Sebastian Yradier

Born: 1809
Died: 1865
Education: Church organist of San Juan in Salvatierra (Agurain) in 1827
Career: instructor at the Madrid Conservatory

Sebastián Iradier Salaverri (Salaberri) was born in January 20, 1809, died in December 6,1865) a.k.a. Sebastián Yradier, was a Spanish composer. Iradier was born in Lanciego, in the province of Alava. His publishers in Paris urged him to "universalize" his name from Iradier to Yradier. He is known primarily for his Habanera, especially for a piece titled "La Paloma", written around 1860 after visiting Cuba. "La Paloma" was hugely popular in Spain and Mexico, where Habanera was a big hit. A collection of 25 of Iradier's most popular songs was published in Paris in 1864 in the French word Fleurs d'Espagne. Another of Iradier's compositions is "El Arreglito", a habanera that Georges Bizet used as a source of inspiration in his opera Carmen. Bizet thought it was a folk song, so he reconstructed what is known today as Carmen's "Habanera", inspired by the tune of "El Arregito". The aria "L'amour est un oiseau rebel" is melodically very close. , as "El Arregito". Discovering his own mistake, Bizet credited the source by adding notes to the opera's castle score. Iradier died unknown in 1865. Two of Iradier's songs are very well known all over the world. One of them, as mentioned earlier, is "El Arregito". It is rearranged (with the melody copied almost verbatim) by Bizet into "Habanera", the best-known and most frequently interpreted aria from the opera Carmen. Another well-known song of his, La Paloma, is also a habanera. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM Radio) noted that there are over a thousand versions of the song, making it one of the most recorded songs in music history, alongside the Beatles' "Yesterday".