Latin-American Dance Music and Romantic Compositions
Jay Fenner
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The character and identity of South American classical music is not easily defined within the larger canon of Western classical music. While many may look to more recent 20th-century composers with deep influence from baroque chamber music such as Heitor Villa-Lobos to embody the identity of Latin-American classical compositions, many may not recognize that Villa-Lobos’ influences are just as equally rooted in the South American dance and popular music of the time. The same can be said for many late-Romantic era South American composers, whose solo piano works and chamber compositions featured more influence from regional dance and folk music than they did from European baroque conventions. While many 19th-century Latin American classical composers drew inspiration from European operas and keyboard works, later Latin American composers suggest that the character and identity of South American classical music primarily derived from popular dance rhythms and folk music as opposed to European Romantic-era music.
Defining set characteristics to the over encompassing genre of Latin American music proves itself to be extremely difficult considering the broad diversity of dance styles and rhythms which the term covers. Designating modern Latin American music to a limited frame of syncopated rhythms and progressive harmonies proves itself to be irresponsible, as doing so negates the regional differences between approaches and styles throughout Central and South America. For instance, referring to a specific jazz standard as “a Latin style” often leads to miscommunication between musicians. One performer may interpret this tune as a Brazilian samba, while another may interpret the tune as an Argentinian tango. While both styles of music exist within the overarching category of Latin American dance music, their simplification to the category is heavily misleading. It is important to discuss the differences between the regional dance music of South America, as their differences directly correlate to the highly varied forms of popular music they would inspire. Rock, jazz, and hip-hop are all prominent forms of popular music that have been influenced by the syncretic dance styles of the South American rhythms and melodies which came before them. However, it is also important to understand that these dance styles did not only influence the popular music of their future, but the popular classical music of their present.
Federico Villena was a Venezuelan composer who accurately represents the influence of popular dance music on the late Romantic-era compositions. Villena moved to Caracas in 1853 and spent six years in the city struggling to find work. It was only after moving to the port city of La Guaira in 1859 that he was able to take up work as a band director in the area. Becoming much more mentally and financially stable, Villena moved to Ciudad Bolivar in 1865, taking up work as the founder and director of the city’s established concert band. His works became well-known through the band’s performances, and his catalog would go on to feature over 100 different pieces for the concert band. However, while not as prominent, the genre his catalog was primarily made up of was not concert band and wind ensemble works, but short solo piano pieces which incorporated many elements of the Venezuelan Joropo llanero, which would later become the country’s national dance in 1882. This video is a short performance from a small dance ensemble performing an example of the Joropo llanero. A few notable characteristics to observe in the performance is a heavy waltz-esque feel that is backed by repeated strumming rhythms in the bandola to emphasize the pocket and groove of the dance.
These piano pieces included specific characteristics of the Joropo, such as waltz-esque figures and rhythms which invoked a strong sense of movement and forward motion to many of the pieces (Walker, 2019). Even his grandiose concert band compositions often featured similar musical aspects of the dance, notably interesting harmonies and chromaticism. Many sections of these pieces were often orchestrated with lighter, more intimate sections that would emulate the feeling of a smaller band performing at a community dance. While Villena was a relatively obscure composer in the larger musical canon of the Romantic era, his contributions towards South American wind band music were foundational in establishing the connection between the popular Venezuelan dance and folk music, and the grander classical compositions of the time.
Many of Federico Villena’s compositions are often performed predominantly by South American musicians. This video is a performance of Villena’s Quinteto en Mi bemol Op. 76 (Quintet in Eb). The description of the video notes that the orchestration of the piece is unusual, featuring violin, viola, cello, double bass, and piano. Notably, Villena used the same orchestration in this piece as Franz Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A major, otherwise known as the Trout Quintet.
Many characteristics of Venezuelan dance music are utilized throughout the four movements presented within the piece, such as progressive harmony and waltz-like dance rhythms. The second movement, Andante Maestoso, (which begins at 7:55) immediately employs interesting chromatic harmony consistent with common Joropos and Venezuelan hall waltzes of the time. Another notable characteristic of this piece is how it utilizes a modified theme and variations as its form, with each instrument (excluding the cello) introducing a new variation with a short solo. The emphasis on instrumental solos throughout the piece is reminiscent of smaller dance ensembles, which usually consisted of violins and bandolas. This practice of introducing variations between different instruments in a small ensemble effectively emulates the conversational and improvisatory elements of these dance ensembles. While the initial character of the movement may be described as calm or meditative, the violin introduces a lively variation on the main motif (at 10:25) that immediately raises the energy of the movement, altering the melody into a related major key and utilizing rhythmic staccato hits from the piano. This sudden upbeat shift in mood allows the accents in the cello and double bass accompaniment to become more pronounced, effectively introducing a sense of motion and groove to the piece. This section closely resembles the Venezuelan Gaita Zuliana, a style of Venezuelan folk and dance music which often features a strong emphasis on quarter-note downbeats, while guitar upstrokes and syncopated drum figures emphasize the rhythmic pocket of the dance. An excellent example of a modernized version of the dance is Nestor Zavarce’s Faltan Cinco pa ‘las doce (It’s five to twelve), which was recorded in 1963 and faithfully captures the energy and groove of the traditional style.
Returning to Villena’s quintet, the third movement, Minuetto, (which begins at 14:52) opens with upbeat waltz figures that more closely resemble the Joropo llanero influences commonly associated with Villena. The movement’s trio section (introduced at 16:16) maintains the 3-feel associated with the waltz yet employs a downtrodden tone to the original motive which contrasts sharply with the lively and bright figures introduced at the beginning of the movement. The trio also effectively utilizes chromatic harmonies that add a sense of tension to the newly introduced character of the movement. However, the original energetic mood of the movement is immediately reintroduced, resulting in many interesting passages of the movement which employ varied dynamic characteristics between its ideas.
While many of Villena’s grander compositions utilize these diverse characteristics of dance music, it is also important to examine his solo piano compositions. As previously stated, these short piano pieces made up much of his compositional catalog, and more overtly display common dance and folk conventions of the time. The following is a performance of one of Villena’s many solo piano works, “¿Sí, o no?”, performed by pianist Juanc Meier.
While this performance is extremely short at one minute and a half in length, it clearly communicates its influences. This piece consistently maintains the Venezuelan waltz’s 3-feel while integrating more dynamic and expressive motives associated with the improvisatory aspects of the aforementioned Gaita Zuliana. The light contrapuntal accompaniment in the left hand accentuates the energy and groove of the melodic motives in the right hand, emulating a Gaita Zuliana in a subtle accompaniment comparable to a bandola accompanying a violin in a small dance ensemble. Many of Villena’s piano works serve as an effective examination of his ability to interpolate the conventions of Venezuelan dance and folk music into his grander and more lengthy compositions. We could consider these short piano pieces as basic displays of these ideas, which would later be more effectively implemented in his larger concert band works.
Another composer who effectively utilized the conventions of popular music at the time in her own compositions is Brazilian composer Chiquinha Gonzaga. While many of her contributions to the classical music canon would later go on to lay the foundation for more contemporary styles of Brazilian folk and dance music, many of her earlier pieces utilize early 19th-century forms of Brazilian dance music, such as the Brazilian Choro. Born Francisca Edwiges Neves Gonzaga in 1847, Chiquinha Gonzaga was born into a wealthy family and received a substantial education in literature, math, and piano. She worked as an independent musician for much of her young adult life, gaining popularity in Rio de Janeiro with her compositions of polkas, tangos, and waltzes. Her career eventually led to her performing in various Choro dance ensembles in the city, further influencing her musical upbringing. In 1877 she composed her first successful composition, the polka, Atrente. The piece shared many characteristics with choro dance music, which was a burgeoning style of music among prominent composers in the city. While the polka is already considered to be a form of popular dance and folk music, many of her South American dance music influences created a unique character for the piece, which further contributed to her popularity as a composer.
A notable characteristic of Atrente is its interesting use of harmony. Many of the melodic lines presented in the right hand utilize passing tones, which add both color to the piece as well as imply chromatic harmony. This use of chromatic and colorful harmony was popular with tangos and other Argentinian forms of dance music at the time. This enhanced the unique characteristics and variations presented in the piece. However, the most striking aspect of the piece is its creative use of rhythm. The first idea which the piece introduces, is accompanied by a rhythmic figure that requires the left hand to emphasize both eighth notes on the second beat of each measure. This emphasis is set up by an eighth note, followed by a sixteenth note rest and a sixteenth note to emphasize the downbeat. This figure is extremely common in polka music and effectively exemplifies the character by heavily leaning into the half-tempo 2-feel commonly associated with the dance. The left hand continues this rhythm until the next idea is introduced, and the entire groove of the piece is changed drastically. At measure 23 (at 0:46 in the performance), the left hand suddenly implies a quick 4-feel by simply removing the downbeat of beat 2, resulting in an extremely syncopated figure that immediately invokes cross-rhythm conventions of Argentinian tangos.
The new melodic idea presented in the right hand accentuates this change, featuring dramatic sixteenth-note arpeggios which clearly emphasize the 2/4 feel of the piece while the left hand implies a much quicker and energetic groove. These arpeggios are broken up by a staccato sixteenth-note figure, which uses repeated notes beginning on weak beats to enhance the syncopation of the left hand’s accompaniment. Immediately following this staccato figure, the right hand immediately introduces a new rhythmic idea, plainly emphasizing each eighth note to clash with the left hand’s syncopated figure. This rhythmic alteration once again implies a more energetic groove, as now the 2-feel of the polka has been completely replaced with the driving rhythmic conventions of the Cuban Habanera. This idea of rapidly shifting rhythmic ideas would later heavily influence Brazilian choros, and in a later blog post more of Chiquinha Gonzaga’s works will be analyzed to emphasize characteristics that would be instrumental in cementing the popularity of choro music within the Brazilian mainstream.
Returning to the original sentiment expressed at the beginning of this post, grouping every style of Latin-American music into a single genre or category ignores the history and characteristics of each form of music. Notably, in the canon of classical music, this practice is irresponsible, especially seeing as how many distinct dance and folk conventions influenced prominent aspects of grander classical compositions. This is not to say by any means that the realm of South American classical music is influenced solely by the popular music of the region it was composed in, seeing as many 19th-century Latin-American composers clearly took influence from Romantic-era European composers, however, these styles and conventions contributed heavily towards defining the overall character and identity of compositions within this canon.
Works Cited
Argémone Producciones, “Frederico Villena, Quinteto en Mi bemol”, YouTube Video, 25:26, November 10, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld2dcGYvRHU.
Carlos Humberto Zapata, “Cinco pa’ las doce – Nestor Zavarce”, YouTube Video, 2:59, December 20, 2008, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul_CDJlmxLI.
Instituto Piano Brasileiro – IPB, “Chiquinha Gonzaga – Atraente (Maria Tesera Madeira, piano)”, YouTube Video, 2:16, March 12, 2017,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8rB0ofBYR8.
Juanc Meier, “FEDERICO VILLENA - ¿SI O NO? [Musica venezolana instrumental]”, YouTube Video, 1:27, July 10, 2020,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMlRVh2Moyg.
Open Sauce Guitar, “Joropo Music from the Plains of Venezuela”, YouTube Video, 0:59, July 11, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQjYlBzffzY.
Reis, Silvanio. "Chiquinha Gonzaga, Brazilian Musical Trailblazer." PhD Diss., Temple University, 2019,
https://scholarshare.temple.edu/handle/20.500.12613/3463.
Walker, John L. "Instrumental Music in 19th-Century Venezuela, Part One." Latin American Classical Music. January 21, 2019. Accessed February 22, 2021,
https://blog.cayambismusicpress.com/instrumental-music-in-19th-century-venezuela-part-one/.
Jay Fenner
Jay Fenner
Jay Fenner majored in jazz studies at UMBC, and is interested in working through the music industry in management and promotion.
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