España (Chabrier)

Written in 1883 after a trip to Spain, it was dedicated to the conductor Charles Lamoureux, who conducted the first public performance on 4 November 1883, at the Théâtre du Château d’Eau for the Société des Nouveaux Concerts in Paris.

[1] From July to December 1882, Chabrier and his wife toured Spain, taking in San Sebastián, Burgos, Toledo, Sevilla, Granada, Málaga, Cádiz, Cordoba, Valencia, Zaragoza and Barcelona.

His letters written during his travels are full of good humour, keen observation and his reactions to the music and dance he came across – and demonstrate his genuine literary gift.

The work was praised by Lecocq, Duparc, Hahn, de Falla (who did not think any Spanish composer had succeeded in achieving so genuine a version of the jota)[3] and even Mahler (who declared it to be "the start of modern music" to musicians of the New York Philharmonic).

[2] Erik Satie parodied this trend in his piano piece Españaña from the suite Croquis et agaceries d'un gros bonhomme en bois (1913).