Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
#1 from '20 Melodías asturianas' (1894–1907)
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Phillip Sear plays a piece by the Spanish composer, pianist and musicologist Anselmo González del Valle (1852–1911).
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Though born in Havana to Asturian parents, del Valle spent most of his life in Oviedo, where he became a central figure in the city’s musical and cultural life.
His solo piano music consists largely of short character pieces and transcriptions that draw on regional song and dance types. The collection ‘Veinte melodías asturianas para piano’ (published in Leipzig by C. G. Röder) is his best-known keyboard work, presenting folk-like themes in a late‑Romantic pianistic idiom; other published pieces include opus‑numbered mazurkas, caprichos and rhapsodies such as the Rapsodia asturiana, Op. 27, and Rapsodia española, Op. 19. These works occupy a modest but distinctive place in the Spanish piano repertoire, valued particularly for their ethnographic interest and their role in shaping a regionalist piano style in northern Spain.
González del Valle’s wider output embraced zarzuela excerpts, operatic transcriptions, and numerous arrangements of Asturian songs, alongside his activity as a writer on music and as an organiser of musical life. He served as president of the Academia de Bellas Artes de Oviedo and was instrumental in the foundation of Oviedo’s conservatory, helping to institutionalise music teaching in Asturias.
Here is the original text of the underlying Asturian folk melody:
"La casa del señor cura nunca la ví como ahora:
Ventana sobre ventana y el corredor á la modá.
Sal á bailar, buena moza, sal á bailar, resalada,
Que la sal del mundo tienés y no la meneas nadá
Que la sal del mundo tienés y menearla no quierés."
In Hispanic folk tradition, sal (salt) represents wit, charm, grace, and sex appeal. Calling a girl resalada means she is incredibly charming, witty, or attractive. "Shaking your salt" (menearla) means showing off that charm or shaking your hips on the dance floor. "Ventana sobre ventana..." is a traditional framing device in Spanish and Asturian folk songs (often used in children's riddles or traditional dances like the Jota). It establishes a setting—the local priest's house, which looks unusually grand, modern, or fancy—before transitioning into a lively dance call.
Here is an English translation:
"The priest’s house—I’ve never seen it look like this before:
Window upon window, and the balcony in the latest style.
Come out and dance, beautiful girl, come out and dance, you charming thing,
For you’ve got all the spice in the world, and you’re not shaking it at all,
For you’ve got all the spice in the world, and you just don't want to shake it!" (Information from Google Gemini, 17 July 2026).
Most of the pieces in the set have individual dedications; this one (from 1894) is dedicated to the composer's friend Julio Vallaure.
Thumbnail image created with Picsart ( tinyl.co/4WqE ).
#asturias #spanishmusic
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Played by Phillip Sear
psear.co.uk (Email: piano4@psear.33mail.com
WhatsApp: wa.me/441444483794 ) TikTok: tiktok.com/@pianogems
****See all my latest videos here: tinyurl.com/phillip210 ****
#1 from '20 Melodías asturianas' (1894–1907)
-----------------------------------
Phillip Sear plays a piece by the Spanish composer, pianist and musicologist Anselmo González del Valle (1852–1911).
-----------------------------------
Though born in Havana to Asturian parents, del Valle spent most of his life in Oviedo, where he became a central figure in the city’s musical and cultural life.
His solo piano music consists largely of short character pieces and transcriptions that draw on regional song and dance types. The collection ‘Veinte melodías asturianas para piano’ (published in Leipzig by C. G. Röder) is his best-known keyboard work, presenting folk-like themes in a late‑Romantic pianistic idiom; other published pieces include opus‑numbered mazurkas, caprichos and rhapsodies such as the Rapsodia asturiana, Op. 27, and Rapsodia española, Op. 19. These works occupy a modest but distinctive place in the Spanish piano repertoire, valued particularly for their ethnographic interest and their role in shaping a regionalist piano style in northern Spain.
González del Valle’s wider output embraced zarzuela excerpts, operatic transcriptions, and numerous arrangements of Asturian songs, alongside his activity as a writer on music and as an organiser of musical life. He served as president of the Academia de Bellas Artes de Oviedo and was instrumental in the foundation of Oviedo’s conservatory, helping to institutionalise music teaching in Asturias.
Here is the original text of the underlying Asturian folk melody:
"La casa del señor cura nunca la ví como ahora:
Ventana sobre ventana y el corredor á la modá.
Sal á bailar, buena moza, sal á bailar, resalada,
Que la sal del mundo tienés y no la meneas nadá
Que la sal del mundo tienés y menearla no quierés."
In Hispanic folk tradition, sal (salt) represents wit, charm, grace, and sex appeal. Calling a girl resalada means she is incredibly charming, witty, or attractive. "Shaking your salt" (menearla) means showing off that charm or shaking your hips on the dance floor. "Ventana sobre ventana..." is a traditional framing device in Spanish and Asturian folk songs (often used in children's riddles or traditional dances like the Jota). It establishes a setting—the local priest's house, which looks unusually grand, modern, or fancy—before transitioning into a lively dance call.
Here is an English translation:
"The priest’s house—I’ve never seen it look like this before:
Window upon window, and the balcony in the latest style.
Come out and dance, beautiful girl, come out and dance, you charming thing,
For you’ve got all the spice in the world, and you’re not shaking it at all,
For you’ve got all the spice in the world, and you just don't want to shake it!" (Information from Google Gemini, 17 July 2026).
Most of the pieces in the set have individual dedications; this one (from 1894) is dedicated to the composer's friend Julio Vallaure.
Thumbnail image created with Picsart ( tinyl.co/4WqE ).
#asturias #spanishmusic
---------------------------------
Played by Phillip Sear
psear.co.uk (Email: piano4@psear.33mail.com
WhatsApp: wa.me/441444483794 ) TikTok: tiktok.com/@pianogems
****See all my latest videos here: tinyurl.com/phillip210 ****
