Culturing the Masses: Albéniz and Granados Transcriptions for Wind Bands In Spain (1909 - 1935)

Abstract

Since the early 20th century there has been a significant growth in the size of civic wind bands audiences, matching the huge growth of the working classes in Spain, who follow the outdoor concerts en masse, during their limited leisure time. Spanish bandmasters demonstrated an enormous interest in increasing their repertoire by including pieces which had previously been "reserved" for bourgeois concert halls; pieces which were now transcribed and perfectly adapted for the urban open spaces where they were performed. A detailed analysis of all the factors which influenced this process – conductors, audiences, spaces, scores, and repertoire – reveals how the boundaries between high and low culture were blurred, showing that wind bands were not an aesthetic brake, nor merely an amusement or populist leisure activity for the lower classes.