Alcazar

The word "Alcazar" is of Arabic origin and means 'castle' or 'fortress'. It refers to a period in the history of Spain about which people are often unaware: with the expansion of Islam, the Moors invaded the south of Spain from the 8th century. Their culture soon took on a life of its own, reaching a high level of prosperity and leading the way in Europe at the time. Even today, their architectural feats are breathtaking and rightly belong to the world cultural heritage. These are the Alhambra in Granada, the Great Mosque in Cordoba and the royal Alcßzar (palace) in Seville. The Moorish builders' play with water is still unmatched today, and the incomparable mosaics of their buildings continue to fascinate. It was not until the 15th century that Granada fell as the last Moorish kingdom on Spanish soil during the so-called 'Reconquista', the reconquest of the country by the Spanish. The overture 'Alcßzar' is marked by this Spanish flair in an unmistakable way and this should not be surprising, since the composer had the essential inspiration for this work during a visit to Seville, the capital of Andalusia on the river Guadalquivir. The romantic middle section is based on a walk in the palace gardens on a starry night. At noon, on the other hand, the composer visited the Santa Cruz district, where the plot of the world-famous 'Barber of Seville' is set. Here he was inspired by a young Spaniard whom he found playing the guitar under a lemon tree. In the fast passages of the overture, the composer therefore captured the flamenco, the stomping with the hooks and the sound of the castanets, and the chords he chose are based on the barre chords of the guitar. A work, then, full of Andalusian joie de vivre.