These pieces, just like the Chants d’Espagne Op. 232, also composed in London, have remained among his most popular works up to the present day. The circumstances surrounding composition of the pieces from España are unknown. The cycle was published that same year, 1890, by the London publisher Pitt & Hatzfeld with the same subtitle (Six Album Leaves) already used in the review in the Times. No manuscript sources survive. The copyright statement for the first edition lists H. B. Stevens & C.o, a Boston publisher whose name also appears on the title page of the print, probably in order to secure the rights for the American market. In 1893, the British firm of Pitt & Hatzfeld amalgamated with Stanley Lucas, Weber & Co. The re-separation of the two business partners in 1899 led to several auctions of copyrights. Schott London took the opportunity to acquire the rights to España, and during Albéniz’s lifetime published several versions of the print using the plates of the first edition. It cannot be determined whether interventions in the musical text (principally in the Tango) derive from the composer. It is also unclear what the significance is of the note Edited by L. H. Meyer that appears on the first edition from Pitt & Hatzfeld and on all later issues. Perhaps this Meyer, no longer remembered today, was a middle-man or publisher’s editor who prepared España for engraving. The work’s dedicatee, Arthur Chappell, was an important figure in London’s concert life. He organized the "Popular Concerts" in St. James' Hall, where Albéniz appeared in his first recitals in England in 1889. The composer often used St. James' Hall as a venue for his concert series in the years that followed. It may be assumed that Albéniz worked closely with Chappell on these occasions. Of the six pieces (Prélude, Tango, Malagueña, Serenata, Capricho Catalán, Zortzico) both the Malagueña and Tango have gained the most popularity, and have been arranged -- though not by the composer himself -- for various instruments. The Zortzico, a folk-dance in quintuple meter with a characteristic dotted rhythm, belongs among the very few of Albéniz’s works that make reference to his Basque origins. Taken together, all six album leaves reveal -- by Albéniz’s standards -- an extremely transparent and easy-to-play piano texture, suggesting that the composer may have written this cycle with pedagogical intent.