España cañí (meaning “Gypsy Spain” in Spanish) is a famous instrumental Spanish piece of pasodoble music by Pascual Marquina Narro (1873-1948). The song was written around 1923 and first recorded in 1926. In English it is also known as the Spanish Gypsy Dance. Its main refrain (eight bars of arpeggiated chords that go from E major to F major (with added 4 instead of 5) to G major and back) is arguably the best known snippet of Spanish music, and is popular worldwide. Several arrangements of the tune are often used for the Latin Paso Doble dance (to the point that, among Latin dancers, it is known as “the paso doble song” as it is very commonly played in competition due to the common custom for the choreography to match the phrasing and accents of the music for the full effect of the dance).
This fiery Paso Doble is available in numerous arrangements for various orchestras and ensembles. Golden River Music” has published some arrangements for various wind ensembles in January 2020.
