Apart from the work of some authors who provided information about the music in Cuba during the 19th century, that was usually included in chronicles covering a more general subject, the first investigations and studies specifically dedicated to the musical art and practice did not appear in Cuba until the beginning of the 20th century.[1]
At that time, musicological research and documentation in Cuba was not undertaken by professionals fully dedicated to that subject, but instead it was conducted by historians, ethnologists or composers such as polymath Fernando Ortiz (b. 1881) or composer Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes (b. 1874). The controversy sustained by these distinguished personalities in reference to the possible African (or indigenous) roots of Cuban music spanned several decades, from the 1930s to the 1950s.[2]
Another important personality, María Muñoz (b. 1886), a Galician pianist, professor and choir conductor that graduated at the Madrid Conservatory under the guidance of Manuel de Falla, developed an outstanding musical activity in Cuba. Together with her husband Antonio Quevedo, she co-founded the Society of Contemporary Music in 1929, promoted the cultural journal “Musicalia” and founded the Havana Choral Society.[3] Together with Fernando Ortiz, she gave summer courses on musicology at the Havana University from the 1930s. Those courses nurtured and stimulated the careers of some future outstanding musicologists such as María Teresa Linares Savio (b. 1920).[1]
One of the earliest contribution to musicological studies in Cuba was provided by Emilio Grenet, brother of the famous Cuban composer Eliseo Grenet.
Emilio Grenet was born in Havana in 1901 and passed away in the same city, in 1941. He studied Sight-reading and Music theory with professor Armando Laguardia and worked as a pianist in New York City in 1923. After returning to Cuba he traveled to Spain where he met composer Joaquín Turina who introduced him to his professor of Harmony, Conrado del Campo.
Grenet returned again to Cuba where he worked in the Education Ministry Radio Station, started his investigations about the genres of Cuban popular music and travelled to New York City to record with the orchestra of his brother Eliseo Grenet. He taught Musical composition to the renowned Cuban conductor Enrique González Mántici and Harmony to the composer and guitarist Vicente González Rubiera (Guyún).
In 1939, Grenet published his important work "Cuban popular music", which represented a serious study of the Cuban popular music genres, and a thorough insight into the most important aspects of the musical creation in Cuba, from the 19th Century until that time. The book also included 80 scores of representative compositions.[citation needed]
1940s and 1950s
Alejo Carpentier.
In 1946, the famous Cuban writer, art critic and musicologist Alejo Carpentier (b. 104) established a benchmark with his work “La música en Cuba” (1946), an attempt to put together a comprehensive history of Cuban music from the 16th century until his time. Although the work presented as facts some controversial historical issues, such as the origins of the well known “Son de la Mateodora” and the “Cuban Contradanza”, this important study (based on extensive investigations conducted by Carpentier) offered a deep insight into Cuban music history never witnessed before.
Coincidentally, young composers and musicologists such as Argeliers León (b. 1918) and Hilario González (b. 1920) were diligently working along with José Ardévol at “Grupo de Renovación Musical” to improve and renovate the Cuban musical panorama.[citation needed] In 1947, Argeliers León continued offering the musicology summer courses started by María Muñoz and Fernando Ortiz at the Havana University and served as a professor of such prominent students as pianist and professor Ana Margarita Aguilera Ripoll (b. 1903), author of the important compilation of children songs “Cancionero Infantil de Hispanoamérica.” Other contemporary Cuban musicologists were María Antonieta Henriquez, founder of the National Museum of Music, and Lydia Cabrera, an anthropologist renowned for her studies of Afro-Cuban music.[1]
Post revolutionary period (1959)
After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Pablo Hernández Balaguer (b. 1928) was teaching musicology at the Oriente University, an educational institution that offered the first Music Degree in the history of Cuba. Balaguer conducted an important study about the work of composer Esteban Salas and published the Music Catalog from the archives of the Santiago de Cuba Cathedral. He was a professor of several distinguished musicologists such as Virtudes Feliú Herrera (b. 1941), who conducted a thorough research into Cuban historical ritual and festive traditions. Her work has been compiled in the “Ethnographic Atlas of Cuba,” which received an award from the Cuban Academy of Science.[1]
Argeliers León and his wife María Teresa Linares Savio were the leading figures of Cuban musicology during the early decades after the Cuban Revolution (1959). Between 1961 and 1970, León was de director of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore at the Academy of Sciences of Cuba and he also headed the Folklore Department at the National Theater of Cuba, the Music Department of the José Martí National Library and the Music Department at Casa de Las Américas. He served as professor at the Havana Municipal Conservatory, taught African cultures in Cuba at the Havana University and musicology at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA). As a musicologist he published several books which included Del Canto y el Tiempo (1974), where he proposed a subdivision in “generic complexes” to study the musical styles in Cuba.[4]
María Teresa Linares conducted extensive investigation on several areas of Cuban music history and published numerous books and articles. She worked as a professor at the Alejandro García Caturla Conservatory, the Havana University and the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore at the Academy of Sciences. Until year 2000 she was the director of the Museum of Music, and at a later time she was affiliated to the Fernando Ortiz Foundation.[4]
During the first decade of the Cuban Revolution (1960 to 1970) an emerging generation of musicologists started to acquire recognition within the Cuban musical scene. We should mention, in first place, two humble and dedicated investigators that had certain common characteristics. They both had university backgrounds and worked for many years at the José Martí National Library as researchers; also their main subjects of investigation were somewhat related to the musicological work of Alejo Carpentier. Alberto Muguercia (b. 19280), a lawyer from Santiago de Cuba holds the honor of having refuted one of the greatest myths in the history of Cuban music: The “Son de la Ma Teodora” origins. In his famous book “La música en Cuba”, Alejo Carpentier categorically attributed a 16th-century origin to a popular melody called Son de la Ma Teodora without conducting a thorough investigation about the subject, thus establishing an erroneous fact as a popular tradition. In a brilliant article about this subject: “Teodora Ginés: ¿Mito o realidad histórica? Muguercia demonstrated the inaccuracy of this theory.[4]
In turn, Zolia Lapique (b. 1930), a librarian and historian, refuted a theory formulated by Carpentier in reference to the French-Haitian origin of the “Contradanza Cubana”. She attributed an earlier development and other possible origins (Spanish and English) to this musical style in her outstanding article: “Aportes Franco-Haitianos a la contradanza cubana: mitos y realidades.” [5] Other prominent members of this generation are: Cristóbal Díaz Ayala (b. 1930), author of a complete Cuban music discography, Jorge Ibarra (b. 1931), Leonardo Acosta (b. 1933), Dulcila Cañizares (b. 1936), Raul Martínez Rodríguez (b. 1937), Helio Orovio (b. 1938), Radamés Giro (b. 1940), Danilo Orozco (b. 1944) and Alberto Faya (1944).[4]
The second generation (1970s) and beyond
The members of the second generation of Cuban musicologists that appeared during the Cuban Revolution period, graduated in their great majority either from the Havana Municipal Conservatory or the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA), which from 1976 offered the first Musicology Degree in the history of Cuba. Many of them worked at a later time at the newly created Centro para la investigación y desarrollo de la música cubana (CIDMUC), founded in 1978.[1] From this group we should mention two renowned musicologists that frequently worked in collaboration with each other: Victoria Elí (b. 1945) and Zoila Gómez (b. 1948). We should also mention Tamahra Martín (b. 1945), who dedicated two books to the Cuban choral music: “La música coral en Cuba” (1987) and “Música Coral” (1990).
Rolando Antonio Pérez Fernández, musicólogo, violonchelista y profesor cubano.
Two other important musicologists from this generation are: Alberto Alén Pérez (b. 1948) and Rolando Antonio Pérez Fernández (b. 1947). Alberto Alén applied his extensive knowledge of psychology and statistics to musical form analysis as well as music pedagogy, in publications such as: “La forma de las formas musicales” and “Diagnosticar la musicalidad”. Rolando Pérez developed extensive investigations about Afro-Cuban music and is well known for having documented and analyzed the process of transition from ternary rhythms to binary rhythms of the Cuban and Latin American popular music, during the 18th and 19th centuries, in his book: “Proceso de binarización de los ritmos ternarios africanos en América Latina (1987).”[4]
Olavo Alén (b. 1947) has closely followed the steps of Argeliers León in his studies of Afro-Cuban music and, most importantly, has elaborated and expanded León's theory of “generic complexes”, in works such as: “Géneros de la música cubana” from 1976.[4]
Those theories have been strongly refuted by other musicologists such as Leonardo Acosta, who explains in his article “De los complejos genéricos y otras cuestiones”:
“Fortunately, the theology [sic] of generic complexes has been viewed with skepticism in musicological circles of several countries, including Cuba, where quite a few musicologists have oscillated [in his opinion][6] between rejection, disbelief and disdain …” [7]
Other members of this Group are renowned musicologists Martha Ezquenazi (1949), Jesús Gómez Cairo (1949) and Dora Ileana Torres (1956).
Most recently, a group of young Cuban musicologists have earned a well deserved reputation within the international academic field, due to their solid investigative work. Some of the most prominent members of this group are: Miriam Escudero Suástegui, Liliana González Moreno, Iván César Morales Flores[8] and Pablo Alejandro Suárez Marrero.[9]
The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban music is often considered one of the richest and most influential regional music in the world. For instance, the son cubano merges an adapted Spanish guitar (tres), melody, harmony, and lyrical traditions with Afro-Cuban percussion and rhythms. Almost nothing remains of the original native traditions, since the native population was exterminated in the 16th century.
The tres is a three-course chordophone of Cuban origin. The most widespread variety of the instrument is the original Cuban tres with six strings. Its sound has become a defining characteristic of the Cuban son and it is commonly played in a variety of Afro-Cuban genres. In the 1930s, the instrument was adapted into the Puerto Rican tres, which has nine strings and a body similar to that of the cuatro.
Son cubano is a genre of music and dance that originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba during the late 19th century. It is a syncretic genre that blends elements of Spanish and African origin. Among its fundamental Hispanic components are the vocal style, lyrical metre and the primacy of the tres, derived from the Spanish guitar. On the other hand, its characteristic clave rhythm, call and response structure and percussion section are all rooted in traditions of Bantu origin.
The guaracha is a genre of music that originated in Cuba, of rapid tempo and comic or picaresque lyrics. The word has been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical theatres and in working-class dance salons. They became an integral part of bufo comic theatre in the mid-19th century. During the later 19th and the early 20th century the guaracha was a favourite musical form in the brothels of Havana. The guaracha survives today in the repertoires of some trova musicians, conjuntos and Cuban-style big bands.
Contradanza is the Spanish and Spanish-American version of the contradanse, which was an internationally popular style of music and dance in the 18th century, derived from the English country dance and adopted at the court of France. Contradanza was brought to America and there took on folkloric forms that still exist in Bolivia, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Panama and Ecuador.
Cuban folk music includes a variety of traditional folk music of Cuba, and has been influenced by the Spanish and the African culture as well as the remaining indigenous population of the Caribbean.
Manuel Saumell Robredo, was a Cuban composer known for his invention and development of genuinely creolized forms of music. For this reason he gets the credit for being the first to cultivate Cuban musical nationalism, and is of similar standing to Glinka who initiated Russian musical nationalism with A Life for the Tsar at about the same time.
Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes was a Cuban composer, and an author of books on the history of Cuban folk music.
Early Cuban bands played popular music for dances and theatres during the period 1780–1930. During this period Cuban music became creolized, and its European and African origins gradually changed to become genuinely Cuban. Instrumentation and music continually developed during this period. The information listed here is in date order, and comes from whatever records survive to the present day.
Cuban musical theatre has its own distinctive style and history. From the 18th century to modern times, popular theatrical performances included music and often dance as well. Many composers and musicians had their careers launched in the theatres, and many compositions got their first airing on the stage. In addition to staging some European operas and operettas, Cuban composers gradually developed ideas which better suited their creole audience. Characters on stages began to include elements from Cuban life, and the music began to reflect a fusion between African and European contributions.
Claudio Brindis de Salas Monte was a black violinist and double bass player who directed the most famous Cuban dance orchestra of his day. His band, the Concha de Oro, founded in the early 19th century, was the most popular band of its time. It played the dance music of the epoch at the balls of the island's aristocracy: contradanzas, minuets, rigadoons, quadrilles, lancers, waltzes. Concha de Oro was basically a típica, or wind orchestra, which was sometimes augmented to 100 players for special occasions such as fiestas.
Moisés Simons, was a leading Cuban composer, pianist, and orchestra leader. He was the composer of El Manisero which is considered by many to be the most famous piece of music created by a Cuban musician and has since been recorded by other musicians from around the world hundreds of times.
Cuban culture encompasses a wide range of dance forms. The island's indigenous people performed rituals known as areíto, which included dancing, although little information is known about such ceremonies. After the colonization of Cuba by the Spanish Kingdom, European dance forms were introduced such as the French contredanse, which gave rise to the Cuban contradanza. Contradanza itself spawned a series of ballroom dances between the 19th and 20th centuries, including the danzón, mambo and cha-cha-cha. Rural dances of European origin, such as the zapateo and styles associated with punto guajiro also became established by the 19th century, and in the 20th century son became very popular. In addition, numerous dance traditions were brought by black slaves from West Africa and the Congo basin, giving rise to religious dances such as Santería, yuka and abakuá, as well as secular forms such as rumba. Many of these dance elements from European dance and religious dances were fused together to form the basis of la técnica cubana. Cuban music also contributed to the emergence of Latin dance styles in the United States, namely rhumba and salsa.
Argeliers León Pérez was a Cuban composer and musicologist.
Alberto Alén Pérez was a Cuban musicologist and cellist.
Rolando Antonio Pérez Fernández is a Cuban musicologist, cellist and professor.
After its arrival in Cuba at the end of the 18th century, the pianoforte rapidly became one of the favorite instruments among the Cuban population. Along with the humble guitar, the piano accompanied the popular Cuban guarachas and contradanzas at salons and ballrooms in Havana and all over the country.
The bowed string instruments have been always present in Cuba since its discovery, first as the viol or bowed vihuela and at a later time as the Italian violin. As other instruments and the culture in general, also the violin enjoyed in Cuba a period of great relevance during the 19th century. The violin was part of the instrumental ensembles that accompanied the Contradance and the Dance, the first Cuban musical genres, as well as other subsequent genres as the Danzón and the Cha cha cha. The violin also intoned some of the most beautiful melodies composed in Cuba, such as "La Bella Cubana" by José White. At all times, the Cuban violinists have been prominent representatives of the Cuban music throughout the entire world.
Cecilio Tieles Ferrer is a Cuban pianist, professor and musicologist.
Maria Teresa Linares Savio was a Cuban musicologist, ethnographer, and researcher of Cuban music. She had a degree from the University of Havana in Literature and Hispanic Language Majoring Cuban Studies, a PhD in Art Sciences, and a Doctor Honoris Causa of the Superior Arts Institute of Cuba (1996). Linares taught in Havana’s prestigious music conservatories Amadeo Roldán and Alejandro García Caturla, as well as lecturing at the University of Havana. Since a young age she was involved in music interpretation and investigation.
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