José Marín Varona (

Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 333,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by Sp ...

, March 10, 1859

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Marín Varona, José: Orovio, Helio: uban Music from A to Z, DukeUniversity Press, Durham, U. S., 2004

Biographical note

José Marín Varona was born on March 10, 1859, in the city of

, where he began his musical studies with professor Mariano Agüero. At a later time, Varona established his residence in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

"El Brujo" the first Cuban guajira which has been historically documented. About this piece, composer

Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes (3 April 1874, in Havana – 7 September 1944) was a Cuban composer, and an author of books on the history of Cuban folk music. The outstanding habanera ''Tú'', written when he was sixteen, was his best-known com ...

said: "The honest critique of a not very far day will bestow the author of the immortal guajira of "El Brujo" the honor to which he is undoubtedly entitled at any time".Sánchez de Fuentes, Eduardo: Artículo en “Folklorismo”editado por Imprenta “Molina y Compañía”, Ricla, Num 55-57, La Habana, 1928. Shortly after the premiere of "El Brujo", Marín Varona travelled to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

because of threats received from the Spanish government because of his support of the Cuban independence movement. During his exile, he continued his musical activity and offered presentations with the purpose of collaborating with the national independence cause. In Key West, he contributed to the local media with news articles and musical critique. Upon returning to Cuba, Marín Varona was married to the Spanish singer Amalia Rodríguez and travelled through the Americas with

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

and

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

companies. In 1913, Cuban composer José Mauri offered a lecture about his work at the National Academy of Arts and Literature; and in 1916, the Infantry Band of the Army recorded four of his caprices called "Tropicales" (Esperanza, Ensueños, Novelita and Íntima) for the Victor Recording Company.

Professional activity

The work of José Marín Varona links the musical activity of the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century in Cuba. After his arrival to

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.sight singing Visual perception is the ability to detect light and use it to form an image of the surrounding environment. Photodetection without image formation is classified as ''light sensing''. In most vertebrates, visual perception can be enabled by ph ...

and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

at the Municipal Conservatory; and after the Republic inauguration, in 1902, he founded the Army

Staff (military) A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large milit ...

Band. In 1905 Marín Varona also organized the Artillery Band, for which he composed and arranged numerous pieces, such as the Tributo al Maine, Himno para el Yara, Huérfanos de la Patria, Gobernador Magoon and La Independencia, among others. José Marín Varona created the "Cuba Musical" magazine,, where he exerted musical critique and published numerous articles about the Havana artistic activity during the first years of the Republic. He also collaborated as a journalist to other local publications. Marín Varona was a professor at the Municipal Conservatory of

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Albisu Theater orchestra along with Spanish conductor Modesto Julián. He also regularly collaborated with the famous Alhambra Theater (since its foundation to 1912), for which he composed pieces such as the

"La Guaracha". He shared the podium at that venue with Maestro Rafael Palau.

Composer

José Marín Varona was a prolific composer of music that included

s, romanzas, children music for piano, pot-potpourris and

danza Danza is a musical genre that originated in Ponce, a city in southern Puerto Rico. It is a popular turn-of-the-twentieth-century ballroom dance genre slightly similar to the waltz. Both the danza and its cousin the contradanza are sequence danc ...

s. His work belongs to the most significant output within the Cuban nationalist movement from the end of the 19th century. The first piece he composed, the "Consuelo" waltz, was created by him when he was just twenty years old. The "Tropicales" pieces (subtiled tropical caprices) from Marín Varona, which received an award at the Paris Universal Exposition in 1900, were defined as "real concert dances, marked by the end of the Century creole style". In his songs it is possible to notice a notable relation between elements characteristic of

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

and those of concert music. "Siempre tú" and "Ilusión" – denominations that correspond to certain "Tropicales" pieces for, voice and piano- show an evident influence from Italian lyric style and the technical melodic difficulties of the operatic

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

; while the accompaniment rhythm presents the most popular characteristics of Cuban music. Such treats may be perceived in many other of his pieces. José Marín Varona passed away in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Works

;Zarzuelas * Ábreme la puerta, F. Villoch * El 10 de Octubre, décimas, 2V, A. Díaz * El alcalde de la Güira, dúo amoroso, J. Robeño * El Brujo, J. R. Barreiro * El hijo de Camagüey, A. del Pozo * La guaracha, F. Villoch, 1902 * La víspera de san Juan, Gua, J. B. Ubago * Las excursionistas en la Habana, F. Villoch * Tute arrastrado, M. Zardoya ;Hymns and marches * General Rojas; Gobernador Maggon's, Bnd (Ed. Artillery Corps Printing, 1908) * Himno de Bayano, Himno invasor, 1899 * Himno para el Yara * Hermanos de la Patria * José de la Luz y Caballero * La independencia * La Paz; Néstor Aranguren * The Havana Post * Tributo al Maine ;Voice and piano * A ti * A una mascarita * Acuérdate de mi * Amar es la vida * Amor y odio * Anhelos, 1903 * Any Name * Banquete, concierto y baile * Canto de amor * Dame un beso * Desde el mar * El desobediente * El desvalido * El día * El dulce beso * El estudio * El libro * El Maestro * El mar de Levante, 1912 * El mendigo * El recuerdo de la infancia * El veinte de Mayo * Es el amor la mitad de la vida * Ilusión * In memoriam * La flor marchita * La guaracha * La oración * la puerta de mi Bohío * Los caleseros * Mi bandera * Mi dulce amor * Mi patria * Perla de las Antillas * Piedad * Recuerdos del Bloqueo, rumba * Serenata criolla * Siempre tú * Solo tú * Tristezas * Tu amor es mi aventura * Tu recuerdo * Tu canción * Ven vida mía ;Piano * Ábreme la puerta * Borincana * Camagüeyana * Dulce anhelo * En el circo me verás * Florimel * Gitanilla * Íntima * Juguete español * La guajira, danzón * La hija de Oriente * La Yuquita * Lola * Mal de amor * Mi niña * Mignon * Misteriosa * Nocturno * Nostalgia * Novelita * Page of life * Para ti * Petit Minuet * Piña mamey y zapote, danzón * Por ti, * danzón * Recuerdo * Tú ves como Cuba es libre, danzón

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marín Varona, José 1859 births 20th-century Cuban classical composers 20th-century male musicians Cuban classical composers Latin music composers 1912 deaths 19th-century Cuban people

Biographical note

Professional activity

Composer

Works

See also

References