For anyone who plays Asturias, or Leyenda!?

Question

Hi, I'm going to be playing this and I was just wondering if anyone had any information on this song at all? I know the composer, Isaac Albeniz, this song was actually written for a piano (and it's crazy how well it transcribes to guitar!), but I'm going to be presenting it rather formally for an audience, and I already know they want some background on it. ANY INFO WILL HELP!!!! Thanks!!! :).

Answer 1

Leyenda (Asturias) is a work of classical music written by the Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz. Originally written for piano in G minor, it was Francisco Tárrega who transcribed it for guitar and put it in its most recognizable key, E minor. It is the most famous section in a suite entitled "Suite Española" (Op. 47), noted for its delicate, intricate melody and abrupt dynamic changes.

As with several of his Spanish contemporaries, such as his friend Isaac Albéniz, he had an interest in combining the prevailing Romantic trend in classical music with Spanish folk elements, and transcribed several of Albéniz's piano pieces (notably the fiery "Asturias (Leyenda)") for guitar.

In 1883, Isaac Albéniz, met the teacher and composer Felipe Pedrell, who inspired him to write Spanish music such as the Suite Española, Op. 47. The fifth movement of that suite, called Asturias (Leyenda) is probably most famous these days in the classical guitar world, even though it was originally composed for piano and only later transcribed to guitar by Francisco Tárrega. Many of his other compositions were also later transcribed to guitar - Albéniz himself preferred Tárrega's guitar transcriptions to his original piano works.

Albéniz's piano original cannot be played on the guitar unedited; the original key of g-minor is unsuitable, many octave doublings and chord voicings cannot be reproduced, the original registration of the piece extends beyond the tessitura of the guitar, and the dynamic range (a long, continuous crescendo from pp to fff, for example) cannot be realized literally.

Answer 2

Just to clarify something you mentioned in your supplementary: > Preferably for free, as the composer died a long time ago, > there shouldn't be any copy-right issues imo. Oh yes there are: you're losing sight of the fact that the original by Albeniz for piano may be out of copyright but that does NOT mean that the arrangement for guitar you need will be of an equal age to that of the original and therefore out of copyright too! Though IMSLP has one or two arrangements of parts of the suite that are out of copyright, yours is not among them. Given the popularity of the piece, if there was an arrangement of suitable age available, that's where you would find it so it's very likely you will have to make a purchase and you've already been given a good source for that by my good colleague earlier. All the best,