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España, Rhapsody for Orchestra (1883) The French composer Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) traveled to Spain in 1882 with his wife. The sights, sounds and especially the dance rhythms of that España inspired this sensuous, vivacious work for orchestra, which made Chabrier an overnight celebrity in Paris when it was premiered in 1883. Chabrier wrote in a letter to the conductor Charles Lamoureux, "My rhythms, my tunes will arouse the whole orchestra to a feverish pitch of excitement; and you too will feel obliged to hold [your assistant] in your arms, so voluptuous will be my melodies." In this 1940 recording, Thomas Beecham leads the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
