"The Three-Cornered Hat" (El sombrero de tres picos), based on a short novel by 19th-century Spanish author Alarcon, is arguably one of Manuel de Falla's (1876-1946) most highly regarded works for the stage. Born in Cadiz, Southern Spain, Falla initially studied piano at the Madrid Conservatory and worked as a pianist. During this time, he was mentored in composition by composer and musicologist Felipe Pedrell, who is often referred to as the "father of Spanish nationalist music," leading Falla to an appreciation of Spanish folk music.
Originally written as incidental music for the pantomime "The Magistrate and the Miller's Wife," the work was later adapted into a ballet at the request of Sergei Diaghilev, impresario of the Ballets Russes, and premiered in London in 1919. The ballet comprises two parts depicting events of an "afternoon" and "night," and two orchestral suites extracted from the main pieces are frequently performed in concerts. This wind band arrangement condenses the characteristic dances from the suites into a more compact suite composed of the following five pieces:
Introduction - La tarde (The Afternoon):
Led by the timpani, the trumpet and horn play a fanfare-like pattern in the "Introduction" (shortened to one chorus in this arrangement), followed by the melancholic "Afternoon," raising the curtain on the first part (using the latter part of the piece).
Danza de la molinera (Dance of the Miller's Wife):
A passionate dance by the story's main character, the Miller's Wife, using the style of the Fandango, a traditional folk dance of Andalusia (the coda, serving as the conclusion of the first part, is used in this arrangement).
Danza de los vecinos (Dance of the Neighbors):
The opening music of the second part, a dance by villagers celebrating the Festival of St. John, is written in the style of the Seguidillas, another Andalusian folk dance.
Danza del molinero (Dance of the Miller):
Following a bold horn signal and an English horn melody reminiscent of a vocal flourish, an improvised and masculine Fandango is danced. The Fandango, originating from the Galicia region in northern Spain, became widely known as a genre of Flamenco. It is often played on the guitar, and here, the rhythm reminiscent of the guitar's rasgueado technique (strumming with the fingernails) is featured.
Danza final (Final Dance): The last dance of the second part concludes the story, leading to a grand finale. The main theme incorporates the style of the Jota, originating from Northeastern Spain, creating a lively and ornamental dance atmosphere.
Initially, the arrangement was to focus on extracting folkloric dances, with only "The Miller's Wife's Dance" selected from the first part of the original work. However, it seemed too arbitrary, leading to the inclusion of "Introduction - Afternoon" at the beginning. This change increases performance options if selecting certain parts to perform. The cuts in the first and second pieces were determined by various performances of the orchestra, finding which cuts have precedent. The third to fifth pieces, corresponding to the second orchestral suite, retain their original form with no cuts.
(Kazuhiro Morita)
