The lure of Impressionism spread across the Channel and the Pyrenees. The English swapped their allegiance from Germany (Elgar) to France (Vaughan Williams), while many Spanish composers of the period studied and/or worked in Paris.

Manuel de Falla is a case in point, he lived in Paris from 1907 to 1914 and was influenced by, and acquainted with, both Ravel and Debussy…

Falla:
Noches en los
Jardines de España
[Nights in the Gardens of Spain]

0:00 – En el Generalife
10:20 – Danza Lejana
15:48 – En los jardines de la Sierra de Córdoba

Score

… while Vaughan Williams’ threnodic Pastoral Symphony (1922) perfectly reflects his studies with Ravel (1907-1908).

Vaughan Williams:
Pastoral Symphony

0:00 Molto moderato
10:19 Lento moderato
19:44 Moderato pesante – Presto
27:11 Lento – Moderato maestoso

Score

Scriabin’s musical language was very much his own, but the atmosphere, sentiments and dark mysticism of his later works clearly ally him with the Expressionists:

Scriabin:
Vers la flamme

Score

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