Manuel de Falla

composer

Born: 1876, Cadiz, Spain
Died: 1946, Alta Gracia, Argentina

“Music is not, and should not be, made to be understood, rather it is made to be experienced.”

Manuel de Falla published very little, subjecting his works to careful revision before offering them to the public. Most of his major works are for the theater – zarzuelas, operas, ballets, incidental music, puppet shows, and pantomimes – and the pains he took are evident in every bar. He was an inspired craftsman who combined an immersion in Iberian folk music with a painstaking study of the classical style of Haydn and the profound influence of French Impressionism. Falla’s music is tuneful and colorful, but also rhythmically and harmonically pungent.