On the Road to Iberia : Sonata Form and Españolismo in "Asturies" from Espagne (Souvenirs) by Isaac Albéniz

Abstract

This analytical vignette examines Isaac Albéniz's "Asturies" (T. 103B). Drawing on both Caplin's formal-functional and Vande Moortele's two-dimensional approaches, it argues that despite its apparent large-ternary form, "Asturies" uses an unequivocal sonata-form rhetoric combined with characteristic elements of Spanish folklore, a combination that became one of the most idiosyncratic features of Albéniz's musical language in his most famous work,Iberia . My analysis ultimately seeks to contribute to the appreciation of this forgotten composition and to acknowledge its importance in Albéniz's compositional development.