Alhambra (Fantasia per organo) (2018)

Carlotta Ferrari (b. 1975) — Alhambra (Fantasia per organo) (2018)

“Alhambra (Fantasia per organo)” is inspired by Alhambra, a palace and fortress located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. Alhambra is renowned for being a rare remaining example of its architecture style, a representative of the last era of the Islamic palaces built for the final Muslim emirs of Spain at the end of Nasrid dynasty. Moorish poets called it “a pearl set in emeralds,” alluding to the pearl-like color of its buildings set against the green of the surrounding woods. The music of this work is based on a hijaz scale (from Arabic music), reflected through the Restarting Pitch Space system of modal harmony.

Carlotta Ferrari (b. 1975) is an Italian composer. Educated at the Conservatory in Milan, she has composed in many genres, developing a personal language that is concerned with the blend of past and present. Her compositions have been performed frequently around the world. Ferrari’s music appears on several CD recordings, including five all-Ferrari organ CDs: three recorded by Carson Cooman (2014/16) and two by Peter Clark (2015/16). She served as chair of music composition at Hebei Normal University in Shijiazhuang, China and is currently professor of music composition at the European School of Economics in Florence, Italy.