Happy New Year! Tiento antiguo (Joaquín Rodrigo)

Tiento antiguo

Composer: Joaquín Rodrigo (1901 - 1999)

Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez (22 November 1901 – 6 July 1999), was a Spanish composer and a virtuoso pianist. He is best known for composing the Concierto de Aranjuez, a cornerstone of the classical guitar repertoire.

The piece "Tiento antiguo" can be translated to "old touch" in English. Tiento is a Spanish musical genre that originated in the mid-15th century. It is similar to the fantasia, which is found in England, Germany, and the Low Countries, and the ricercare, which originated in Italy. In the 16th century, a tiento was a Spanish pipe-organ composition that had strict imitative counterpoint. This piece is selected as one of RCM (The Royal Conservatory of Music) level 8 studies.