Cervantes, Igancio: Danzas Cubanas, ed. Manuel Barrueco for guitar solo, sheet music

Ignacio Cervantes (Havana, Cuba,1847-1905) is one of the most important and most beloved Cuban composers of the nineteenth century. His Cuban Dances are based largely on Cuban popular culture, which is treated with elegance and refinement. Syncopated rhythms typical of Cuban music are ever present in his dances, as well as melodies full of charm and melancholy. The titles of his dances were often whimsical, as can be appreciated in these five dances Manuel Barrueco has chosen to transcribe: El Velorio (The Wake), La Celosa (The Jealous One), Mensaje (Message), Adiós a Cuba (Farewell to Cuba), and Los Tres Golpes (The Three Knocks). Cervantes was known to engage in melopoeia, a practice popular in the nineteenth century in which in the performer adds a spoken narrative to the music. These two examples for El Velorio and La Celosa give us an insight into Cervantes’ music: content: El Velorio (The Wake), La Celosa (The Jealous One), Mensaje (Message), Adios a Cuba (Farewell to Cuba), Los Tres Golpes (The Three Knocks)