I have wanted to transcribe the work of Manuel de Falla for a long time. His music overflows with surprising harmonies and melodies that I always felt close to my flamenco soul. I believed that the guitar could add further depth, highlighting the flamenco spirit that inspired Falla to compose them.

For the first volume of this trilogy of Falla transcriptions, I chose El Sombrero de Tres Picos, Siete Canciones Populares Españolas and Cuatro Piezas Españolas. Many of the dances from “El Sombrero de Tres Picos” had already been transcribed by masters such as Miguel Llobet or Emilio Pujol. In my transcriptions, and in my playing, I aim to highlight the flamenco essence of his music. Analysing his orchestral scores, I tried to maintain the largest number of voices as possible. That was why the transcription of pieces such as Danza Final, rich in polyrhythms and counterpoints, was a veritable challenge, requiring the use of up to four guitars.

One of the greatest difficulties involved in transcribing orchestra or piano music for guitar is the instrument’s limited tessitura. It is normal to change octave in some parts. On this occasion, however, I wanted to respect the original registers as much as possible. To do so, I was forced to modify my flamenco guitar, changing the fourth, fifth and sixth strings for the grave strings of a 10-string guitar. These strings are tuned on octave lower than usual and enabled me to obtain a broader tessitura. This original guitar can be heard in some pieces of Siete Canciones Populares Españolas and in Danza Final.

The music that I play on this album is a very personal version of my vision of Manuel de Falla’s music. I worked on them with affection and a great deal of respect. I hope that these great Spanish, and indeed universal, musical compositions, played with a very personal flamenco guitar, will reach the broad public that shares my love of music.

November 2013

Juan Manuel Cañizares