A recent book on Manuel de Falla portrays his intent concerning the Concurso: The interest and acclaim given flamenco by the international music world contrasted unfavorably with what Falla then saw as the art's current debased state, and with a lack of respect shown flamenco by Spain's cultural elite. Included would be Glinka, Bizet, Rimsky-Korsakov, Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky. įor a century European classical composers had been drawing on the rich heritage of the music of Spain, with flamenco being a favored source. These separate traditions acculturated and blended with native Spanish music to yield el cante jondo. To promote the Concurso Falla wrote an essay, El "cante jondo" (canto primitivo andaluz), in which he held on technical grounds that the primary foreign influences contributing to the origins of Flamenco music and dance in Spain were three: Byzantine church music coming from the eastern Mediterranean Moorish music from North Africa and Arabia and especially the folk music of India, its distinctive rhythms and tone, brought by Gitanos who began arriving in Spain five hundred years ago. In previous classical compositions Falla often had been inspired by the artistry of flamenco, e.g., in his La vida breve (1904–1905, 1913), Noches en los Jardines de España (1909–1916), El Sombrero de Tres Picos (1917, 1919), and El Amor Brujo (1915, 1925). Later came the French hispaniste fr:Maurice Legendre, and musicologist es:Adolfo Salazar critic at Madrid's El Sol, along with producers, and publicists, and nods from Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky. Added support came from two influential professors: philosopher Francisco Giner de los Ríos and Catalan musicologist and composer Felipe Pedrell (Falla's early music teacher). Writers Ramón Pérez de Ayala and es:Tomás Borrás, and surrealist painter es:Manuel Ángeles Ortiz, contributed. Īndalusian poet Juan Ramón Jiménez (1956 Nobel Prize) joined the Concurso. A local association, the es:Centro Artístico, agreed in the early stages to assist the Concurso.
Īmong the broad array of music figures enlisted were classical composers Joaquín Turina, Federico Mompou, Conrado del Campo, and Óscar Esplá, pianist and composer María Rodrigo, New York composer and conductor Kurt Schindler, various orchestra directors, classical guitarist Andrés Segovia, Polish singer es:Aga Lahowska, and popular guitarist Manuel Jofré. A third important figure was the Basque painter Ignácio Zuloaga. Lorca publicized, popularized the event by staging his oral presentations descriptive of Flamenco arts he also published essays on its dramatic style and little-known history.
At twenty-three, the granadino poet became a Concurso activist second only to Falla. Statue of Lorca in the Plaza de Santa Ana, Madridįalla first gathered together an impressive group of musicians and artists to help sponsor and promote the Concurso. Of course, including artistic circles of flamenco, its musicians and aficionados, but especially to encompass 'luminaries', guiding figures in the wider world of art and culture, to afterward sing in praise of cante jondo. įor the Concurso to succeed, Falla aimed for not only to produce a stellar musical event but also to draw an influential audience as witness. These Spanish reformers were activists in the sweeping effort to modernize and transform Spain and its culture, yet in the process they judged flamenco harshly as frivolous and regressive. Enlisting the support of Spanish intellectuals was considered crucial, to counter the then-current flood of antiflamenquismo raised by the generación del '98. The aim of the Concurso was not merely to celebrate the music, but to nourish and elevate it. He had heard its refrains since his gaditano childhood, from friends of the family, Gitano cantaores and tocaores. The composer had devoted years developing his intuitive ability to craft its stream of color, to etch it shimmering contours in classical scores. Falla simply recognized in flamenco an art form of great beauty and drive. He sought to encourage and enhance the music of cante jondo (literally "deep song", referring to a key element of flamenco, as opposed to "cante chico", the "lighter" more accessible element), which he sensed had fallen into a period of decadence. The Spanish classical composer Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) was the principal organizer of the Concurso. Producing the artistic event Falla's purpose