En Aranjuez, con tu amor
Up to the present, when the 75 th anniversary of the premiere of the original concerto will be celebrated, the pop version of Concierto de Aranjuez, whose recognized title in Spanish is En Aranjuez con tu amor, is considered a pop classic. New versions in the most wide-ranging styles and diverse languages are constantly appearing on the market, making it a true classic.
The pop version of the famous melody of the second movement, Adagio.
These versions caused the composer great displeasure and distress as he did not agree to the transformation of his work which he considered a violation of moral rights. Joaquín Rodrigo and his wife tried to stop the recordings from being released and spreading. Bur it was useless; the more he tried to block them, the faster they spread and sales increased. In the end, the composer resigned himself to accept the fact that the pop versions reached a far greater public than that of classical music concertgoers, and led to much wider recognition of the original classical concerto for guitar and orchestra, Concierto de Aranjuez. Since that time, the concerto has become part of the universal repertoire for orchestras and guitarists, and is one of the contemporary works most performed throughout the world.
The French press reported the following historical anecdotes:
Paris Match (7/5/1961): 'Rodrigo formally prohibits the sale'
ELLE (1/8/1961): '...Miles Davis has made a recording based on Concierto de Aranjuez and this record is going to be prohibited... The Spanish composer who wrote it for guitar and orchestra is very unhappy to see it turned into jazz (excellent), with the trumpet replacing the guitar. You better hurry to buy or listen to it'.
'...Final reappearance of Sketches of Spain, which includes the famous Concierto de Aranjuez by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. The record was removed from the market in France and its sale was prohibited (probably for reasons of author's rights). It is not only directed to lovers of jazz, but to all those seeking different sounds in music. In any case, here's some advice: Listen to the classical recording of this concerto (Decca nº 178999) and compare them. The majority will probably opt for the latter one. Nevertheless, it is an interesting record.'
 |
 |
 |
||
In 1967, the first song version was produced and launched on the French market by Richard Anthony, under the title Aranjuez, mon amour, with lyrics in French. The song rapidly became a bestseller at the international level. Pop stars of the moment rivalled in bringing our their own version, and the theme was sung in a wide variety of languages.
As an anecdote, among the popular stars who performed the song was the French film actress Brigitte Bardot and a long list of famous faces including Dalida, Demis Rousos, Nana Mouskouri, Lola Flores, Amalia Rodrigues, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Montserrat Caballé...
The composer felt overwhelmed by the extraordinary popularity of the theme and was swamped by publishers and agents from all over the world who wanted rights to publish the pop version. The international press wrote about it and the following cartoon apeared in the Spanish press (1/12/1967).
Outsanding Pop Versions starting from the nineteen sixties:
| Miles Davis Concierto de Aranjuez. Album Sketches of Spain (1960) |
Richard Anthony - Aranjuez, mon amour (1967) |
Dalida Aranjuez, la tua voce |
||
| Demis Roussos Follow me |
The Modern Jazz Quartet With Laurindo de Almeida |
Jim Hall | ||
| Amalia Rodrigues | Miguel Ríos | James Last and his Orchestra | ||
| The Boston Feelings Orchestra | Jean Christian Michel | Chick Corea, jazz version (Spain) | ||
| Al Jarreau | Lola Flores (See our YouTube Channel) |
Frank Pourcel | ||
| Jean François Mauroic | Massimo Ranieri (See our YouTube Channel) |
Fairuz | ||
| Manuel & The Music of the Mountains | José Feliciano (See our YouTube Channel) |
Nana Mouskouri | ||
| The Swingle Singers | Stevie Wonder | Carlos Santana | ||
| Dyango | Maurice André | Paloma San Basilio | ||
| Paul Mauriat (Classic) | Sarah Brightman | Waldo de los Ríos | ||
| Helmut Lotti | Herb Alpert | The Shadows | ||
| Arielle Dombasle | Il Divo & Sarah Brightman (See our YouTube Channel) |
Andrea Bocelli | ||
| Katherine Jenkins | Summer | Jan D. Dvorsky | ||
| The Planets | Casiopea and Jimsaku (jazz) | Rita | ||
| John Paul Jones (instrumental) | Isao Tomita (electronic version) | Leo Brouwer, Chucho Valdés y Trakere (jazz) | ||
| Chris Botty | Victoria Gydov | Larry Adler (armónica) | ||
| Plácido Domingo | Montserrat Caballé | Ana María Martínez | ||
| Carlos Núñez (gaita) | James Galway (flauta) | Hosu Senlendirici (clarinete) | ||
| Jake Shimabufuro (Dragón) (ukelele) | Myrna Chaker (mix) | Bebo Valdés y El Cigala | ||
| David Garret (violín) | The Ten Tenors (Los diez tenores) (See our YouTube Channel) |
Gypsy Flamenco Masters | ||
| Samsung Chill out Sessions (flamenco) | André Rieu | Masafumi Akikawa | ||
| Gloria Laso | La Mala | José Carreras | ||
| Fernando Lima | Café del Mar | Coma feat (Instrumental mix) | ||
| Sax Chill out | Ikuko Kawai (violín) | Baster Williams (bajo) | ||
