[#232] January 01, 2024
2023 | Wind Orchestra | Grade 6 | 15’ – 20’ | Tone Poem
“Los Disparates de Goya” by Spanish composer, conductor, and educator Martínez Gallego is our Composition of the Week.
Los Disparates de Goya was written in 2023, after Francisco Goya’s series of twenty-two prints in etching and aquatint.
Los Disparates (the follies) are also known as Proverbios (Proverbs) or Sueños (Dreams).
They were first published by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, Spain, in 1864.
The scenes of the Disparates, which are difficult to explain, include dark, dream-like scenes that scholars have related to political issues, traditional proverbs, and the Spanish carnival.
Martínez Gallego chooses, in random order, seven Disparates, out of the twenty-two to cast his tone poem.
1.General folly; 2. Feminine folly; 3. Fearful folly; 4. Simpleton’s folly; 5. Merry folly; 6. Funereal folly; 7. Carnaval folly.
The music begins with a mournful bassoon solo, similar to that of the Rite of Spring, which creates a mysterious and dark atmosphere. The use of a paraphrase of the Dies Irae heard in the first few minutes, arising from intricate rhythmic textures and virtuosic solo passages, recreates the complexity and enigma of Goya's work in a unique way.
Los Disparates de Goya is scored for the following instrumentation:
Piccolo
Flute 1/2
Oboe 1/2
English Horn
Bassoon 1/2
Clarinet in Eb
Clarinet in Bb 1
Clarinet in Bb 2
Clarinet in Bb 3
Bass Clarinet
Alto Sax. 1/2
Tenor Sax. 1/2
Baritone Sax.
Horn in F 1/3
Horn in F 2/4
Trumpet in Bb 1
Trumpet in Bb 2
Trumpet in Bb 3
Trumpet in Bb 4
Trombone 1
Trombone 2/3
Bass Trombone
Euphonium in C 1/2
Tuba in C
Violoncello
Double Bass
Timpani
Percussion 1
Tubular Bells, Vibraphone, Xylophone.
Percussion 2
Snare Drum, Ratchet, Congas, Guiro, Woodblock.
Percussion 3
Suspend Cymbal, Bongo, Toms (5), Castanets, Triangle, Spring Drum, Hi-hat.
Percussion 4
Tam tam, Pair Cymbals, Bass Drum, Flexatone, Whip, Vibraslap.
The work was written to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Musical Society “La Armónica” of San Antonio, to whom it is dedicated.
It has a duration of 18 minutes, and it is published by Proventis, Libros y Partituras.
The audio version presented here is its the overall second performance, by the Associação Recreativa e Musical Amigos da Branca, from Portugal, under Paulo Martins, during the last Certamen Internacional de Bandas de Música “Ciudad de Valencia » in 2023.
Martínez Gallego was born in San Antonio de Requena (Valencia). He began his musical studies at the Music School of the Musical Society “La Armónica” of San Antonio, later moving to the Conservatories of Murcia, Torrent, and Valencia, where he graduated in Clarinet. He also graduated in Composition at the Superior Conservatory of Castellón.
From 1998 he became interested in band conducting, expanding his studies with different teachers, such as José Rafael Pascual Vilaplana, among others. His main activity as a conductor, at present, is focused on the S. M. “El Arte” of Sinarcas (Valencia) As their conductor, he obtained a First Prize and Honorable Mention in the 39th Edition of the Provincial Contest of Valencia and a First Prize and Honorable Mention in the 37th Edition of the Band Contest of the Valencian Community.
In additon, Martínez Gallego won the 1st Prize in the I National Contest of Festive Music of Altea with the Marcha Mora Ziryab; 1st Prize in the II Contest of Composition of Festive Music of Calpe with the Marcha Mora Benifat; 1st Prize of Composition of Symphonic Music for Band of Finestrat with the Suite for Band, Monuments; 1st Prize in the Contest of Composition of Pasodobles of Sant Joan de Moró, in December 2009, with the pasodoble Ángel ‘El Calo’.
Winner of the V Composition Contest ‘Vila de Muro 2015’ with the work Miraculum. In November 2014 he traveled to the USA where his Symphony No. 1 ‘Kaprekar’ was performed and recorded, for the NAXOS label, by the Wind Symphony of the State University of Illinois.
Several of his compositions for band are performed as compulsory and free works in various national and international competitions.
He is a member of the SGAE (General Society of Authors and Editors), COSICOVA (Association of Valencian Symphonic Composers) and ACMMIC (Association of Composers of Music of Moors and Christians).
He is currently a professor of Harmony, Analysis and Fundamentals of Composition at the Professional Music Center ‘Mestre Molins’ in Quart de Poblet (Valencia).
Other works for winds include:
Sinfonia Nr 1 “Kaprekar”
Sinfonia Nr 2 “de la Mar”
Sinfonia Nr 3 “Aquae Flaviae”
Fent Unió
Los caprichos de Goya
Angel “El Calo”
El Agua Prodigiosa
La Concepción