 Listen to: La Folia Antonio Vivaldi, RV 74 (Il Giardino Armonico)
La Folía is one of the oldest remembered European musical themes on record.
 History
To start with, the indication 'Folia' in music has several meanings. There is for instance a folk tune with the name Folia at the Canary Islands and a 'Folia de Reis' in Brazil is sung during a celebration brought to Brazil by African slaves in the 18th century and runs from December 24 to January 6.
In western-classical music there is an 'early Folia' which can take different shapes and the more well-known 'later Folia' which became famous in serious music till the present day. This 'later Folia' is a standard chord progression (i-V-i-VII / III-VII-[i or VI]-V / i-V-i-VII / III-VII-[i or VI7]-IV[4-3sus]-i) with a standard melody line in the theme and it is said that Lully was the first composer who introduced both the chord progression together with the melody line. This Folia can be considered as a structure to improvise on, as the 12-bar blues scheme with the flatted third in the melody line became famous in the 20th century. The melody line shows a remarkable similarity with the use in jazz nowadays. It is the introduction and the end of the variations to embrace the variations itself. Characteristic of that 'later Folia' (also known as Follia with double l in Italy, or Folies d'Espagne in France, Faronel's Ground in England) is that it is based upon a ground bass (passacaglia) while the melody line takes the shape of a slow sarabande in 3/4 meter. In the variations all sorts of meters and melody lines are accepted.
Structure
The Framework of the 'Later Folia':
The basic chord progression in the key of D minor, the key that is most often used for the later Folia:
/dm___ /A7___ /dm___ /C___ /F___ /C___ /dm___ /A7___ / /dm___ /A7___ /dm___ /C___ /F___ /C___ /dm A7__/dm___ /
Historical Significance
Over the course of three centuries, more than 150 composers have used it in their works. The first publications of this theme date from the middle of the 17th century, but it is probably much older. Plays of the renaissance theatre in Portugal, including works by Gil Vicente, mention the folia as a dance performed by shepherds or peasants. The Portuguese origin is recorded in the 1577 treatise De musica libri septem by Francisco de Salinas.
In the 19th century the theme's popularity decreased, but it regained composers' interest during the 1930s with Sergei Rachmaninov in his Variations on a theme by Corelli in 1931 and Manuel María Ponce and his Variations on "Spanish Folia" and Fugue for guitar. Since then, it has been frequently used by various composers, such as by Vangelis for the film Conquest of Paradise.
The folia melody has also influenced Scandinavian folk music. It is said that around half of the old Swedish tunes are based on la folia. It is possible to recognize a common structure in many Swedish folk tunes, and it is similar to the folia structure. Old folk tunes (19th century or older) which do not have this structure often come from parts of Sweden with little influences from upper classes or other countries.
My Collection
Corbetta Guitar Folias, for guitar in D minor (version from Varii scherzi di sonate, 1648)
Corelli Violin, cembalo Sonata XII In D minor op. 5 La Follia Andrew Manze , Richard Egarr
Corelli Violine, cembalo Sonata XII In D minor op. 5 La Follia Huggett,Meyerson,Cuningham,North
Corelli Orchestra Sonata for violin & continuo in D minor ("La Follia"), Op.5/12
Diego Ortiz Orchestra Recercada No 4 sobre la Folía Tragicomedia
Diego Ortiz Orchestra Recercada No 4 sobre la Folía Arianne Maurette, Lorenzo Alpert, Hopkinson Smith, Pilar Figueras, Pere Ros, Gabriel Garrido, Jordi Savall, Montserrat Figueras, Hesperion XX
Falconieri Guitar, Orchestra Folias (a 3) echa para mi Señora Doña Tarolilla de Carallenos
Geminiani Orchestra Conc. Grosso XII Follia Manze-violin Manze Academy, anc music
Marais VDGBA, orchestr. Couplets de folies (Les folies d'Espagne), for viola da gamba & continuo in D minor (Pièces de viole, Book II, No. 20) Rolf Lislevand, Pedro Estevan, Jordi Savall, Arianna Savall, Adela Gonzalez-Campa, Michael Behringer, Bruno Cocset
Marais Dix ans apres Suite Couplets des Folies d'Espagne Lislevand-theorbo, Savall-VDGB, Behringer-cembalo
Marais VDGB(basse), theorbo, cembalo Couplets de Folies- 1701 Savall,Liselevand, Behringer
Marais Vdgb,Theorbe,Cembalo Folies d'Espagne ,2nd book Jordi Savall,Anne Gallet Smith
Marais VDGB-2, Theorbe-2,Guitar-2,Cembalo Couples de Folies (Folies d'Espagne) 2nd book Pandolfo,Balestracci, Boysen Costoyas Meyerson
Marais VDGB -2 Theorbe,Guitar,Cembalo Folies d'Espagne Jonathan Dunford,S. Abramovicz,Perrot,Stewart
Marais Le Labyrinthe & Autres Histores Pieces de caractere VDGB-2, Theorbe,Guitar-2,Cemb.Recitant percussion Suite Sarabande a L'Espgnol 2nd book Pandolfo,Boysen Meyerson, Carl. de Mulder, Fresno,Fauche,
Vivaldi Trio Sonata for 2 violins & continuo in D minor ("La follia"), Op. 1/12, RV 63
Vivaldi Trio Sonata in D minor 'Variations on La Folia', RV63 Op 1 No 12 Purcell Quartet
Selected Recordings
La Folia, 1490-1701 by Bruno Cocset, Adela Gonzalez-Campa, Cancionero de Palacio Anonymous, Antonio de Cabezon, and Arcangelo Corelli (Audio CD - 1999) -
La Folia, Variations On A Theme by Richard Boothby, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Arcangelo Corelli, Francesco Geminiani, and Marin Marais (Audio CD - 1998) - I
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Altre Follie, 1500-1750 by Jordi Savall, Mercedes Ruiz, Henricus Albicastro, Anonymous, and Peruvian Anonymous (Audio CD - 2005) - Import
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