Manuel de Falla (full name Manuel Maria de Falla y Matheu),
a famous Spanish composer, was born in Cádiz in 1867.
As a young child, his mother gave him music lessons and later
he learnt to compose under Felipe Pedrell. In the time between
1905 and 1907 de Falla taught piano in Madrid, and then moved
to Paris, living there until 1914, when he moved yet again
to Granada. In 1939 de Falla travelled to Buenos Aires in
Argentina where he passed away on November 14, 1946.
In spite of Pedrell’s initial influence in his compositions,
De Falla soon manager to develop a distinct style of his own.
He drew upon features typical of traditional Spanish folk
music with harmonies and melodies vaguely resembling Andalusian
music intertwined with French impressionistic elements, which
he had picked up through his friendship with renowned composers
Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.
In Paris he worked on many important compositions, namely
Noches en los jardines de España (Nights in Gardens
of Spain; 1909-1916), the opera La vida breve (Life
is Short; 1913), the ballet El amor brujo (Love,
the Malician; 1915), El sombrero de tres picos (The
Three-cornered Hat; 1919) and the puppet play El retablo
de Maese Pedro (The Master Pedro Puppet Play; 1924).
His Harpsichord Concert (1923-1926) was also one of his masterpieces,
along with other songs and pieces for the guitar.
