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Enric Madriguera
- Tracks 01-17
Historically Spain has shown a close relation between
the art music and the music of Spanish folklore. The pieces
by Luys Narvdez, vihuelist - a predecessor to the guitar -
and composer, display this combination of folklore and high
art. Canción del emperador/Song of the Emperor was
dedicated to king Charles V, who was also the Holy Roman Emperor
of Europe. The work is based upon the melody of mille regrets
by the French composer Josquin des Prez. Guardame las vacas/watch
over my cows, is a chord progression from the popular music
of 16th-century Spain. Guardame las vacas is written as a
diferencia, a theme and variation, together with the tres
diferenceias Por otra parte,in 1536 this ensemble of variations
by Narvdez were the first to be published in Europe. The baxa
de contrayunto/contrapuntal dance, is a lively work which
ends the suite of pieces by Narvez.
Gaspar Sanz published the first, and most
complete method for the guitarra española/Spanish guitar
in 1674. This text which was meant for a large audience of
guitar aficionados had no less than eight editions from 1674-1697.
Sanz’ style combines the folkloric dances of mediterranean
with the counterpoint inspired from Northern Europe. The canario
is a dance indigenous to the Canary Islands which came to
the new world through the caravels which made stops there
on there way to the Americas. The strumming effects at the
close of the canario were referred to by Sanz in his text
as musica ruidosa/noisy music, as apparently these effects
were precedent setting, in terms of their decibel level for
their time.
Joaquin Nin-Culmell (b.1908) an American
composer of Cuban origin and professor emeritus at the University
of California at Berkeley composed “Variations on a
theme by Milan,” for guitar solo. The work is a homage
by the twentieth-century composer to his 16-century Spanish
predescessor, the composer and vihuelist Luys Milan. Milan’s
theme is a pavane, a 16th-century dance, which hailed from
Padua, Italy and was current with 16th-century Spanish nobility.
On the eve of the Second World War Mario
Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1938) left his beloved Italy for
America. He taught at the Los Angeles conservatory and quickly
established himself as a composer in a wide range of genres
including film music. His output for the guitar is large,
and his primary collaboration was with Segovia. Melancolia
and Primavera are part of a set of thirty-two pieces which
Castelnuovo-Tedesco wrote to accompany “Platero y yoll
by the Spanish poet Juan Ramon Jimenez. Although intended
as childrens literature, “Platero y yoll which recounts
the life of a magical Spanish donkey, Platero, includes truths
which have merited this poetry a world wide audience - as
well as the Nobel prize for literature in 1957. Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s
music was composed to be played with narration, but is so
artistically whole as to be found programmed for solo guitar
in concerts.
Tres canciones no-pulares Méxicanas,
were set for the piano by Manuel M. Ponce, (1882-1948) the
great Mexican composer, and later transcribed for the guitar
by the legendary guitarist, Andr6s Segovia. Segovia’s
transcription and performance of the songs began a relationship
between the Spanish guitarist and the Mexican composer which
lasted for more than four decades. The songs are from the
province of Guanajauto. La paiarera/the bird lady, is the
ubquitous women who tends and sells her multicolored birds
in the parks of Mexican cities, yor ti mi corazon/for you
my heart, is a serenade, and Valentina is a song from the
revolutionary period, it achieved popularity in the early
decades of the 20th century.
“Four Cuban Pieces” by Leo Brouwer
reflect the musical roots of the Antilles, which combines
the Afro-Cuban rhythms with their Antillano and European melodies
and harmonies. Brouwer the Cuban composer and guitarist studied
for a time in New York, but was more influenced by his first
exposure to new music in 1961 at the festival at Warsaw. “Four
Cuban Pieces” are reflective of Brouwer’s earliest
compositional style which is nationalistic.
The “Colombian Dance” is an
arrangement of a traditional Porro, which is a dance from
the Caribbean coast of that country. The Afro-Colombian rhythms
are at the base of this dance which enjoys great popularity
during the carnaval season. The carnaval at Baranquilla is
renowned for its festive atmosphere and for the authenticity
of its culture.
Isaac Albéniz, (1860-1909) a composer,
primarily of piano music, is considered as one of the most
important figures in the history of Spanish music as he and
Granados helped to create a nationalistic Spanish style in
the late 19th-century. According to the 19th-century Spanish
musicologist Felipe Pedrell the Zambra was a danza morisca,
a Moorish dance. In the case of Albéniz zambra a musical
view which romanticizes Spain’s Arab past, which achieved
its peak in the 9th and 10th centuries, is presented. The
Capricho Catalan with its lyric and consonant quality surely
pays tribute to the land of Isaac Albéniz’ birth,
CamprodÓn, which lies in the mountainous region of
Catalonia near the Pyrenees mountains and the border with
France.
According to legend, the Peternera is a
dance that was invented by a Moorish dancer from Paterna.
in the Spanish Province of Amería. El Vito is a popular
street song from Madrid. Both of these pieces were set to
the guitar by the renowned guitarist composer and teacher,
Regino Sainz de la. Maza.
Felix Castaverde
- Tracks 17-34
Maestro Felix gives us in this recording a review of
traditional forms and modern trends of African Peruvian folk
music. Guitar solo versions of this style are rare, since
typically other instruments, such as another guitar and folk
percussion instruments, are included. Maestro Felix himself
expressed how difficult it was for him to record without a
Cajon (an all wood drum shaped like a box). Borrowing techniques
from his classical guitar background and his experience as
a commercial performer in Peru’s folk scene, he has
successfully overcome this difficulty, and delivered here
a faithful representation of the complex blending of the African
music into the Spanish and Native Peruvian.
First forced into Peru as slaves by the
Conquistadors circa 1650, the forefathers of today’s
black Peruvians, brought with them the wealth of their music,
dance arid creative talent. They were settled on the coast
to work on farms, since they failed to adapt well to the high
altitudes and cold weather of the Andes where, together with
the native Peruvians, they would have been coerced into working
in the silver and gold mines. Their blending in the new country
thus started in separation from the Andean culture and almost
exclusively in contact with Spanish ways. Through 30O years,
half of which was spent in slavery, they developed an array
of musical styles and dances that ranges from being spiritual
and poetic to festive, playful and erotic. They took the Spanish
guitar and developed their own playing techniques, and created
their own instruments from common, everyday items. These melodies
and dances are performed today and enjoyed socially by Peruvians
of all backgrounds. Lately, this style has began to show in
Miami, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, were Peruvian immigrants
have settled in larger numbers during the last few years.
A few comments about the melodies on this
CD are relevant. Each of the first four recordings (Zapateo,
Socavon, Agua de Nieve and Cumanana) present variations selected
to show traditional African Peruvian styles. By contrast,
the Marinera and the two Waltzes that follow, and the Tondero
illustrate what is know as musica criolla (creole music),
a Peruvian creation of Spanish background, although the Marinera
and Tondero are recognized as having African influences. Also,
Maestro Felix gives us several Festejo arid Lando dances,
which demonstrate the traditional and modern trends of these
festive African Peruvian styles, and although one can hear
the Spanish Influence, the corresponding dance moves are of
almost pure African heritage, Finally, the two songs are representations
of a growing modern style which combines traditional rhythms
and themes of black and criollo music.
Zapateo is a style dance, like a polka or
waltz; it is not the name of a song. This dance is found in
the south of Lima, but there it is danced without shoes. There
are variations on a minor chord and over the major tone. The
dancing is done in a competitive mode between tap dancers.
Socovon is the Spanish word for the tunnel
of a mine, in which slaves were forced to work. It is a style
of competitive singing; not the name of a song. This style
is performed in Northern Peru (Note: the capital of Lima is
located on the coast and is considered the dividing point
between North and South).
Para nosotros el cielo, se lo quisiera explicar,
Es negro como, al silencio, Negro como la verdad Heaven is
for us, I would like to explain it to you, Is black as Silence,
Black as the Truth Agua de Nieve is a form of competitive
dancing with variations over the theme of La Melopea (meaning
in Spanish to catch, hold, grasp, to have fight, or to get
drunk). La Melopea is not frequently used in the Spanish language
and was rediscovered by Vicente Vasquez. The dancing is done
by tapping, but not done with the heels, but with the sides
of the foot or shoe, and by brushing the sole.
In performance, Felix uses the bass strings
to release a sad-like tune. This is unusual, since in all
Peruvian musical styles (African, Creole, and Andean), the
high strings are typically used to play sad melodies.
This is a poetic style, more common on the northern coast
of Peru. Cumanana shows the more commonly used approach to
presenting sad tunes with the high strings. In this piece
the chord progression display a strong Spanish influence.
This piece is also known as Canto de Jarana
(Song of a Party) and is a style of dancing that is festive.
Like the Tondero, it is danced with a handkerchief, but was
considered more elegant. Two styles of Marinera exist: one
from Lima, which is slower and more delicate in the footwork;
and the other from the North coast, which is more lively.
It is also danced in the Andes where it has developed somewhat
different forms.
A very old criollo waltz by Lima composer
Oscar Molina, presented faithfully in the old school style.
This waltz from Lima composer Chabuca Granda
represents the new school of the Peruvian criollo waltz and
uses syncopated rhythms, complex progressions and intermediate
chords.
The phrases and expression that follow
are not in Spanish or in any know dialect; however, this lively,
colorful and rhythmic language is there to remind us that
once in Peru there was an African language, of which only
interjections such as “Eque!” have survived.
Eque!, Los diablos so van, Eque!, Pero
volveran
Eque!, The devils are leaving, Eque!, But they shall return
Using the Festejo style, Felix shows the
richness of Afro-Peruvian music and leaps into new harmonies,
variations, and chord progressions which expand the traditional
sound.
The Tondero belong to the African dance
Lundero, a dance lost in time, from the North coast of Peru.
Once again, Felix is not playing a song, but is only demonstrating
the sounds of the Tondero guitar arrangements and rhythms.
This song was rediscovered by Carlo Caitro
Soto de la Colina and is a traditional Lando. In the lyrics,
“Minister” does not refer to a religious figure.
It is used as the Europeans do, to describe the head of a
public office, such as the Secretary of State. In the lyrics,
the poor, newly freed black man dreams that now the men he
perceives to be society’s most powerful (the President,
the Cabinet members, the Priest, and the lawyer) shall be
black.
Negro sera Presidente, Negrol Ministro
sera, Negro cantara la misa, Negro! sera aboga(do)
Hay Fraicisco!, Hay Fraicisquito, Qua buenos tierapos!, Los
tiempos de Libertad, Los blancos sacan caleza, Los blancos
su aguita cargaran, que los negritos ya tienen, ya tienen
su libertad
Gracias a Ramon Castilla, que nos dio libertad, ahora ya somos
libres, y podemos canturear
Hay Fraicisco!, Hay Fraicisquito, Que buenos tiempos!, Los
tiempos de Libertad
A Black will be President, Black! The Minister he will be,
A Black will sing the Mass, Black the lawyer he will be
Ay Fraicisco!, Ay Fraicisquito, What good timesl, The times
of freedom, The President Shall Be Black
The whites get their own carriage, The whites got their own
water, Because the blacks now have, Now have their own freedom
Thanks to Ramon Castilla, Who gave us Freedom,
now we are free, and we can hum, Ay Fraicisco!, Ay Fraicisquito,
What good times!, The times of Freedom
This song is a traditional Festejo and
is intended to be performed in jest. Peruvians (black or otherwise)
do not eat cats. Although, in some of the farm areas of the
Northern coast, some folks (black and otherwise) have found
ways to cook cats in a way that when served, the taste resembles
that of a goat, which is widely consumed. In jest or as a
complaint, one may say “I was fed a cat instead of a
rabbit.”
The translation of the song posed some
difficulty, especially as it related to the words “mulatto”
and “Negro.” It should be noted that in this song,
it is always an Afro-Peruvian telling a story to another Afro-Peruvian,
and that any reference to race is not meant to be derogatory
or insulting. For this reason “mulatto” is translated
as “fellow” and “Negro” as black.
In the song the owner of the cat is calling to someone from
his neighborhood.
0ye mulato, quien se comio mi gato?, Dicen qua fue Calon,
un negro fiaco, con vino la sentaron, la cabeza la sacaron
No esta on el techo, Nien el fogon ni siquiera
su pajero, me han deja pa(ra) tapon, Hey fellow, Who ate my
cat?, They said it was Calon, A skinny black
His head they took off, They ate him with wine
He is not on the roof, He is not on the
stave, They have not even left, his skin for me to use as
plug
The last three pieces performed by Felix are modern versions
and new arrangements of traditional compositions, the Lando,
Impromptu, and Fantasia: Cuatro Tiempos para Negros Jovenes.
Marco P. Fernandez-Baca,
Founder & Former Director of Grupo Folklorico Mi
Peru |
