The Three-Cornered Hat, Scenes and Dances from Part 1

Thoough originally composed as a patomime-ballet for chamber orchestra entitled El corregidor y la molinera during the years of the first world war, Falla received a commission from Sergey Diaghilev, who attended the 1917 premiere, to re-work the piece into a full two act ballet for the Ballets Russes. The enlarged version, now entitled El Sombrero des Tres Picos (The Three Cornered Hat) was scored for a full orchestra and received its premiere in London's Alhambra Theatre on July 22, 1919 to considerable acclaim with sets by Picasso and choreography by Massine. The orchestra was conducted by Ernest Ansermet. Though moderately successful as a ballet, Falla's brilliantly orchestrated score entered the symphonic repertoire alomost immediately. Especially popular were the two suites. The first, whose formal title is "Scenes and Dances from Part One" is offered here in convenient study score format in a newly engraved and researched edition prepared by Clinton F. Nieweg and Julia L. McAlister which was first issued by the now-defunct E.F. Kalmus in 2014. The large conductor score and orchestra parts are now exclusively available from Serenissima Music.