18/5/2021 Pedrell, Felipe | Grove Music

Pedrell, Felipe [Felip]

Walter Aaron Clark

https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.21186
Published in print: 20 January 2001
Published online: 2001

Updated in this version

updated bibliography, 2 June 2011

(b Tortosa, Feb 9, 1841; d Barcelona, Aug 9, 1922). Catalan composer, musicologist and teacher. He began
his musical studies at the age of seven while a chorister at Tortosa Cathedral, receiving instruction in
solfège, harmony and the transcription of popular song from Juan Antonio Nin y Serra. He was otherwise
self-taught in music. During his early career he wrote a great deal of vocal music, mostly sacred, but
devoted himself increasingly to opera and zarzuela after moving to Barcelona as deputy director of the
Light Opera Company of the Teatro Circo in 1873. His operas L’ultimo Abenzeraggio (1874) and Quasimodo
(1875) had their premières at the Gran Teatro del Liceo in that city. A year in Italy (1876–7) aroused his
interest in musicology, and in Roman libraries he researched music history, aesthetics, folklore and early
music. Subsequently he spent two years in Paris, where he composed opera and came under the in uence
of Wagner. After returning to Spain he settled in Barcelona and concentrated on musicology. He began
publishing two journals in 1882: Salterio sacro-hispano, in which he published many works by earlier
Spanish composers, and Notas musicales y literarias. In 1888 he introduced the periodical La ilustración
musical hispano-americana, which contained some of his most important research, and also contributed
numerous articles to other periodicals, especially La España musical. His operatic activities resumed with
Eda (1887), Little Carmen (1888), and Mara (1889), all commissioned by a friend in New York. In 1890 he
began work on his monumental Els Pirineus (Los Pirineos), an operatic trilogy with prologue, which blended
the quotation of medieval and Renaissance music with modern harmony and Wagnerian leitmotif. In
conjunction with its completion a year later he published the book Por nuestra música, in which he set forth
his views regarding Spanish national opera.

Pedrell moved to Madrid in 1894 and was appointed professor of choral singing at the conservatory,
professor of higher studies at the Ateneo, and was elected to the Real Academia de Bellas Artes. He spent
ten productive years in the capital composing, promoting the performance of sacred music, founding the
Isidorian Choir, organizing concerts, editing music, and giving lectures. He also composed the opera La
Celestina, intended as the second opera after Els Pirineus in a triptych dedicated to Patria, Amor, and Fides,
the motto of the Catalan Jocs Florals (‘Floral games’). The third opera was never written. Although he
completed a nal dramatic work El Comte Arnau upon his return to Barcelona in 1904, he gradually
abandoned composition and spent his remaining years arranging the large amount of material he had
collected, publishing it in several major works, and rearranging or re-editing existing work.

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Pedrell was the founder of modern Spanish musicology and contributed greatly to the revival of church
music in Spain. He wrote extensively on Spanish liturgical music and made substantial collections and
editions of both early and contemporary Spanish sacred music. His most important editions include the
complete works of Victoria and the series Hispaniae Schola Musica Sacra. His biographical writings include
a series in Revista musical catalana (1904–10) entitled ‘Musichs vells de la terra’, biographies of Victoria
and Eximeno, and a bio-bibliographical dictionary of Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American musicians.
His critical writings include a study of Spanish popular song. One of his major works was the Catàlech de la
Biblioteca musical de la Diputació de Barcelona, in which he collated much of what he had already published
in books and articles. His endeavours inspired the succeeding generation of scholars, and he encouraged
the early career of Anglès. The Festschrift Escritos heortásticos, published in his honour in 1911, contains a
complete list of all his publications and compositions up to that date; subsequent lists based on this are not
always representative, for although he was at rst ambitious to become a Spanish equivalent of Wagner, in
his later years he destroyed many of his scores, recognizing that his major talents lay elsewhere. His lack
of success as a composer was a source of frustration to him, and it is di cult today to assess his stature
because much of his music remains in manuscript, with few modern editions or recordings. He strove to
make a major contribution to national music in Spain, especially Catalonia, and was proli c: his output
includes not only songs, choral works, and operas but many chamber and orchestral compositions as well.
His works for the piano consist mostly of salon-style dances as well as arrangements, fantasias,
rhapsodies, and variations based on popular operatic themes. None of this music, however, has found its
way into the standard repertory. Perhaps his most important achievement in composition was to inspire
other composers through his writings, lectures and private instruction. Albéniz, Granados and Falla all
bene ted from his tutelage and held him in high esteem.

Works

(selective list; complete list in Bonastre)

Stage
El último Abencerraje (op, 4, J.B. Altés), 1868, unpubd

rev. as L’ultimo Abenzeraggio (F. Fors de Casamayor), 1870, unpubd

rev., with new nos., Barcelona, Liceo, 14 April 1874, excerpts (Barcelona, 1874)

rev., Barcelona, Liceo, 8 Oct 1889

Les aventures de Cocardy, 1873 (ob, Gelée–Bertal), unperf.

Quasimodo (op, 4, J. Barret, a er V. Hugo), Barcelona, Liceo, 20 April 1875

Le roi Lear (op, 5, A. Baralle), 1877, unperf.

Mazeppa (poema lírico, 9 nos., A. de Lauzières de Thémines), 1878

Tasso à Ferrara (poema lírico, 1, Lauzière de Thémines), Madrid, Apollo, 1881

Cleopâtre (op, 4, Lauzières de Thémines), 1878, unperf.

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Eda (ópera cómica), 1887, unperf.

Little Carmen (ópera, 3), 1888

Mara (ópera cómica, 4), 1889, unperf., unpubd

Els Pirineus [Los Pirineos] (op, prol., 3, V. Balaguer), 1891, Barcelona, Liceo, 4 Jan 1902, vs (Barcelona, 1893) [pt 1 of trilogy]

La Celestina

tragi-comedia lírica de Calisto y Melibea (op, 4, Pedrell, a er F. de Rojas), 1902, excerpts, concert perf., Barcelona, 1921, vs
(Barcelona, 1903) [part 2 of trilogy]

El Comte Arnau (‘festival lirich-popular’, 2 pts, J. Margall), vs (Leipzig, 1911)

Zarzs

Ells i Elles (1, J. Riera i Bertrán), 1873

La guardiola (3, E. Vidal i Valenciano), 1873

Lluch-Llach (2, A. Ferrer i Codina), 1873 [orig. El diplomático (ob)]

Lo rei tranquil (Riera), 1873

La veritat i la mentida (3, C. Colomer), 1873

Los secuestradores (zarzuelita, 3 nos.), 1889

Instrumental

Orchestral

Marche-hymne and Fête (march), 1871

Sym., D, 1872

Scherzo fantastique, 1872

Elegía a Romea, 1875

Meditación fúnebre, 1875

Mila, 1876

La veu de las montanyas, 1877

March triomphale, 1878

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Gavotte, c, 1879

Gavotte, a, 1880

I trionfi, suite, 1880

Marxa fúnebre, 1885

Chamber

Elegía a Foruny, vl, vc, pf, hmn, 1875

Himne a Venus, sop.fl, gui, hp, hmn, pf, 1880

Jesús als pecadors, T, str qt, pf, 1880

Llevant Déu, escena religiosa, T, str qt, pf, 1880

Preghiera dell’orfanello, vc, str quintet, 1880

serenata, str, hmn, pf, 1881

Piano solo

Los cantares, Horas tristes (melodías características), 1862

Sonata, 1864, Scènes, 1866

Estudios melódicos, 2 books (1866, 1867)

Hojas de álbum, 1867

Escenas infantiles, 4 hands, 1880

26 pièces pour le piano, 1881

La veu de las montayas, 1892

many waltzes, nocturnes, impromptus, mazurkas and romances, as well as transcrs., arrs., fantasies and rhapsodies based on
operatic themes

Sacred

Stabat mater, 3vv, 1856

Mass, 2vv, org, 1857

Mass, 3vv, org, 1858

Stabat mater, 2vv, orch, 1858

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Salve regina, 3vv, org, 1860

2 Masses, 3vv, org, 1861

Mass, 3 solo vv, vv, org, 1864

Alleluia (small orat), 4 solo vv, vv, org, 1865

Mass, 3vv, org, 1865

Dixit dominus y Magnificat, 4vv, org, 1862

Dixit dominus y Magnificat, 4vv, org, 1866

Mass, 3vv, org, 1866

Stabat mater, vv, orch, 1866

Requiem, 3vv, orch, 1868

3 Lamentations, 4vv, hmn, 1869

2 Masses, 4vv, org, 1869

Missa brevis, 1875

Salve regina-Filiae Jerusalem, S, vv, st qt, hmn, 1875

Missa solemnis, 3 solo vv, vv, orch, hp, org, 1876

Requiem, 4 solo vv, vv, 1876

Te Deum, 4 solo vv, vv, orch, hp, org, 1876

Salterio sacro Hispano, 2–4vv, org, 1882

In captivitatem comploratio, 4vv, orch, 1906

many other small works, incl. 6 settings of the Ave Maria, 2 of the Benedictus, 4 Hymns, Bone pastor (motet), Christus factus est,
Miserere and Gozos

Other choral

Cant de la montanya, 1877

Cançó llatina, 1878

Serenata, 4vv, 1879

La festa de Tibulus, vv, vla, vc, pf, 1879

Don Ramon i Don Joan, SATB, 1902

La Matinada, solo vv, vv, o stage orch, 1905

Visió de Randa, solo vv, vv, orch, 1905

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Glossa, vv, orch, 1906

Vocal

Songs for 1v, pf

Despedida, 1858

La serenata-La ermita, 1862

La pescadorcita, 1863

7 melodías, 1863

Ecos de Italia, 1864

6 Lieder, 1864

Melodías, 1864

Cantos de la infancia, 1866

Embriaguez, 1867

Noches de España, 1871

3 Lieder, 1871, Balada, 1875

Lágrimas, 1875

Consolations, 1876

14 Lais, 1879

16 Lieder, 1879

Balada y preghiera, 1880

Cant dels mariners Catalans, 1880

Sirventés, 1880

14 melodías, 1881, Amarosa, 1884

Avuy farà un any, 1884

Mai més, 1884

Mignon, 1884

Aires andaluces, 1889

Aires de la tierra, 1889

Canciones arabescas, 1906

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Vita nuova, 1921

Writings
Apuntes y observaciones sobre estética musical (Barcelona, 1866)

Gramática musical o manual expositivo de la teoría del solfeo, en forma de diálogo (Barcelona, 1872, 3/1883)

Las sonatas de Beethoven (Barcelona, 1873)

Los músicos españoles en sus libros (Barcelona, 1888)

Por nuestra música (Barcelona, 1891/R; Fr. trans., 1891)

Diccionario técnico de la música (Barcelona, 1894, 2/1899/R)

Diccionario biográfico y bibliográfico de músicos y escritores de música españoles, portugueses y hispano-americanos

antiguos y modernos (Barcelona, 1894–7) [A–Gaz only]

‘Folk-Lore musical castillan du XVIe siècle’, SIMG, 1 (1899–1900), 372–82

Emporio científico e histórico de organografia musical española antigua (Barcelona, 1901)

Prácticas preparatorias de instrumentación (Barcelona, 1902)

‘La musique indigène dans le théâtre espagnol du XVIIe siècle’, SIMG, 5 (1903–4), 46–69

La cançó popular catalana (Barcelona, 1906)

Documents pour servir à l’histoire du théâtre musical: la festa d’Elche ou le drame lyrique liturgique espagnol (Paris,
1906)

Musicalerías (Valencia, 1906) [selection of critical articles]

Antología de organistas clásicos españoles (Madrid, 1908/R1968 as Classical Spanish Organists)

Catàlech de la Biblioteca musical de la Diputació de Barcelona (Barcelona, 1908–9)

‘Jean I d’Aragon, compositeur de musique’, Riemann-Festschri (Leipzig, 1909), 229–240

‘L’églogue “La forêt sans amour” de Lope de Vega, et la musique et les musiciens du théâtre de Calderon’, SIMG, 11
(1909–10), 55–104

‘Jacopone da Todi, los Stabat mater y la Música’, Revista de estudios franciscanos (April–May, 1910), 129–147

Músicos contemporáneos y de otros tiempos (Paris, 1910)

Jornadas de arte (Paris, 1911) [memoirs and articles, 1841–91]

Orientaciones (Paris, 1911) [memoirs and articles, 1892–1902]

La lírica nacionalizada (Paris, 1913)

Tomás Luis de Victoria Abulense (Valencia, 1918) [based on T.L. de Victoria: Opera omnia, 8, 1913]

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P. Antonio Eximeno (Madrid, 1920)

Editions
F. Pedrell, ed.

Many edns of early Spanish music in Salterio sacro-hispano (1882–)

Hispaniae schola musica sacra (Barcelona, 1894–8/R)

Teatro lírico español anterior al siglo XIX (La Coruña, 1897–8)

T.L. de Victoria: Opera omnia (Leipzig, 1902–13)

El organista litúrgico español (Barcelona, 1905)

Antología de organistas clásicos españoles (Madrid, 1908)

Cancionero musical popular español (Valls, 1918–22, 3/1958)

with H. Anglès: Els madrigals i la missa de difunts d’En Brudieu, PBC, 1 (1921)

Bibliography
R. Mitjana: Felipe Pedrell (Málaga, 1901)

N. Otaño, ed.: Al Maestro Pedrell: escritos heortásticos (Tortosa, 1911) [with list of works by A. Rei ; this list repr. in AMw,
3 (1921), 86–97]

F. Pedrell: Musiquerías (Paris, c1911) [autobiography]

H. Anglès: Catàleg dels manuscrits musicals de la Collecció Pedrell (Barcelona, 1921)

F. Pedrell: Jornadas postreras (Valls, 1922) [autobiography]

L. Villalba Muñoz: Felipe Pedrell, semblanza y biografía (Madrid, 1922)

E. Istel: ‘Felipe Pedrell’, MQ, 11 (1925), 164–91

‘Al ilustre compositor y musicologo insigne Felipe Pedrell, fundador del nacionalismo musical espanol y padre de la
musicologia espanola, en el quincuagesimo aniversario de su muerte’, AnM, 27 (1972)

‘Felipe Pedrell (1841–1922): in memoriam’, AnM, 27 (1972), v–vi

F. Bonastre: ‘Pedrell, precursor de la reforma musical litúrgica de 1903’, AnM, 27 (1972), 103–7

M. Jover: ‘Felipe Pedrell (1841–1922): biografía’, AnM, 27 (1972), 1–19

J.M. Llorens: ‘Extensión y profundidad de la obra musicológica de Felipe Pedrell’, AnM, 27 (1972), 77–94

E. Pujol: ‘El Maestro Pedrell, la vihuela y la guitarra’, AnM, 27 (1972), 47–59

M. Querol: ‘I. Felipe Pedrell, compositor—II. “El comte Arnau”’, AnM, 27 (1972), 21–38

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S. Rubio: ‘Felipe Pedrell, editor de “Opera Omnia” de Tomas Luis de Victoria’, AnM, 27 (1972), 39–45

F. Sopeña: ‘Pedrell en el Conservatorio de Madrid’, AnM, 27 (1972), 95–101

J. Subirá: ‘Felipe Pedrell y el teatro musical espanol’, AnM, 27 (1972), 61–76

M. Jover: Felipe Pedrell (1841–1922): vida y obra (Tortosa, 1972)

F. Bonastre: Felipe Pedrell: acotaciones a una idea (Tarragona, 1977) [incl. complete list of works]

T. Snow: ‘“La Celestina” of Felipe Pedrell’, Celestinesca, 1/3 (1979), 19–32

M.C. Gómez-Elegido Ruizolalla: ‘La correspondencia entre Felipe Pedrell y Francisco Asenjo Barbieri’, Recerca
musicològica, 4 (1984), 77–242

J. Casanova: ‘Presència poética en la música de la Renaixença’, Revista musical catalana, no.43 (1988), 27–31

A. Gallego: ‘Nuevas obras de Falla en América: El Canto a la Estrella, de “Los Pireneos” de Pedrell’, Inter-American Music
Review, 11/2 (1991), 85–102

X. Aviñoa: ‘Felip Pedrell; o, La inauguración de la Escuela Musicológica Hispana’, Monsalvat, no.202 (1992), 16–18

F. Cortès i Mir: El nacionalismo musical de Felip Pedrell a través de sus óperas: Els Pirineus, La Celestina y El Comte Arnau
(diss., U. Autònoma of Barcelona, 1996)

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