Cuban Music
Introduction:
Cuban music download that includes dances and instruments basically comprises of
the European-Spanish as well as the African origin. Most forms of modern day
Cuban music are the mixtures and fusions of these two greatest forms of music.
There is hardly any trace of original Indian traditions to be seen anywhere,
except for a few places such as Marcas, Guanabacoa etc. that have native origin.
Some very large numbers of European immigrants that included mostly Spanish and
African slaves came and settled down in Cuba. They bought along with them their
own forms of music styles to this land.
The European folk music and dances mostly included fandango,
retambico, zapateo and paso doble. Later on, the white urbans of the
Northern Europe also bought with them musical forms of contradanza, gavotte,
minuet, mazurka and waltz. With the immigration of Chinese indentured
labourers in the nineteenth century, more musical forms appeared in the tiny
island of Cuba.
Origin of Cuban music download:
One of the first greatest folklorist of Cuba, Fernando Ortiz described the musical notations in Cuba as having arisen from an interplay or transculturation between the Spanish or Canary Islanders who grew tobacco on small farms as well as African slaves who settled on large sugar plantations. The African slaves including their descendants made a large number of percussive instruments and their corresponding rhythms.
The most important of all the musical instruments were the drums.
Although there were originally about fifty different types of drums, the
only types of existing drums today are the bata, congas and the bongos. The
timbales are a typical type of drums that descended from the kettle drums in
the Spanish military bands.
Another important of the musical instruments are the cajons or wooden boxes
that are made from the fish crates out of the Matanzas or fruit boxes. And
another important instrument is the claves or two short hardwood staves.
These cajons used to be widely used during the time when use of the drum was
completely banned in Cuba.
In addition to all these there are some other percussion instruments that
were used in Cuba for the use of Africa originated religious ceremonies.
Some Chinese immigrants brought with them the corneta china or the Chinese
cornet. It is a Chinese reed instrument which is played even today in the
comparasas or the carnival groups at the Santiago de Cuba.
Growth in Cuban music:
The greatest instrumental contribution of the Spanish was the guitar, but
more importantly, the tradition brought about by the European musical
notation as well as the techniques of musical composition. Some of the
earliest obtainable information on Cuban music can be had from the archives
of Hernando de la Parra. He has given information on instruments such as the
violin, clarinet and the vihuela.
Only a few professional musicians existed at about that time in Cuba, and
only a few of their songs survive till date. Teodora Gines who belonged to
Santiago de Cuba was very famous for her compositions. Her works have
similarity to those of the ecclesiastic European forms of the sixteenth
century folk songs.
Conclusion:
The principal roots that shape the Cuban music download emerge from West
Africa and Spain, but over a period of time, it has been influenced by
varied genres from different nations. More prominent among these countries
are United States, France and Puerto Rico.
