Luigi Boccherini – Introduction & Fandango
Though Italian by birth, Luigi Boccherini spent much of his professional career in Spain, where he worked primarily for the Infante Luis, younger brother of Charles III. His absorption of Spanish musical styles are present in two aspects of his popular Quintet for Guitar and Strings in D major, upon which this arrangement of its final two movements this is based. The addition of the guitar, castanets, and tambourine, which for centuries had been cornerstones of Spanish popular music, lends a decidedly Spanish flair to the standard string quartet timbre. The use of the fandango, one of Spain's most iconic, popular, and sensual dances, stamps this quintet as a product of Spain. The principal string players, guitarist, and percussionists play the original quintet parts, while the winds and remaining string players perform an arrangement by artistic director Billy Traylor that fits around the original work.
Recorded on Nov. 7, 2021, at St. John's Lutheran Church, San Antonio, TX