Ramon Noguera Bahamonde
Ramon Noguera Bahamonde was born on 11 March 1851 in Granada (Spain). He received his first piano lessons and some music theory at the age of 12. At the age of 15 he began composition studies under Bernabe Ruiz de Henares, the organist of the cathedral in Grenada. Ramon Noguera Bahamonde showed musical talent, but he followed the wish of his parents and studied first philosophy and humanities and finally received a doctor's degree in law in 1870. After his studies Ramon Noguera Bahamonde worked as an official in different registries of deeds in Andalusia until his early death. Ramon Noguera Bahamonde died on 24 July 1901 in Granada (Spain) as the result of a stroke.
Although Ramon Noguera Bahamonde did not make a career as a professional musician, his musical activities never stopped. In the last months of his law studies he also dedicated his time for intense studies of counterpoint. Then Ramon Noguera Bahamonde began to compose and also wrote critics, reviews and articles for newspapers. He also got in touch with Tomas Breton and Felipe Pedrell who both supported his work. After some small chamber music pieces in the 1870s Ramon Noguera Bahamonde began to compose orchestral compositions in the 1880s which brought him great success. A symphony was composed in 1884 and a Sonata for orchestra from 1888 received much critical acclaim in the local press. The breakthrough came in 1889 with the composition Los gnomos de la Alhambra, a symphonic poem on the work of the same title by Jose Zorrilla. The piece was premiered in 1890 at the Palace of Charles V in Granada and was played again in Madrid the next year under the renowned conductor Joan Goula i Soley. So the important step from the backwoods of Granada to the metropolis of Madrid was made, but some forces around the composer Ruperto Chapi prevented a larger success and further activities of Ramon Noguera Bahamonde in Madrid. A year earlier Ramon Noguera Bahamonde had written a dismissive and harsh review about a composition by Chapi and his opposition was the result. So Ramon Noguera Bahamonde went back to Granada and continued his intense musical activities a few more years. In 1897 his frustration about his position in the musical scene and the actual music tendencies let him officially quit from the artistic life. He nevertheless composed a few more works and wrote some articles, but at that point Ramon Noguera Bahamonde was a disillusioned man.
In my possession are three autograph manuscripts by Ramon Noguera Bahamonde. All three manuscripts have a personal inscription by Ramon Noguero Bahamonde to Emmanuel Chabrier and were given to him in 1883. The works are:
- Adagio y Presto, for piano
- The final movement "Allegro assai vivo" from the Symphonie en mi in full score
- A fragment from the Duo for soprano, tenor and orchestra from the Zarzuela "Brenda" in full score
Adagio y Presto
The Adagio y Presto para piano is a large composition for piano. On my manuscript the work is dedicated to D. Candido Pena, a pianist from Granada. This special manuscript was once sent to Emmanuel Chabrier and has a personal inscription by Ramon Noguero Bahamonde: "Al inspiradisimo compositor y celebre maestro frances Mr Emmanuel Chabrier, tiene al honor de ofrecer este autograpfo, su apasionado amigo y admirador". The inscription is dated 24 January 1883. I have no information when the work was composed but with the inscription and the biography of Ramon Noguero Bahamonde in mind, something around 1880 seems reasonable.
