"Romance Anónimo" (Anonymous Romance) is a piece for guitar, also known as "Estudio en Mi de Rubira" (Study in E by Rubira), "Spanish Romance", "Romance de España", "Romance de Amor", "Romance of the Guitar", "Romanza" and "Romance d'Amour" among other names. It is composed in the style of parlour music of the late 19th century in Spain or South America.

History

The style of the piece is that of the parlour music of the late 19th century in Spain or South America. It has a closed three-part form, the first in the minor key and the second being in the major key, with the third part being a restatement of the first. The origins and authorship of the piece are unknown, hence 'anonimo'. It is thought to have been originally a solo instrumental guitar work from the 19th century, and has variously been attributed to Antonio Rubira, David del Castillo, Francisco Tárrega, Fernando Sor, Daniel Fortea, Francisco Vicaria l Llobet, Antonio Cano, Vicente Gómez, and Narciso Yepes. It has been suggested that doubts about its authorship may have been encouraged by a wish to avoid paying copyright fees and the desire of publishing companies to claim the lucrative copyright.

Early recordings

The earliest recording of "Romance" is found on a cylinder from the "Viuda de Aramburo" label featuring guitarists Luis and Simon Ramírez, which was made in Madrid sometime between 1897 and 1901. The work is titled "Sort-Estudio para Guitarra por S. Ramirez". The name "Sort", as it occurs on the cylinder's title, probably refers to Fernando Sor, as his surname is sometimes spelled "Sort" or "Sorts". The recording may be heard on the Doremi CD release "Tarrega, His Disciples, and Their Students" (DHR-7996) and online at the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive.

Possible origins

Early published versions

Antonio Rubira

An early publication of the work, known as "Estudio para Guitarra" de Rovira and attributed to Spanish guitarist Antonio Rubira, was published by J.A. Medina e Hijo in Argentina before 1925 (probably in 1913, when the publisher ceased activities). Guitarist and composer Isaías Sávio (Montevideo, 1900 — São Paulo, 1977) published the work in 1959 with the title "Romance de Amor (Estudo em Mi) Música de Antonio Rovira (Segunda metade do século XIX)" He published information which cited Antonio Rubira as the author. (See "Violào e Mestres" Junio, 1966 / São Paulo, Brasil. ) Sávio gives information that Juan Pargas, who knew Rubira, gave the Estudio de Rovira to the guitarist Juan Valles in 1876 or 1878. Sávio mentions that the work became popular in Buenos Aires and began to be published by, among others, Spaniard Pedro Maza; and that the work appeared in the method of Pedro Mascaró y Reissig, published in Montevideo in 1919 (page 14), with the title "Conocido por Estudio de Rovira". Publishing company Ricordi of Argentina currently publishes the piece, and attributes authorship to Antonio Rubira.

Manuscripts

The earliest documented manuscripts of the piece are from the late 19th century. One attributes authorship to Antonio Rubira; another, unsigned, version has a note at the bottom which says "Melodia de Sor" (Sor's melody), possibly referring to Fernando Sor. A noticeable difference between these manuscripts and the famous version of Yepes is the inverted arpeggio. Both manuscripts, though believed to be from the late 19th Century, have not been formally dated. They are not believed to be in the handwriting of the alleged authors, but are thought to be copies made by students or other musicians. (Note that Fernando Sor died in 1839.) The Ukrainian folk song Nich Yaka Misyachna (Beautiful Moonlight) could be a precursor of the piece. Although some correlation can be made between Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (especially the arpeggio), the Romance guitar piece and the Ukrainian folk song, the Ukrainian version has enjoyed much success through Eastern Europe and Russia and is vastly different from the Spanish/Argentine song and its various arrangements. Most European music is largely governed by the same harmonic principles, and similarities between unrelated original compositions are not uncommon.

Disproved origins

Narciso Yepes (1927 — 1997) interpreted the piece and is credited as its author in René Clément's 1952 film Jeux interdits (Forbidden Games). The popularity of the film gave the piece worldwide fame. Yepes currently has the copyright in Spain, although recordings and manuscripts exist which predate 1952. Newer publications name Yepes as the arranger and the piece being either of anonymous authorship, or the work of Fernando Sor. The official statement from Narciso Yepes and the Yepes heirs is that Narciso Yepes composed this piece for his mother when he was about seven years old (circa 1934), and soon after performed it between acts at the Teatro Guerra, in Lorca, Spain. Some time later, he recounts, when he was thirteen years old, he attended a performance in Valencia and heard his composition presented by another guitarist, who indicated the authorship as "anonymous". Yepes contends that the piece had been plagiarized (with some changes to the arrangement) by someone who, he assumes, must have heard his performance of it first. Yepes, however, was born in 1927 and cannot be the author of the work, since there was already a recording of it in existence in 1900; and it had been published before 1925, possibly as early as 1913, by J.A. MEDINA e HIJO; and in 1919 in the method of Pedro Mascaró y Reissig. Vicente Gomez (1911–2001) published this piece and performed it in 1941 in the Hollywood movie Blood and Sand, also attributing authorship to himself.

Other arrangements