Music of Uruguay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uruguay has a number of local musical forms. The most distinctive ones are candombe, an Afro-Uruguayan percussion-based form, and murga, a form of musical theatre, which both occur yearly during the Carnival period. There is also milonga, a folk guitar and song form deriving from Spanish traditions and related to similar forms found in many Hispanic-American countries. Uruguay is also known for its tango; the famed tango singer Carlos Gardel is rumoured to have been from the Uruguayan town of Tacuarembó.
The popular music of Uruguay, which focuses on rock, jazz and many other Western forms, frequently makes reference to the distinctly Uruguayan sounds mentioned above. The group Los Shakers, 1960s imitators of The Beatles, deserve a special mention as the band that kickstarted the Argentinean rock scene. Also, cumbia, a music style popular throughout most of Central and South America is widely enjoyed by the Uruguayan people, particularly in the rural areas.
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[edit] Folk music (Música típica)
[edit] Candombe
Main article: Candombe
Candombe originates from the Rio de la Plata, where African slaves brought their dances and percussion music. The word tango then referred to the traditional drums and dances, as well as the places where dancing occurred. Candombe rhythms are produced by drum ensembles, known as cuerdas, which include dozens of drummers and feature three drum sizes: tambor repique, tambor chico and tambor piano).
Popular candombe musicians include Hugo Fattoruso and Rubén Rada. Fattoruso has been a longtime part of both the Uruguayan and Latin American music scene, including as a member of rock band Los Shakers, and swing band The Hot Blowers, as well as Brazilian Milton Nascimento and the Latin jazz group Opa.
The Afro-Uruguayan rhythm Candombe has played a significant role in Uruguayan culture for over 200 years. The rhythm is created by the use of three drums (tambores); tambor piano, tambor chico and tambor repique. The piano is the largest in size and the lowest in pitch of the three tambores. The rhythmic base of Candombe, its function similar to that of the upright or electric bass. The chico (small) is the smallest in size and highest in pitch of the three tambores, serving as the rhythmic pendulum. The tambor repique (ricochet) embellishes Candombe's rhythm with improvised phrases. Each of the three tambores is played with an open hand (mano) and a stick (palo) in the other. At a minimum, one of each of the three tambores must be present.
The purest form of Candombe takes place each Sunday night on the streets of Montevideo, where many drummers assemble, playing their drums under the moon lit sky. Isla de Flores is the main street that joins Cuareim and Ansina, Candombe's two main social groups. For over a century spontaneous cuerdas have paraded on this street, and continue to do so today (Isle de Flores is also known by its second name, Carlos Gardel). As the cuerda slowly makes its way through the narrow streets of Montevideo, this contagious rhythm takes with it all in its path, surrounded on all sides by the neighborhood people moving their bodies to the rhythm of Candombe. At intervals the cuerda will pause, and by setting a fire, will heat their drums' skins for tuning purposes.
These Candombe rituals preserve this strong Uruguayan tradition, and serves as the breeding ground for the next generation of young Candombe drummers, as it has for their fathers, and their fathers before them. Informal, yet formidable in nature. Candombe has evolved, and continues to do so. Throughout the years there have been many composers that have written wonderful melodies and lyrics over the rhythm. One such individual who stands at the forefront of such a movement is Hugo Fattoruso, and now Rey Tambor.
Hugo Fattoruso, a composer and arranger, a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, has had a profound effect on music that has touched upon shores far and wide. Endeavors such as Los Shakers, Opa, Grupo Del Cuareim, Los Pusilanimes, Trio Fattoruso, and his solo works, are endeared by those fortunate to know of his talent.
Born and raised in Montevideo, Uruguay,, encouraged by his parents, Hugo began learning the language of music at the same time he was learning to walk and talk. Growing in Uruguay, and neighbored by Argentina and Brazil, exposed him to a diverse array of musical colors and rhythms.
Afro-Uruguayan Candombe rhythm is somethng that is always burning in Hugo's heart and mind, naturally, and exemplified by this, his latest endeavor, Rey Tambor. Here Hugo, on electric keyboard and vocals, joins forces with his three young Candombe compadres, the energetic Nicolás, Fernando and Diego, together navigating Candombe to new and exciting frontiers.
For more information: www.reytambor.com / www.candombe.com
[edit] Milonga
Main article: Milonga
The milonga was a South American style of song that was popular in the 1870s. The milonga was derived from an earlier style of singing known as the payada de contrapunto.
The song was set to a lively 2/4 tempo, and often included musical improvisation. Over time, dance steps and other musical influences were added, eventually giving rise to the tango. Milonga music is still used for dancing, but the milonga dancing of today is derivative of tango.
[edit] Murga
Main article: Murga
Murga is a kind of Montevidean musical theater for Carnival celebrations. A traditional murga group is comprised of a chorus and three percussionists and this is the type of murga performed on stages at Carnival. The singers perform in harmony using up to five vocal parts. Vocal production tends to be nasal and loud with little variation in volume. The percussion instruments, derived from the European military band, are the bombo (a shallow bass drum worn at the waist and played horizontally), redoblante (snare drum) and platillos (cymbals). The two most important pieces of the performance are the opening song (saludo) and the exit song (retirada or despedida). These get played on the radio during the Carnival period and some of them, such as the Saludo Araca La Cana 1937, are cherished by Uruguayans as cultural icons.
[edit] Popular music
[edit] Canto popular
Main article: Canto popular
Canto popular (popular song), which arose around 1975, eschewed contemporary instrumentation, including electric instruments, allowing only native styles and rhythms. This can be compared to pan-Latin singer-songwriter developments like nueva canción, nueva trova and tropicalismo. Daniel Viglietti was by far the most important Uruguayan exponent of canto popular; his song "A Desalambrar" became an international popular classic. Canto popular peaked in about 1977.
Uruguayan artists involved in canto popular included Los Eduardos, Los Que Iban Cantando, Universo, Carlos Benavides, Carlos Maria Fossatti, Eduardo Darnauchans, Anibal Sampayo, Marcos Velázquez, Alfredo Zitarrosa, José Carbajal ("El Sabalero"), Los Olimareños and Hector Numa Moraes.
[edit] Uruguayan rock
Main article: Uruguayan rock
Rock and roll first broke into Uruguayan audiences with the arrival of British band The Beatles in the early 1960s. A wave of bands appeared in Montevideo, including Los Shakers and Los Mockers, both of whom became major figures in the so-called Uruguayan Invasion of Argentina. With the coming of the military dictatorship in 1973, the Uruguayan rock scene effectively died; since the mid-1980s it has resurged.
[edit] Uruguayan tango
Main article: Uruguayan tango
The modern field of tango music and dance arose Buenos Aires, Argentina as well as Montevideo, Uruguay. Carlos Gardel, the giant of Tango, was born in Tacuarembo, Uruguay, in the 1880's. Other Uruguayan tango musicians, among the most important names, were director Francisco Canaro and singer Julio Sosa. One of the best-known tangos in the world, "La Cumparsita", was written by Uruguayan composer Gerardo Matos Rodríguez. Modern tango musicians include Raul Jaurena, Hugo Díaz, Miguel Villasboas, Marino Rivero, Raul Montero, Elsa Moran, Gustavo Nocetti, Luis di Matteo, Julio Brum, and Giovanna. One of the key names in modern tango, poet Horacio Ferrer, who contributed the lyrics for several of the most important tango works by Astor Piazzolla, is Uruguayan as well.
[edit] Classical music
Well-known modern composers of European classical music include Eduardo Fabini, Hector Tosar, Coriún Aharonián, León Biriotti, Renée Pietrafesa Bonnet . The modern conductors Gisèle Ben-Dor, Jose Serebier and Carlos Kalmar are also renowned in their field.
There is a Uruguayan Symphony Orchestra.
[edit] Musical festivals
Music festivals in Uruguay include the Fiesta X every november and the Liceal Festival [1].
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