Sublime music is often inspired by special circumstances. The adagio movement of the Concerto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodigro (1901-1999) is one example. But before I go on, have a listen to a seemingly unrelated piece by the baroque composer and contemporary of Bach, Alessandro Marcello, in a piece entitled Oboe Concerto in D Minor. This is the second (adagio) movement:

Back to Rodigro’s composition. Rodigro composed his famous concerto two years after the infamous attack and destruction in 1937 of the historical town of Guernica in Spain, perhaps as an elegy to the event. Like many neoclassical artists who sought comfort in music during times of trouble, Rodrigo looked to historic music for a common language. In his case that appears to be baroque music and that is where Marcello comes in. Notice the similarities in the melody and tones of the Rodigro and Marcello compositions? Incidentally, Marcello’s Oboe Concerto also bears close affinity with Bach’s Harpsichord for Concerto in F Minor. This is no coincidence as it was Bach who transcribed Marcello’s work for harpsichord and added extensive ornamentation to the slow movement. Those became the largo movement of Bach’s transcription and it is a piece which is often played by oboists and pianists today.

Here is a recording of Rodrigo’s masterpiece, Concerto de Aranjeuz, followed by the largo movement of Bach’s Harpsichord for Concerto in F Minor.

Concerto de Aranjeuz (guitar soloist, Pablo Saint Villegas)

J.S. Bach, Largo movement from Harpsichord for Concerto in F Minor (soloist: Maria Joao Pires)