"Romance Anónimo" (Anonymous Romance) is a guitar piece also called "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 was written in the style of popular music from the late 1800s in Spain or South America.

History

The piece is written in the style of parlour music from the late 1800s in Spain or South America. It follows a three-part structure, with the first section in a minor key, the second in a major key, and the third section repeating the first.

The origins and creator of the piece are unknown, so it is called "anonimo." It is believed to have originally been a solo guitar piece from the 19th century. Some people have suggested it might have been written by Antonio Rubira, David del Castillo, Francisco Tárrega, Fernando Sor, Daniel Fortea, Francisco Vicaria l Llobet, Antonio Cano, Vicente Gómez, or Narciso Yepes. Some believe the uncertainty about its author might be because companies wanted to avoid paying copyright fees and instead claimed the rights for profit.

Early recordings

The earliest known recording of "Romance" is on a cylinder from the "Viuda de Aramburo" record label. The recording features guitarists Luis and Simon Ramírez and was created in Madrid between 1897 and 1901. The title of the piece is "Sort-Estudio para Guitarra por S. Ramirez." The word "Sort" in the title likely refers to the musician Fernando Sor, as his last name was sometimes spelled "Sort" or "Sorts." This recording can be listened to on the Doremi CD release "Tarrega, His Disciples, and Their Students" (DHR-7996) and online at the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive.

Possible origins

An early version of the work, called "Estudio para Guitarra" by Rovira and credited to Spanish guitarist Antonio Rubira, was published by J.A. Medina e Hijo in Argentina before 1925 (likely in 1913, when the publisher stopped working).

Guitarist and composer Isaías Sávio (born in Montevideo, 1900; died in São Paulo, 1977) published the piece in 1959 with the title "Romance de Amor (Estudo em Mi) Música de Antonio Rovira (Segunda metade do século XIX)." He included information that credited Antonio Rubira as the author. (See "Violào e Mestres," June 1966, São Paulo, Brasil.)

Sávio reported that Juan Pargas, who knew Rubira, gave the "Estudio de Rovira" to guitarist Juan Valles in 1876 or 1878. He also noted that the piece became popular in Buenos Aires and was later published by Spaniard Pedro Maza. The work also appeared in the method of Pedro Mascaró y Reissig, published in Montevideo in 1919 (page 14), with the title "Conocido por Estudio de Rovira."

The publishing company Ricordi of Argentina currently prints the piece and credits Antonio Rubira as the author.

The earliest known written copies of the piece date to the late 19th century. One copy is credited to Antonio Rubira; another, unsigned version includes a note at the bottom that says "Melodia de Sor" (Sor's melody), possibly referring to Fernando Sor. A noticeable difference between these copies and the famous version by Yepes is the use of an inverted arpeggio. Both copies, believed to be from the late 19th century, have not been officially dated. They are not thought to be in the handwriting of the claimed authors but are believed to be copies made by students or other musicians. (Note: Fernando Sor died in 1839.)

The Ukrainian folk song "Nich Yaka Misyachna" (Beautiful Moonlight) may have influenced the piece. While some similarities exist between Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (especially the arpeggio) and the Romance guitar piece, the Ukrainian song is very different from the Spanish/Argentine version and its arrangements. Most European music follows similar harmonic rules, so similarities between unrelated pieces are not unusual.

Narciso Yepes (1927–1997) performed the piece and was credited as its author in René Clément’s 1952 film Jeux interdits (Forbidden Games). The film’s popularity made the piece famous worldwide. Yepes currently holds the copyright in Spain, though recordings and manuscripts older than 1952 exist. More recent publications name Yepes as the arranger and describe the piece as either anonymously composed or based on Fernando Sor’s work.

According to an official statement from Narciso Yepes and his family, he composed the piece for his mother when he was about seven years old (around 1934) and performed it between acts at the Teatro Guerra in Lorca, Spain. Later, at thirteen, he heard the piece performed by another guitarist who credited it as "anonymous." Yepes claims the piece was copied (with some changes) by someone who had heard his performance first.

However, Yepes was born in 1927, so he could not have written the piece, as it was already recorded in 1900 and published before 1925, possibly as early as 1913 by J.A. Medina e Hijo. It also appeared in 1919 in the method of Pedro Mascaró y Reissig.

Vicente Gomez (1911–2001) published and performed the piece in 1941 in the Hollywood film Blood and Sand, also claiming authorship for himself.

Other arrangements

• Swedish singer Lill Lindfors sang a version of the piece titled "Du är den ende" (English: "You are the only one") in 1966. The Swedish lyrics were written by poet Bo Setterlind, and the orchestral arrangement was created by Marcus Österdahl. This version was included on her 1967 album Du är den ende. Record producer Curt Pettersson requested a Latin/Mediterranean style arrangement, and Marcus Österdahl used his Höfner-bass guitar to create a unique sound that grabbed attention. Later, Lill Lindfors learned from Bo Setterlind that his lyrics were not about a love affair but instead focused on Jesus.
• The Raphael song "Tema de Amor" was used as the melody for the 1968 Argentinian film Digan lo que digan (Let Them Talk), with new lyrics added.
• The Dutch duo de Koning recorded the song as "Ave Maria klinkt zacht door de nacht" in 1968.
• This piece served as the melody for the 1970 Françoise Hardy song "San Salvador."
• Al Bano and Romina Power released their first song as a vocal version titled "Storia di due innamorati" in 1970.
• Gabi Novak recorded a version titled "Zaboravljeni refren" by Arsen Dedić in 1972.
• Julio Iglesias used this piece as the melody for his 1975 song "Quiero" from the album El Amor, with added lyrics.
• German singer Bernhard Brink performed a vocal version titled "Liebe auf Zeit" in 1976.
• An electronic version of the piece was used as background music in the 1980 arcade game Phoenix.
• Andy Williams recorded a version titled "Vino de Amor" by Tony Hiller and Nicky Graham on his 1984 album Greatest Love Classics.
• Japanese singer Yōko Oginome released the song as her 1993 single "Romance."
• The German group B-Tribe used a fragment of the piece on the track "Desesperada" from their 1998 album Sensual Sensual.
• Nana Mouskouri performed a vocal version without lyrics titled "Romance" on her 1997 album Hommages.
• Czech singer Iveta Bartošová recorded the song "Pomněnka" in 1998, with lyrics by Vladimír Kočandrle.
• Eddie Vedder played a version of the piece as an introduction to the Pearl Jam song "Better Man" during their Binaural Tour (2000) and again in Mexico City in 2005.
• The Korean drama Autumn in My Heart (2000) included this song in its soundtrack.
• American rock band My Chemical Romance featured the piece as the first song on their 2002 debut album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love.
• Mike Oldfield used a fragment of the piece in his 2005 track "Romance" from the album Light + Shade. Oldfield used only the minor section of the melody and added his own variations.
• The Buck 65 song "The Outskirts" from the 2007 album Situation used this piece as backing music.
• Cantopop singer Eason Chan included the piece on his 2011 album Stranger Under My Skin. The song is bilingual in English and Cantonese, with lyrics by Chow Yiu-Fai.
• Lykke Li sang a version titled "Du är den ende" for the 2014 Swedish film Tommy.
• A vocal version titled "Forbidden Games" (also known as "Romance of Love") was arranged by B. Parker and Marc Lanjean. It has been performed by artists such as Miriam Makeba and Tom Jones.
• A Finnish translation titled "Kielletyt leikit" ("Forbidden Games") was a signature song for Carola and the opening track of her debut album.
• Mireille Mathieu performed two vocal versions: one in French titled "Amour Défendu" and one in German titled "Walzer der Liebe."
• Ginette Reno also performed a vocal version titled "Forbidden Games."
• Los Niños de Sara, Alabina's French gypsy musicians, created a flamenco version titled "Romance Anonimo."
• Juan Serrano and Leonardo Áñez also performed a flamenco version titled "Romance Flamenco."
• Ruggiero Ricci arranged and performed a version for solo violin titled "Spanish Ballad."