Vicente Emilio Sojo (December 8, 1887 – August 11, 1974) was a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

, educator and composer, born in

Guatire Guatire is a city in Miranda (state), Miranda, Venezuela. In 2006, its population has been estimated at 200,417. Today, Guatire has virtually merged with its neighbour, Guarenas forming the Guarenas-Guatire conurbation. Located in Miranda Sta ...

, Miranda.

Biography

Vicente Emilio Sojo was born to a musical family. Most notable was the fact that both his great-grandfathers were Chapel Masters. In 1896 he began musical studies under professor Régulo Rico. In 1906 he moved to

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, where in 1910 he entered the School of Music and Declamation, while simultaneously continuing his self-taught studies in Humanities; in this period he began composing his first musical works. In 1921 he was appointed Music Professor in the School of Music and Declamation. He kept on composing works of diverse sorts for different instrumental and vocal combinations. In 1928, in the occasion of the foundation of the Orfeón Lamas, he wrote his first polyphonic opus. In 1930 he already was Conductor of the Orfeón Lamas and had founded the

Venezuela Symphony Orchestra The Venezuela Symphony Orchestra () is an orchestra in Venezuela, founded in 1930. They perform at the Ríos Reyna concert-hall in the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex. See also *Venezuelan music Several styles of the traditional music o ...

, of which he was not only conductor-founder, but a resolute and constant driving force. In 1940, together with other composers he prepared the first song book for Venezuelan children. In 1944, the first promotion of composers graduated under Sojo in the

José Ángel Lamas José Ángel Lamas (August 2, 1775 – December 10, 1814) was a Venezuelan classical musician and composer born in Caracas. He was the main representative of the classical period in colonial Venezuela. Author of the immortal sacred piece, ''Pop ...

school of music. Maestro Sojo also involved himself in domestic politics: he was one of the founders of the

Accion Democratica Democratic Action (, AD) is a Venezuelan social democratic and centre-left political party established in 1941. The party played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, leading the government during Venezuela's first democ ...

Party (AD) in 1941. In 1958 was elected senator of the Republic by the

Miranda state Miranda State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela and the second most populous after Zulia State. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 2,675,165 residents. It also has the greatest Human Development Index in Venezuela, according to ...

and was re-elected in 1963. Vicente Emilio Sojo can be regarded as one of the main creators of the modern school of Venezuelan music. For the Orfeón Lamas, he compiled and he harmonized more than 200 songs of popular and national folklore, achieving a significant rescue of the Venezuelan musical tradition of the last centuries. Among his most important works are: Chromatic Mass (1922–1933) and Hodie Super Nos Fulgebit Lux (1935). In 1951 was granted the National Music award as recognition for his work. Sojo's pupils include

Alba Quintanilla Alba Quintanilla (born July 11, 1944) is a Venezuelan composer, harpist, harpsichordist, pianist, singer, conductor, and pedagogue. Biography Quintanilla was born in Mérida, Mérida, and had her first contact with music through her parents, e ...

and

Ana Rugeles Ana Mercedes Asuaje de Rugeles (8 August 1914 - 21 April 2012) was a Venezuelan composer and music educator. She produced programs for the National Radio of Venezuela and was a founding member of the Little Mavare Orchestra, the Schola Cantorum de ...

Works

* 1911 ''Himno a Bolívar'' * 1912 ''Romanza sin palabras'' * 1913 ''Cuarteto en Re,'' for strings * 1914 ''Partitura para festiva'' * 1914 ''Tres motetes para la iglesia Santa Capilla'' * 1915 ''Misa Coral'' * 1918 ''Salve Reina'' * 1920 ''Obertura Treno'' * 1922 ''Ave María'' * 1923 ''Misa Cromática'' * 1924 ''Ocho responsorias y un Te Deum'' * 1925 ''Palabras de Cristo en el Calvario'' * 1926–1927 ''27 canciones de ayer'' * 1928 ''Por la Cabra Rubia'' * 1929 ''Requiem Inmemorian Patris Patriae'' * 1930–1933 ''Misa Breve'' * 1935 ''Misa a capella en honor a Santa Efigenia y a su fallecida esposa'',''La Noche, La Carretera, Rondel Matinal'' and ''Hondie nos Fulgebit Lux'' * 1939 ''Tres canciones infantiles'' * 1952 ''Tres piezas para guitarras'' * 1953 ''Misa para Santa Cecilia'' * 1958 ''10 canciones infantiles venezolanas'' * 1964–1969 ''9 Canciones infantiles''

Bibliography

*Oscar Mago: ''Sojo, un hombre y una misión histórica'' Type: Spanish : Book Publisher: Caracas : Ediciones de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela, 1975. OCLC: 13353468

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sojo, Vicente Emilio 1887 births 1974 deaths People from Guatire Venezuelan classical musicians Venezuelan composers Venezuelan male composers 20th-century male musicians Venezuelan musicologists