Duration:
9'

Instrumentation:
4rec

Theo Verbey composed his Fandango in 1998 for the renowned BRISK Recorder Quartet Amsterdam, and it is perhaps one of his most historically inspired works. The fandango is a Spanish dance in triple meter that emerged in the eighteenth century. In the early twentieth century, Spanish music was mainly seen as an exotic source of inspiration for composers such as Rimsky-Korsakov, Debussy, and Ravel—who tended to associate so-called Spanish music primarily with flamenco culture. The fandango also holds a place within flamenco.

In this piece, however, Theo Verbey looks further back than flamenco. Spain’s musical culture is centuries old, extraordinarily rich, and deeply rooted in both art and folk traditions. The medium of the recorder quartet naturally evokes associations with Baroque and Renaissance music as well—and Verbey certainly does not shy away from those connections here.

The piece opens with long note values in which the soprano recorder plays a cantus-firmus-like melody. It hints at Renaissance polyphony without quoting it literally. When the fandango rhythm sets in, the music unfolds into a multi-voiced tapestry that is at once virtuosic, spirited, and infectious—a delight for performers and listeners alike. – Jeppe Moulijn