Gounodian Fausts by Pablo de Sarasate, Joan Baptista Pujol, and Felip Pedrell i Sabaté

This chapter addresses the reception of the Faust myth in Spanish musical culture, focusing on three nineteenth-century composers: Pablo de Sarasate, Joan Baptista Pujol, and Felip Pedrell i Sabaté. The theme found its way into Spanish music by means of Charles Gounod’s opera, Faust (Barcelona premiere, 1864), upon which the Faust works of these composers are based. Analysis of their adaptations reveals their dependence upon certain genres and styles (especially virtuoso piano/violin fantasies) more than a creative engagement with the myth itself and its translation into musical language.Among these works, Sarasate’s Nouvelle fantaisie sur Faust (Fantasy on Gounod’s “Faust” for Violin and Orchestra or [Piano]) [1874] may be the most well-known Spanish musical interpretation of the Faust theme.