SOMM Recordings is pleased to announce a release devoted to the singular 20th century Spanish composer and pianist, Manuel de Falla, with three late-Romantic scores that capture the very essence of Spain: The Three-Cornered Hat, Nights in the Gardens of Spain and Seven Spanish Folksongs.

Against the backdrop of the First World War, Falla found fame and recognition in Spain as not only a leading composer, but one with a growing international reputation. This status was confirmed when Sergei Diaghilev commissioned the ballet, El sombrero de tres picos, for the Ballet Russes to perform in London in 1919, with stage designs by Pablo Picasso. The ballet, like the novel by Pedro Antonio de Alarcon that inspired it, incorporates Spanish storytelling that conjures up everyday village life, and Falla’s music is rich in echoes of traditional Spanish folk tunes.