de Falla-Montanesa arr. Bastian (SP)-B/V/M/4T

Montanesa is a beautiful work written for piano by one of Spain's most important composers, Manuel de Falla. It is the third in the collection of Cuatro Piezas Espanolas. Montanesa evokes the mountainous landscape in Northern Spain, achieving a sound of vast openness by utilizing extremes in range and dynamics. The modal harmony is scored with a transparent sound, using wide spaces between notes and rhythms. The piece has an ABA form, with slow, fast, and slow sections. The bright and lively middle section resembles folk music and is highly rhythmic, while the slow outer sections of the piece move gradually through long, sustained pitches. The piece has an ability to transport the listener to a different place, bringing to mind the beauty and majesty of the mountains.

This arrangement was created by Dr. Darren Bastian, Assistant Professor of Music at Brigham Young University. The BYU Tangents Percussion Quartet premiered the work in 2020.

Additional Information:

• Number of players: 4
• Difficulty: Intermediate
• Instrumentation:
  • Player 1: Glockenspiel
  • Player 2: Vibraphone
  • Player 3: Marimba (5 octave)
  • Player 4: 4 timpani