Joaquín Turina: La Oracion Del Torero - pour quatuor à cordes: String Quartet

La Oracion del torrero para cuarteto de cuerda. In the pantheon of 20th century Spanish composers: I. Albeniz M. De Falla E. Granados and the Catalan F. Mompou Joaquin Turina was the only one to devote a considerable part of his compositional talents to chamber music. Like each of the aforementioned composers he lived and studied music in Paris where he was encouraged by the likes of D’Indy Ravel and Debussy. In this brief tone poem for string quartet La Oración del Torero 'The Bullfighter’s Prayer' the influence of Debussy can be heard especially in the use of lush descending parallel ninth chords. The influence of music of the Andalusian Gypsies is also quiteevident. This piece became one of the composer’s most popular works often performed in an arrangement for string orchestra.

Joaquin Turina (1882 - 1949) was a native of Seville. His place with the foremost Spanish nationalist composers was never in dispute. Several of his works are among the proudest achievements of this school of composers. These include La Oracion del Torero for string quartet and the Sinfonia Sevillana which won first prize in a competition conducted by the San Sebastian Casino in 1920.