Copland, Danza de Jalisco

Our Composer of the Month Series features Aaron Copland this month. Carol and I select composers for this series who are, of course, well known and beloved by us. Still, in presenting the materials, we “start from scratch” and  spend a lot of time renewing our understanding—researching, selecting works, writing a narrative. That process inevitably leads us to new discoveries, and frankly, that’s what makes this feature most interesting for us.

If you are enjoying our Composer of the Month Series in the Circle of Scholars, you may have already run across the Danza de Jalisco featured here. Although I probably noted the work on a 3×5 index card back in my graduate school days, I was not really very familiar with it. When I heard it, it certainly would not have been in this lively arrangement for guitar quartet. And it was this arrangement (and the good performance) that grabbed my attention. Guitar seems particularly appropriate for the Latin American style. Plus, I like guitar, having spent many of my younger years playing the instrument.

Each Composer of the Month page includes a free introduction with some biographical information and an overview of the composer’s works. Numerous performances with commentary, master classes, and other features appear too. You are sure to find new, interesting, and worthwhile things to hear and learn there. We certainly do.

I quote here from our comments on this work:

Three Latin American Sketches show Copland’s continued interest in Latin American themes. Two of the dances, including the Danza de Jalisco, were composed in 1959 on a commission by the Italian-American opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti. With the addition of a third dance in 1972, the title was changed to Three Latin American Sketches. It would be Copland’s last completed work for orchestra.

Although the piece originally was scored for orchestra, this arrangement for guitar quartet by William Kanengiser brings out the Latin influences nicely and casts the work in a new, vibrant light.