Leanny Muñoz

Abstract:

Using biographical criticism, this thesis examines Manuel de Falla’s Homenajes (1939) as a reflection of the composer’s views of Spanish identity on regional, national, and international levels. Falla completed Homenajes—a four-movement orchestral suite dedicated to Enrique Fernández Arbós, Claude Debussy, Paul Dukas, and Felipe Pedrell—in Argentina. He began the work in Spain in 1938, during a period of great personal and political disturbance. In 1939, Manuel de Falla left Spain following the end of the Spanish Civil War, which cemented the regime of Francisco Franco. The Francoist regime notoriously aimed to homogenize Spanishness within the country, in part by erasing regional identities and forcing Spaniards to identify as Castilian. With regional and national identity becoming increasingly important issues in Spain, Falla’s composition of Homenajes signaled his return to the mentors who helped shape his ideologies regarding musical Spanishness. Ultimately, Homenajes reflects Falla’s multivalent approach to his national identity, embracing regionalism while also accounting for international influence.