Originally Posted by
Jester Black
Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss, Bach, Vivaldi and all those guys. Who hasnt heard of them? But have you ever heard of Juan Morel Campos or Manuel Gregorio Tavares of Simon Maderas?
No?
Well dont feel badly, many havent. They are composers of a classical form unique to the Puerto Rican culture known as danza.
During the conversion of Puerto Rico's Amerindians and slaves to Christianity after its colonization by the early Spanish, the only formal music imported from Spain was chants and religious music. Later, however, as the fortunes of a handful of Puerto Rican planters increased during the 19th century, their social aspirations grew as well. Those whose children showed musical promise were after sent abroad -usually to Spain- for the further development of their talents.
One of these was Puerto Rican -born Manuel Tavares, a composer whose orchestral techniques matured within the musical traditions of 19th-century Spain and whose success encouraged other generations of Puerto Rican classicist to follow in his footsteps.
By 1850, another group of island composers, many only informally trained, had adapted a Puerto Rican interpretation of the most popular dance of that era -the minuet- into a musical form known as the danza. Based on a refined, somewhat rigid classical score, with and underlying lilt that is unmistakably Caribbean, its most popular early advocate was composer Juan Morel Campos. Later, this dance style evolved into the dance rhythms still popular today. Also popular during the early and mid-1800s was a narrative tale set to music, sometimes embellished on the spot by a skilled storyteller known as a decime; the tales originated as rigidly metered 10-line stanzas of eight-syllable lines with a rhyme structure that could vary according to the inspiration on the composer. Their musical form -which might have been the closest thing to a troubador tradition ever developed in Puerto Rico- was often used to convey moral lessons, love tragedies, and stories of other kinds.
One world-class operatic tenor was Antonio Paoli (1872-46). Also noteworthy was Jesús MarÃ*a Sanroma (1902-84), a pianist who performed both Puerto Rican danzas and works from the classical European repertoire.
Puerto Rico's classical and orchestral tradition reached its height with cellist Pablo Casals, who was of partial Puerto Rican descent. At 81, he chose to spend the last years of his life on the island. He brought musical fame to San Juan by establishing the internationally acclaimed Casals Music Festival. This event brings many musicians from around the world to take part in an orchestra and chamber music program.
The following is a composition by the aforementioned Juan Morel Campos
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