Good afternoon, today I bring you a mysterious enigma about one of the most beloved pieces on this channel, very loved by all guitarists, such as Anonymous Romance. It is one of the first works that I played when I was a child. I already recorded it on the channel and I made you even tutorials to learn to play it but I never told you its history or the enigma of who the composer of this very famous work is. When I uploaded it, people started commenting: Paola, this work is not anonymous! It's not called that, it's Romance! No, it's called Romance of Love! It's called Spanish Romance! It's Romance of Spain, what are you saying? And others saying that if a certain Rovira wrote it, that Fortea, that Narciso Yepes... that no, that others... and a thousand stories that left me... doll. So I come to tell you all the theories, to see if you can help me solve the enigma of who composed this work and why he did not want to be a MILLIONAIRE Since if he had registered it in his name, it would have rained on him. All this exploded in 1952 because Narciso Yepes, a guitarist who became very famous with his 10-string guitar, played it in the movie Jeux interdits , which means Forbidden Games, by René Clement. The movie became famous worldwide and everyone wanted to know who was the author of this beautiful music on the soundtrack. But it turns out that Yepes does not appear as the author. Why did you make her anonymous? Why didn't you want to register it? If that's how I would earn a lot of money! Or had he not composed it? Then, based on this success, people began to come out from under the rocks claiming that they were the composers of Romance Anónimo. Like Vicente Gómez, who in 1941 performed it in a Hollywood movie, Sangre y Arena. He said that he was the composer, and he had published it in 1939, 13 years before Narciso Yepes! under the title Romance de Amor. And also, this version had an introduction that sounded like this and so on. They went to ask Yepes and his family and they said that Yepes had composed it when he was only 6 years old, dedicating it to his mother, in approximately 1934. And since he played it in a theater, the guitarists heard it and that's why they plagiarized it. But it turns out that before Vicente Gómez and Narciso Yepes, there are versions like that of Daniel Fortea. And there was another version: that of Miguel Llobet. Even before Yepes was born, around 1900, they had already recorded this work in Madrid, under the name Sort-Estudio de Guitarra by S. Ramírez. But... what was that about Sort? Fernando Sor, guitarist, composer... had a surname that at that time, between the 18th and 19th centuries, was written however people wanted. Appears as Sor, Sors, Sort or Sorts. More or less like when they call me Paula, Paulinha, Paloma... If they gave me 1 euro every time they said my name wrong... Well, with that thing about Sort, they were referring to Fernando Sor as a composer. Additionally, they found an unsigned manuscript that indicated: "Sor's melody." And, according to researchers such as Francisco Herrera, the manuscripts were probably copies made by students or musicians, since, in the past, the only way to have the scores was to copy them by hand. not like now, when you can find my scores and tablatures in PDF at paolahermosin.com In that manuscript, the arpeggio is ascending, the opposite of that of Yepes. The one from Yepes is like this and the one in this manuscript was like this. It is curious because, however, the melody is the same. But let's continue with more theories. Other people attribute this romance to David del Castillo. Apparently, he went into exile with Fernando Sor to France after the War of Independence looking for those French ideals. And he "composed" this piece by hitting it big. Come on, it was a resounding success, as always when this work was published, I don't know what it is about that everyone is driven crazy by this mysterious music... And all the guitarists They wanted to be its composer. They republished it non-stop in Paris and raised a little money for copyrights in favor of David del Castillo but, of course, he was a friend of Fernando Sor, they went into exile together, he could have copied many of his friend's melodies... more than anything, because there are many manuscripts that indicate Sor, Sor, Sor... all the time but it is not known . On the other hand, researchers like Cedar Viglietti talk about the possible authorship of Antonio Rubira, a Spanish guitarist and composer who was in Buenos Aires between 1881 and 1884, another one who hit the big time in his time. That devastated Romance. There are people who say that Parga and Julián Arcas, great guitarists of the time, greatly admired this Antonio Rubira. And they say that Juan Parga was able to give the studio to Juan Valles in Buenos Aires and he popularized it in Buenos Aires, under the name Estudio de Rovira. They also changed Rubira's last name: Rovira, Rubira... This version of Rubira also does the inverted arpeggio, unlike Yepes's. And to finish off this enigma, researchers like Angelo Gilardino point out that this melody came from outside. In the past, especially during the 19th century, it became fashionable to come to Spain. They were called romantic travelers. They did tourism looking for that exoticism of flamenco, and the joy and character of the people of the South. They were looking for a magical journey that would inspire them as artists, to paint pictures, write novels or compose music. Among these travelers there were many Russians and among them, the musician, composer... Glinka. That he met El Murciano, a guitarist who they say was impressive how he composed on the fly, improvising on popular motifs and just as guitarists like El Murciano inspired Glinka, Glinka also shared with the musicians he met in Andalusia a melody that his son sang to him. mother in Russia when Glinka was just a child. El Murciano caught her on the fly and immediately made her a guitar fantasy about this Russian melody that turned out to be the Anonymous Romance. Researcher Matanya Ophee proposed that the melody was not Russian, but Ukrainian. Called Nich iaka Misiatsia, which means something like "the moon shining in the night" or it could be another popular Ukrainian song such as Nich Yaka Misyachna which means "beautiful moonlight" which is also very similar. If we compare it with Anonymous Romance... let's hear the other one again they have things in common. These Ukrainian songs became very famous in Eastern Europe, they spread throughout Russia, and in each place they acquired different nuances, as happens with most popular music. So who composed Anonymous Romance? It turns out that one of the hypotheses, that of Fernando Sor, meets a question, and that is that Fernando Sor was in Russia for a long time, what a coincidence! All of this could have been mixed into a theory or it could be that Rubira was simply the author. Another curiosity that I say is that Narciso Yepes married a Polish woman who could have perfectly known the tradition of this Ukrainian song, since it spread throughout Eastern Europe. But why not register it and earn a lot more money? Well, because, perhaps, Yepes knew the true origin of the melody or knew that it came from somewhere, without knowing exactly which one , and he considered that he added some personal touches to it and considered himself an arranger, just as he recorded it over time. He indicated that it was an anonymous tune that he had arranged for guitar but not composed. He was never recorded as a composer. Although he always defended before the press that he was. Even so, such ancient versions show that all this existed long before Yepes was born. What is true is that making a living then and now as a guitarist is very hard. And copyright stories complicated the work of guitarists, whether or not they were the authors of what they played. So, namely, being included in a film, the legal issues that Narciso Yepes had to face when including Anonymous Romance on the soundtrack. We won't be able to know. In the past, the way of composing since before the 19th century was taking popular motifs and creating fantasies. That is, as if they were improvisations, variations... but on melodies that already existed on many occasions. And yet, the musicians put their names as composers, not arrangers. Because that was considered a composition since everyone knew that the melody already existed but that the job was to rework it and add all those virtuoso techniques to it. It is as if they give you a thread and you make a vest. You have not made the thread, they have given it to you, you have not made it. But the vest is custom made. It is like Albéniz's Corpus Christi in Seville. At no point does Isaac Albéniz indicate that what Corpus Christi in Seville really does is a fantasy about the Tarara. a popular Andalusian melody. Well, more or less, that was the way of seeing music in the past and even today because in pop and many other styles many pre-existing melodies continue to be recycled since it is very difficult to invent something from scratch. Everything already exists, everything is invented. There are many combinations that remind us of others. The beautiful thing is the freshness and the new life that is given to it, making it take on another color with the vision that you are giving it. And, of course, all of this is different from copying or plagiarizing. But that topic is for another video... We will never know the true composer but, whoever it is, at any time, in any place, wherever Anonymous Romance is, it will touch the hearts of everyone who listens to it. That's for sure. If you liked this video, you can subscribe, like it, tell me what you think, if you knew these theories, or if you know details that I have not mentioned, what do you think is the solution to this enigma? You will find my scores and tablatures at paolahermosin.com to learn to play it , as well as the tutorial on my channel, and you can share the YouTube link with your friends. Thank you very much for watching it!
