Isaac Albéniz’s use of the flamenco folklore in his piano works reveals his traditional Spanish music roots. Still, he went beyond flamenco, exploring different Spanish musical traditions and genres, incorporating them into his particular style. Many scholars have explored flamenco influences and how Albéniz adapted them to the piano. However, there is not much information about other folklore styles present in his music, outside of his most famous work Iberia. Spain has many musical genres and traditions that are very popular in their own geographical regions, and sometimes they transcend to the rest of the country. Some examples include the jota in Aragon (northeastern Spain) and the zortziko in Basque Country (north of Spain). Similar to flamenco, this music is associated with dance and has some sections that feature vocal singing. As this repertoire was created for regional festivities, it is very accessible and usually played by popular instruments of the region.

In this lecture-recital, Bengoa Roldan explores Albéniz’s interpretation of regional musical elements and how he translated them to his piano work in “Aragón,” (a jota) from Suite Española and Zortziko. He used specific and idiomatic dance rhythms in the jota (3/8) and the zortziko (5/8 with dotted notes) and portrayed some regional instruments in these works (imitation of the bandurria, tamboril, or txistulari). However, he did not do any literal translation of the traditional tunes as other composers (for example, Louis Moreau Gottschalk). In short, Albéniz was able to echo the richness and variety of Spain in his music by rendering the rhythm, melodies, harmonies, instruments, and vocal elements while staying true to the traditional music and adapting it to the piano.