José Padilla (1889–1960), an enormously gifted melodist, was born in Almería, Spain. During the 1920s he composed the songs
Valencia and
Ça, c’est Paris! for Mistinguett to sing at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, but acclaim in his native Spain and in South America had come with the lovely
Princesita and
La Violetera and the rousing
El relicario (‘The Locket’, 1918). This last was popularized by the Spanish singer Raquel Meller, but is most familiar internationally as an orchestral piece.
from notes by Andrew Lamb © 1998
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