The Three-Cornered Hat: In Full Score

In 1917 a Madrid stage theater hosted a mime version of the folk tale El Corregidor y la molinera (The Governor and the Miller's Wife) with music by Spanish composer Manuel de Falla (1876–1946). The production attracted the attention of the famous impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who persuaded Falla to rework and rescore the music for a ballet. In that form, with sets by Picasso, it was first performed in London in 1919 as The Three-Cornered Hat (El sombrero de tres picos) and enjoyed an immediate success.Based on a story by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, the work is full of wit and vitality, enhanced with the flavor of Andalusian folk music that permeates Falla's music of the period. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians praised this captivating ballet as "the most humorous of Falla's works," and its initial popularity has remained undiminished. A staple of the ballet and orchestral repertoires, the complete score of The Three-Cornered Hat is now available in this attractive, high-quality edition, reproduced from an authoritative 1921 English score.