This short piece was apparently intended to be part of a larger work. In a 1923 letter from Segovia to the Mexican composer Manuel Ponce, Segovia says:

I already have a small, beautiful work of Albert Roussel. ... Roussel wants to incorporate this piece, which he has just written for me and which is relatively short, with two more for a performance that lasts approximately half an hour.

This letter raises many questions, which aren't addressed in the literature on Roussel. For example:

1. What's with the dates? Segovia's letter is from 1923, yet Deane gives the date of composition of Opus 29 is April, 1925.
2. What happened to the rest of the composition?
3. Why didn't the larger work get finished? Was it because of Roussel, who often intended to write works but got to working on something else, instead? Or was it because of Segovia, whose musical tastes were quite firmly rooted in the 19th century?

If anyone knows any of the answers, please let us know!

(A reader responds!)

It consists a Spanish-sounding theme, a middle section with characteristic note repetitions and a hint of whitewashed walls in bright sunlight. [Per Skans]

A true portrait—line, design, and correct instrumental timbre to match. A rhythmic Spanish (but not stereotyped) piece for the guitar which perfectly delineates the famous virtuoso.... This sketch is a little gem. [Arthur Cohn]

The title is as witty as the music: Roussel should have given us a Heifetz for solo violin, or a Paderewski for solo piano! [Christopher Palmer]