the bells and the bustle of people are suggested by the strains of sixteenths, which take on the tone of trombones. Finally, a ringing of bells is superimposed on an F sharp, evoking the Andalusian night's quietude.

The timbre of the piano gives this piece its descriptive quality.

Form: Part of a suite. It presents an ABA structure, with a short introduction of 8 measures and a coda. The repetition of A is not exact but more elaborate.

Descriptive. Spanish Nationalism. First instrumental genre of the 20th century. Procession of Corpus Christi in Seville. Albéniz.