The Welcome Ubiquity of “La Folia”

Last updated on: November 16, 2015 at 10:42 am by Joseph Susanka

The Welcome Ubiquity of “La Folia” 2015-11-16T10:42:46-07:00 Joseph Susanka

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Why, yes, I do have a favorite version of “La Folía” — the deceptively simple tune (or perhaps more accurately “the deceptively simple baseline”) that first appeared in print during the late 1600s, and has been used by more than 150 composers in over 330 compositions from Medieval Times right up ’till the present day. Thanks for asking.

I’m definitely a Jean-Baptiste Lully man.
I realize my Lully-love is closely tied to my (“borderline,” he says in a hopeful, almost pleading tone) obsession with French overtures, yet as a lover of nearly all things Baroque (musically, that is), I have always enjoyed Antonio Vivaldi’s trio settings and Arcangelo Corelli’s chamber music approach. But I’ve frequently appreciated Antonio “Mozart Killer” Salieri’s twenty-six(!) variations, as well. And for my more vocally-inclined moments, there’s Bach’s Peasant Cantata.

(More) recent “serious” versions from Rachmaninoff and Manuel Maria Ponce leave a bit to be desired, featuring rather more dissonance than my delicate ears can typically handle. I find myself drawn instead towards the swordfight theme from Final Fantasy IX. Or Vangelis’ paraphrase in 1492: Conquest of Paradise. (Speaking of Vangelis, I’ve heard there’s a Tangerine Dream version out there somewhere, but I’m almost too afraid to look for it. Let’s just go with Handel’s Barry Lyndon-y Sarabande, instead. Not quite the same theme, but almost certainly influenced by it.)

Lastly, a fun version to watch.Attribution(s): “Portrait of Several Musicians and Artists” by François Puget is licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

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