Chabrier: Espana - Rhapsody for Orchestra | North Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Steven Hillinger Concertmaster: Shuti Huang Emmanuel Chabrier was a French Romantic composer whose best works reflect the verve and wit of the Paris scene of the 1880s. España is Chabrier’s most famous orchestral composition. What started as a tour of Spain for six months in 1882 turned into a research trip on Spain’s folk music and dances. España is made up of a mixture of popular tunes Chabrier had heard on his travels, as well as his own original themes. After a short guitar-like introduction, the first theme appears low on muted trumpets, and recurs four times during the piece. This is followed by a flowing second theme on bassoons, horns and cellos. Bassoons introduce another idea ben giocoso, sempre con impeto, after which, instrumental sections take up a dialogue with another highly rhythmic theme. After a return to the first theme, another flowing melody dolce espressivo on upper strings leads to a climax which is interrupted by a marcato theme on trombones. A set of instrumental and thematic variations leads the piece to its ecstatic and joyous conclusion. Recorded on 20th May 2023 Learn more about the NSSO: https://nsso.org.au/   / thensso