An orchestrator in this case needs to balance between being a devoted sycophant of the original and full of careless derring-do to do as you wish.
I feel this is akin to a screenwriter adapting a book to the silver screen. One needs to be faithful, yet enterprising for the medium of film. In the Spanish Dances, a work known as a piano solo, an orchestrator needs to be devoted to its origins, but account for an orchestra and its audience.
As an arranger, do you mess with the original keys, the tempo, the rhythms, or the structure of the work itself? Do you adhere strictly to what is there and throw in instruments willy-nilly? Is there a sense of orchestral-voice development, or is it merely a picture postcard by movement?
Any two ways about it, orchestrating is really a wide-open canvas. Colin Matthews, for example, recently orchestrated Debussy's Preludes, a daunting task of a very famous and beloved composition. Matthews was a rather interventionist orchestrator, and received some flak for it, but I think he was more of an intrepid explorer, taking chances for the orchestra and listeners, more than copying the original. In this case, Matthews made the work more his own than Debussy.
For me, Rafael Ferrer's orchestration of the twelve Spanish Dances from Granados has much more of the former admiration than he does any of the latter willful spirit or wanton abandon. The winds are lightly sprinkled in, and aside from the timpani, the percussion is tastefully inserted. These are colorful enough I suppose, neither insulting nor inspiring, but in the end, a bit plain.
Combine this with Salvador Brotons' rather leaden and uninspired leading of the work, and we have a rather overcooked piece of meat. Edible, but not enjoyably so. Too bad, as the Barcelona Symphony is an excellent sounding ensemble and the Danzas Españolas from Granados are well worth knowing. I guess, there is always the original.
A review from 2024
As the title infers, Enrique Granados’ Danzas Españolas are a series of twelve dances tinged with Spanish exoticisms. Originally written for piano, the work was famously championed by Alica de Larrocha, found on Decca, EMI, and RCA over the years.
This recording, however, features the orchestrated version, put together by Rafael Ferrer, a past conductor of the current orchestra on hand. No details are given regarding the said orchestrations, nor its orchestrator, so the listener is at their own to put together the details of authenticity.
To my ears, these orchestrations are rather plain sounding, given a rather dreamily tepid reading from Catalan composer/conductor Salvador Brotons. It is frustrating how Brotons stops the music at the end of each and every phrase, not allowing the music to have any sense of line. So too, I wish the Barcelona ensemble was allowed some more character and to dig deeper into some of the countermelodies.
The orchestra, on the other hand, plays beautifully and are certainly a capable ensemble. Yet, no one is taking any chances here, neither the orchestrator, nor the conductor. It makes for easy listening, but not much more.
Listen on YouTube
Works
12 Spanish Dances
Performers
Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra
Salvador Brotons, conductor
Label: Naxos
Year: 2002
Total Timing: 58.50
Not worth discarding, though. After all, hearing an orchestration of a work is a form of exploration all on its own.
Since there is no information on Rafael Ferrer nor his orchestration, I am not sure whether my tepid review lays on the orchestrator or the conductor.
Perhaps some of both...
Find more Granados recordings HERE!
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