The Influence of Andalusian Music and French Impressionism on Manuel de Falla’s Fantasía Bætica (1919)

This dissertation examines the synthesis of Andalusian folk music and French Impressionism in Manuel de Falla's Fantasía Bætica (1919). Commissioned by pianist Arthur Rubinstein, the work merges flamenco rhythms, modal structures, and guitar idioms with Impressionistic harmonic ambiguity, orchestral sonorities, and textural innovations influenced by Debussy and Ravel. Due to its blending of traditional Spanish elements with modernist techniques, Fantasía Bætica is recognized as a particularly complex and challenging work, as noted by Rubinstein. This study addresses these complexities through detailed structural and topical analysis, focusing on recurring rhythmic patterns, modal structures, and Impressionistic techniques. By exploring how Falla uses the fantasia genre as a flexible framework, this research demonstrates how the piece integrates Andalusian music with modernist harmonic and orchestral approaches. In this way, Fantasía Bætica serves both as a vehicle for Spanish nationalism and a modernist expression, creating a distinctive fusion of tradition and innovation that resonates within the context of early twentieth-century European music.