Poster Paper
DISCOVERING LATIN-AMERICAN SOUL TROUGH SONG & POETRY: THE LATIN-AMERICAN ART SONG REPERTOIRE
Latin-American Art Song is a repertory for voice and piano or voice and guitar known for its beauty, poetry, and enchanting
variety. The repertory consists of important poetic texts in Spanish, Portuguese and various indigenous languages set to music by
such giants as Guastavino, Leon, Villa-lobos, Ponce and Ginastera among many others.
Still relatively unknown, the Latin American Art Song repertory is beginning to achieve long overdue recognition and is emerging
as a refreshing change from traditional concert fare.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The heart of the Latin American Art Song repertory was written from the end of the 19th century to about the middle of the 20th.
The origins of the genre originate from 19th century Germany where composers such as Schubert and Schuman were writing
lieder (lit. song) for piano and solo voice.
Latin American composers were writing in a socio-cultural context being shaped by profoundly nationalistic social trends and a
fertile musical renaissance was spread throughout the Americas. At the end of the 19th century, Latin American composers
sought and found a unique sound by setting poems by “their” poets to music. The European model influenced composers
experimenting with the Lieder style but the results were clearly Latin American in language and style. The lieder model quickly
spread throughout the Americas with new and exciting interpretations at every stop.
The era of the most prolific composition of Latin American art songs started at the beginning of the 20th century, and above all in
the 1920s, when Latin American composers deliberately began to seek inspiration in popular folklore and write in their own
languages, often using texts by native poets.
Latin American art songs reflect the musical development of each country in which they were composed. There are songs that
were written during the pre-nationalist, nationalist, and post-nationalist periods. Starting with the decades of the fifties and sixties,
composers –in the majority—directed their attention to international aesthetic concerns as a way to integrate themselves into the
universal music movement.
Today, the songs reflect current trends that make eclectic use of polytonality and electronic music as well as melodic motives and
rhythms from popular and folkloric sources. The production of art songs that began at the end of the 19th century continues and
today composers from all over Latin America continue to enrich the repertory.
At the poster paper presentation the audience will learn about the origins & development of the Latin-American Art Song
repertoire and will receive general information that allow them to look for composers and resources in general.
Also Dr. Caicedo presented the Barcelona Festival of Song a Summer Program & Concert Series devoted to the study of the
history and Interpretation of the Latin-American & Spanish Vocal Repertoire. At the Barcelona Festival of Song participants have
the opportunity to learn Catalan, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese diction and interpretation as well as history, composers and
vocal literature. At the ICTV conference Dr. Caicedo launched a new website www.mundoarts.com dedicated exclusively to
promote Latin-American & Spanish Classical Music. At www.mundoarts.com singers will find all the resources and necessary
tools that allow them to perform the music of Ibero-America in Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Catalan. They will find sheet
music, IPA transcriptions, English translations of the poetry and resources to perform this rich repertoire.
| DISCOVERING LATIN-AMERICAN SOUL TROUGH SONG & POETRY: THE LATIN-AMERICAN ART SONG REPERTOIRE BY DR. PATRICIA CAICEDO
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ABOUT THE PRESENTER OF THE POSTER PAPER
Positioned as The Voice of the Latin American Art Song and described as its ambassador, Colombian-Spanish soprano and
musicologist Dr. Patricia Caicedo is the most important promoter of this genre. Besides performing, she is a recording artist and
published author who is always promoting the rich Latin American Art Song repertoire, its composers and poets. She is the
founder and director of The Barcelona Festival of Song a 11 day Summer Program & Concert Series devoted to the study of the
history and Interpretation of the Latin-American & Spanish Vocal Repertoire and is the president of Mundo Arts Inc. a company
dedicated to promote Latin-American & Spanish Classical Music.
Dr. Caicedo is the author of the pioneering books The Latin-American Art Song: A critical anthology and Interpretative Guide for
Singers (Edicions Tritó, 2005) and The Colombian Art Song: Jaime León complete works for voice & piano Vol.1 & 2 (Mundo Arts
Publications, 2009).
www.patriciacaicedo.com / www.barcelonafestivalofsong.com / www.mundoarts.com
| DISCOVERING LATIN-AMERICAN SOUL TROUGH SONG & POETRY: THE LATIN-AMERICAN ART SONG REPERTOIRE BY DR. PATRICIA CAICEDO
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