Lorca in Tune with Falla: Literary and Musical Interludes

Federico García Lorca (1889-1936) is widely regarded as the greatest Spanish poet of the twentieth century; Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) is Spain’s most performed composer of the same period. The two were very different – Lorca was gay, liberal, and a member of the avant garde, while Falla was a devout Catholic – yet they had a profound mutual influence. The two developed an intimate friendship, which ended when Lorca was shot by Nationalist forces at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.

Lorca in Tune with Falla is the first book to trace Lorca’s impact on Falla’s music, and Falla’s influence on Lorca’s writings. Nelson R. Orringer explores the music underlying Poem of Deep Song, Gypsy Ballads, and Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías, bringing out the analogous sounds and ideas that emerge in the active, ongoing connection between the artworks of both creators. The book emphasizes how this harmony increases knowledge and appreciation of both artists.

Nelson R. Orringer is an emeritus professor of Spanish at the University of Connecticut and a past winner of two Fulbright research grants and the Menéndez Pelayo Royal Society Humanistic Prize.