Ex. 8-15: Barcarola

Albéniz published this song in 1888, when he was 28. It is the first of six songs he published together as Seis baladas (Six Ballads). The words are in Italian, by the Marquesa de Bolaños, a member of the Madrid aristocracy.

A barcarola is a boat song, with the gentle rocking rhythm of a boat on the water. Albéniz played the song himself soon after it came out. He is known above all for his piano music, and his songs are rarely heard.

That same year, the piano maker Érard sponsored twenty concerts of his music at the Barcelona Universal Exposition. Five years earlier he had met Felipe Pedrell, who taught him that Spanish music had its own worth.

From the album Albéniz: Complete Songs by Adriana González and Iñaki Encina Oyón (2021)
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