ZORTZICO in e Minor, Composed in 1887 for Piano Solo by Isaac Albeniz

This is the FULL SCORE for Mark Starr's recent orchestration (for string orchestra and percussion) of Isaac Albeniz's Zortzico in E minor. Albeniz composed this work in 1887 for piano solo. Starr's copyrighted orchestration is available for concert performances and commercial recordings through Noteworthy Musical Editions. Orchestral parts are available ON RENTAL from Noteworthy Musical Editions (email: noteworthymusic@zasu.us). NME also licenses all public performances and recordings....
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This is the FULL SCORE for Mark Starr's recent orchestration (for string orchestra and percussion) of Isaac Albeniz's Zortzico in E minor. Albeniz composed this work in 1887 for piano solo. Starr's copyrighted orchestration is available for concert performances and commercial recordings through Noteworthy Musical Editions. Orchestral parts are available ON RENTAL from Noteworthy Musical Editions (email: noteworthymusic@zasu.us). NME also licenses all public performances and recordings. A zortzico is a Basque dance characterized by five beats in a bar. The five beats are always grouped into 3 + 2. Dotted rhythms on the second and fourth beats repeat from start to finish. A zortzico is most commonly performed by a mixed group in a circle. The dance is hypnotic, seductive and sensusal in character. Occasionally, the circle is broken to form a line, which slowly weaves its way through the streets of a village. The dance is usually performed by a fiddle or a txuisto (a three-hole flute,) accompanied by a tuned drum and a tambourine basque. Albeniz was Catalan, not Basque -- but evidently he was fascinated by the beguiling rhythm of this Basque folk dance -- since he composed two zortzicos. Mark Starr has arranged both for string orchestra and percussion. This one, in E minor, Albeniz composed for piano solo. It was published in Madrid in 1887. A second zortzico, in E major, forms the final movement of Albeniz's 6-movement suite for piano, Espana. In Starr's view, a string orchestra is an ideal medium in which to present this sensual, luscious music. Indeed, only sustained instruments such as strings can effectively perform the many extended crescendos and diminuendos on long tones that make up the central section of the work. The incessant repetitions in the percussion and strings' pizzicati of the dotted rhythm that characterizes the zortzico creates a hypnotic spell over the listener.Albeniz Zortzico in E minor lasts about 6 minutes. It is very different in texture from Alkan's other compositions -- which are are often characterized by pianistic virtuosity and a wild profusion of pianistic colors. Debussy humorously noted Albeniz's predeliction for brilliant colors in a critical article: "Albeniz handles his colors as lavishly as he handles his money. When he finds that five sous' of postage are not quite enough for a letter, he immediately pastes ten sous of stamps on the envelope." You can hear a music video of Mark Starr's orchestration of Albeniz's Zortzico in E minor on YouTube, in the channel reserved by "NoteworthyMusicEditn".