Ángel Mislan (March 1, 1862 – February 1, 1911) was a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

of Puerto Rican Danzas.

Early years

Mislan (birth name: Ángel Mislan Huertas) was born in San Sebastián, Puerto Rico where he was raised and educated. The small town is located in the western part of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. His father was a music teacher who gave private lessons on the use of musical instruments. Mislan learned from his father how to play the

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

and the

euphonium The euphonium ( ; ; ) is a tenor- and baritone-voiced valved brass instrument. The euphonium is a member of the large family of valved bugles, along with the tuba and flugelhorn, characterised by a wide conical bore. Most instruments have thr ...

(the latter is essential in the performance of Puerto Rican danzas). When he was very young he went to Spain to further his musical training by learning composition and harmony.

Musical career

In 1886, when Mislan was 24 years old, he returned to Puerto Rico and settled down in

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

. There he joined the Military Band of the Third Battalion of Volunteers; eventually, he became the director of that band. During this period he wrote his two best known danza compositions, "''Sara''" and "''Tu y Yo''" (You and I). His style differed from that of Manuel Gregorio Tavárez and Juan Morel Campos in that his danzas were typically shorter and humorous. In 1898, Mislan returned to his hometown where he became the director of the Municipal Band. This was an important position, held in high regard by the society of the time. In 1906, he met a young musician by the name of Juan F. Acosta and took him under his wing. The older performer taught Acosta music composition and harmony and, when Mislan moved from San Sebastian to the town of Barceloneta, he recommended that Acosta replace him as the new director of the San Sebastian Municipal Band.

Legacy

Mislan died in the town of

Barceloneta, Puerto Rico Barceloneta (, ) is a Barceloneta barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico located in the north region, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Florida, Puerto Rico, Florida (city and municipality in Puer ...

on February 1, 1911. Besides writing danzas, Mislan also wrote Puerto Rican folk music,

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

es and

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...

. Most of his works are safeguarded in the

Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña The ''Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña'' (), or ICP for short, is an institution of the Government of Puerto Rico responsible for the establishment of the cultural policies required in order to study, preserve, promote, enrich, and diffuse ...

(Institute of Puerto Rican Culture). In 1948, Puerto Rican singer Julita Ross recorded the danzas of Ángel Mislan. The City of San Sebastián honored Mislan's memory by naming a school after him and by placing a bust of his image in the center of its plaza.

Early years

Musical career

Legacy

Notes

See also

References

External links