| Danzón | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Contradanza |
| Cultural origins | Late 19th century,Cuba |
| Typical instruments | |
| Derivative forms | Mambo |
| Other topics | |
| Music of Cuba | ||||
| General topics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Related articles | ||||
| Genres | ||||
| Specific forms | ||||
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| Media and performance | ||||
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| Nationalistic and patriotic songs | ||||
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| Regional music | ||||
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Danzón is the official genre and dance ofCuba.[1] It is also an active musical form inUSA andPuerto Rico. Written in2
4 time, the danzón is a slow, formalpartner dance, requiringset footwork aroundsyncopated beats, and incorporating elegant pauses while the couples stand listening to virtuoso instrumental passages, as characteristically played by acharanga ortípica ensemble.[2]
The danzón evolved from the Cubancontradanza, or habanera (lit. 'Havana-dance'). The contradanza, which had English and French roots in thecountry dance andcontredanse, was probably introduced to Cuba by the Spanish, who ruled the island for almost four centuries (1511–1898), contributing many thousands of immigrants. It may also have been partially seeded during the short-livedBritish occupation of Havana in 1762.[3]Haitian refugees fleeing the island'srevolution of 1791–1804 brought the French-Haitiankontradans, contributingtheir own Creole syncopation.[3] In Cuba, the dances of European origin acquired new stylistic features derived fromAfrican rhythm anddance to produce a genuine fusion of European and African influences.[4]African musical traits in the danzón include complex instrumentalcross-rhythms, expressed in staggeredcinquillo andtresillo patterns.[2]
By 1879, the yearMiguel Failde'sLas alturas de Simpson was first performed (inMatanzas),[2] danzón had emerged as a distinct genre. Danzón went on to interact with 20th century Cuban genres such asson, and through thedanzón-mambo it was instrumental in the development ofmambo andcha-cha-chá.
The danzón developed from thehabanera, a creolized Cuban dance form. By 1879, the yearLas alturas de Simpson composed byMiguel Failde (leader of theOrquesta Faílde) was first performed inMatanzas,[2] danzón had emerged as a distinct genre.[5] Creation of the new danzón form is generally attributed to Faílde.[6] The classical composerManuel Saumell has also been cited as a key figure in its delineation.[7]
The Englishcontradanza was the predecessor of the "habanera", also known asdanza criolla. Out of this Creole genre, theHabanera, was born in 1879 another Cuban genre, called danzon, asequence dance, in which all danced together a set offigures.[8] The first use of the termdanzón, which dates from the 1850s, is for just such a dance. Havana's daily paper,El Triunfo, gave a description of this earlierdanzón. It was a co-ordinated dance of figures performed by groups of Matanzas blacks. The dancers held the ends of colored ribbons, and carried flower-covered arches. The group twisted and entwined the ribbons to make pleasing patterns.[9][10] This account can be corroborated by other references, for example, a traveler in Cuba noted in 1854 that black Cubans "do a kind of wreath dance, in which the whole company took part, amid innumerable artistic entanglements and disentanglements".[11] This style of danzón was performed at carnivalcomparsas by black groups: it is described that way before the late 1870s.[12]
Faílde's first danzóns were created for just such sequence dances. Faílde himself said "In Matanzas at this time there was a kind of square dance for twenty couples who carried arches and flowers. It was really a dance of figures (sequence dance), and its moves were adapted to the tempo of the habanera, which we took over for the danzón."[13]
The form of danzón created by Miguel Faílde in 1879 (Las alturas de Simpson), begins with anintroduction (four bars) andpaseo (four bars), which are repeated and followed by a 16-bar melody. The introduction and paseo again repeat before a second melody is played. The dancers do not dance during these sections: they choose partners, stroll onto the dance floor, and begin to dance at precisely the same moment: the fourth beat of bar four of the paseo, which has a distinctive percussion pattern that's hard to miss. When the introduction is repeated the dancers stop, chat, flirt, greet their friends, and start again, right on time as the paseo finishes.
Early danzón was played by groups calledorquestas típicas, which were based on wind instruments. They had several brass instruments (cornet, valvetrombone,ophicleide), aclarinet or two, a violin or two and tympani (kettle drums). At the beginning of the 20th century, the lighter and somewhat more elegant sound of thecharanga emerged (seeEarly Cuban bands). Initially, they were small orchestra of two violins, a cello, flute,timbales,güiro, anddoublebass. Charanga and típicas competed with each other for years, but after 1930 it was clear that the days of the típica were over.
In 1898, a piano was included in a charanga for the first time. InAntonio María Romeu's hands a piano became standard. Its musical flexibility, its ability to influence both melody and rhythm, made it invaluable. In 1926, in his arrangement ofTres lindas cubanas, Romeu incorporated a pianosolo for the first time. His was Cuba's top charanga for many years.
Similar to other dances in the Caribbean and Latin America, the danzón was initially regarded as scandalous, especially when it began to be danced by all classes of society. The slower rhythm of the danzón led to couples dancing closer, with sinuous movements of the hips and a lower centre of gravity. The author of a survey ofprostitution in Havana devoted a whole chapter to the iniquities of dancing, and the danzón in particular.[14] Articles in newspapers and periodicals took up the theme:
Apparently, the danzón, which later became an insipid dance for older couples, was at first danced with "obscene movements" of the hips by young couples in close embrace, with bodies touching, and by couples who might come from different races...
So, behind the concern about music and dance were concerns about sexual licence, and aboutmiscegenation, the mixing of races. As with other similar cases, the criticism was to no avail. The danzón became hugely popular, and was the dominant popular music in Cuba until the advent of theson in the 1920s. At length the Cuban government made Faílde the official inventor of the danzón –but not until 1960, by which time the danzón had become a relic, and its 'child', thechachachá, had taken over.[18]
In 1910, some 30 years after Faílde's early days,José Urfé added amontuno as a final part of hisEl Bombín de Barretto.[1] This was a swinging section, consisting of a repeated musical phrase, which introduced something of theson into the danzón (a tactic which was to recur again). Because of the popularity of son in the 1920s and 1930s,Aniceto Díaz inRompiendo la rutina in 1929 added a vocal part, thereby creating a new genre called the danzonete.
Later development led to moresyncopation, which eventually led to thedanzón-chá,nuevo ritmo,cha-cha-chá,pachanga andmambo. From the 1940s to the 1960s danzón and its derivatives were highly popular in Cuba, with several truly fine charangas playing most days of the week.Orquesta Aragón kept up an exceptionally high standard for many years, but the danzón itself gradually dropped out, and is now a relic dance.
Danzón has never ceased to influence Cuban musicians, and it is reflected in many popular Cuban music genres, in CubanLatin jazz,salsa,songo andtimba, the latter building upon the charanga orchestration. Groups likeLos Van Van andOrquesta Revé developed from charangas. Their make-up and orchestration (byJuan Formell) has been so greatly altered that it is difficult to identify traces of danzón; indeed, their present styles owe more to son than to danzón. The addition of brass instruments such astrombones and trumpets, andconga drums signalled a wider range of music.
Danzón was also very popular in the Gulf Coast state ofVeracruz, Mexico, because of the strong Cuban influence in the region. Later on, danzón developed inMexico City, specially in the famousSalón México; it has survived as a dance longer there than in Cuba. Danzón also flourished in the city ofOaxaca, and many famous danzones were composed by Oaxacan musicians such as the famous Nereidas and Teléfono de larga distancia, both works ofAmador Pérez Dimas, from the town ofZaachila, near Oaxaca city.
Today, people still dance danzón in Mexico, particularly in the main plazas of Veracruz, Oaxaca and Mexico City, and in yearly festivals across Mexico. The dance had a second revival in the 1990s, especially among Mexico's senior citizens.
A film calledDanzón was released in 1991 directed by María Novaro.
Danzón no. 2 by Mexican composerArturo Márquez (b. 1950) is a popular piece in orchestral concerts.
The basictimbales part for danzón is called the baqueteo. In the example above, the slashed noteheads indicate muted drum strokes, and the regular noteheads indicate open strokes. Thegüiro also plays this pattern. The danzón was the first written music to be based on the organizing principle of sub-Saharan African rhythm, known in Cuba asclave.[19]
Danzón is elegant and virtuoso music, with dance. A danzón, in its original form, was not sung, and did not feature any improvisations, unlike some other Cuban genres.A danzón has the following typical structure:
The classic form is thus ABAC or ABACA.Adanzón-chá ordanzón-mambo typically add another part (D), a syncopated open vamp in which soloists may sometimes improvise, creating an ABACD or, more common, ABACAD.
In danzón, the mambo section is the final section of an arrangement. It was first devised byOrestes López, who added syncopated motifs taken from the son, together with improvised flute variations.[20] He called this type of danzónritmo nuevo (new rhythm). Orestes' danzónMambo was the start of a trend continued byArcaño y sus Maravillas.[21]