La Golondrina - Narciso Serradell Sevilla (arr. Castle)

World Music for the Classical Guitar - Steven Saulls, Classical Guitarist
About the music and the composer...

"La Golondrina" ("The Swallow") is a song written in 1862 by Mexican physician Narciso Serradell Sevilla (1843–1910), who at the time was exiled to France due to the French intervention in Mexico.

The lyrics come from a poem written in Arabic by the last Abencerrages king of Granada, Aben Hemaya, in a translation by Niceto de Zamacois, which Sevilla found in a magazine used as packing material.

The Spanish lyrics use the image of a migrating swallow to evoke sentiments of longing for the homeland. It became the signature song of the exiled Mexicans. The song was recorded in 1906 by Señor Francisco. A guitar instrumental was recorded by Chet Atkins in 1955. The song has also been recorded by Caterina Valente (1959), Nat King Cole (1962), Plácido Domingo (1984), Flaco Jiménez (1992, instrumental), Caetano Veloso (1994), and Guadalupe Pineda (2004). In 1948, Gene Autry sang the song in his Cinecolor film, "The Big Sombrero".

Felice & Boudleaux Bryant wrote lyrics in English, as "She Wears My Ring", which was first recorded by Jimmy Sweeney (also known as Jimmy Bell) in 1960 with notable cover versions by Roy Orbison (1962), Johnny O'Keefe (1964), Ray Price and Solomon King (both 1968), and Elvis Presley (1973).

The song figures prominently in the 1969 film The Wild Bunch, directed by Sam Peckinpah and scored by Jerry Fielding. The local people serenade the bandit protagonists with it as they leave Angel's Mexican village. (Wikipedia)

About the performer...

Steven began studying the guitar at age nine and has attended some of the finest music schools in the world including the Berklee College of Music (Boston), and the Mozarteum (Salzburg, Austria). He holds both a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Washington University (1980) and a Master of Music degree from the University of Arizona (1982).

Over the past 40 years, Steven has performed hundreds of concerts throughout the United States, Central & South America and Europe. His debut recordings ‘Espressivo’ and ‘Steven Saulls Plays Works by Ponce, Torroba & Bach’ have received wide acclaim both nationally and internationally. In addition to solo concerts, he has performed over 200 chamber works including guitar concerti (with orchestra) by Vivaldi, Ponce and Rodrigo.

About the recording...

Recorded at The Steven Saulls Guitar Studio, Sahuarita, Arizona 2023/Guitar handcrafted by Martin Blackwell.

Copyright© 2023 Steven Saulls, Sahuarita, Arizona

For additional information please contact Steven Saulls at [email protected]