Son montuno
| Son montuno | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Son cubano, Afro-Cuban music |
| Cultural origins | Late 19th century Cuba |
| Typical instruments | |
| Fusion genres | |
| Mambo - guaracha - cha-cha-chá - Afro-Cuban jazz | |
| Other topics | |
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Music of Cuba Anticipated bass - Clave |
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| Music of Cuba | |
|---|---|
| General topics | |
| Related articles | |
| Genres | |
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| Specific forms | |
| Religious music | |
| Traditional music | |
| Media and performance | |
| Music awards | Beny Moré Award |
| Nationalistic and patriotic songs | |
| National anthem | La Bayamesa |
| Regional music | |
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The son montuno is a subgenre of son cubano. The son itself is the most important genre of Cuban popular music. In addition, it is perhaps the most flexible of all forms of Latin-American music, and is the foundation of many Cuban-based dance forms, and salsa. Its great strength is its fusion between European and African musical traditions.
The son arose in Oriente, merging the Spanish guitar and lyrical traditions with Afro-Cuban percussion and rhythms. We now know that its history as a distinct form is relatively recent. There is no evidence that it goes back further than the end of the nineteenth century. It moved from Oriente to Havana in about 1909, carried by members of the Permanent (the Army), who were sent out of their areas of origin as a matter of policy. The first recordings were in 1918.
There are many types of son, of which the son montuno is one. The term has been used in several ways. Probably the 'montuno' originally referred to its origin in the mountainous regions of eastern Cuba; eventually it was used more to describe the final up-tempo section of a son, with its semi-improvisation, repetitive vocal refrain and brash instrumental climax. The term was being used in the 1920s, when son sextetos set up in Havana and competed strongly with the older danzones.
Arsenio Rodríguez revolutionized the son montuno. For example, he introduced the idea of layered guajeos (typical Cuban ostinato melodies)—an interlocking structure consisting of multiple contrapuntal parts. This aspect of the son's modernization can be thought of as a matter of "re-Africanizing" the music. Helio Orovio recalls: "Arsenio once said his trumpets played figurations the 'Oriente' tres-guitarists played during the improvisational part of el son" (1992: 11). The "Oriente" is the name given to the eastern end of Cuba, where the son was born. It is common practice for treseros to play a series of guajeo variations during their solos. Perhaps it was only natural then that it was Rodríguez the tres master, who conceived of the idea of layering these variations on top of each other. The following example is from the "diablo" section of Rodríguez's "Kile, Kike y Chocolate" (1950). The excerpt consists of four interlocking guajeos: piano (bottom line), tres (second line), 2nd and 3rd trumpets (third line), and 1st trumpet (fourth line). 2-3 Clave is shown for reference (top line). Notice that the piano plays a single celled (single measure) guajeo, while the other guajeos are two-celled. It's common practice to combine single and double-celled ostinatos in Afro-Cuban music.
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Wikipedia