Ignacio Cervantes and the XIX-Century Cuban Danza

This book attempts to fill a vacuum by directing its attention to the XIX-Century Cuban Danza in which lay the beginnings of Cuban music as a distinct national expression. An understanding of the development of the Danza from a classic European figure dance to a stylized piano piece with characteristic Cuban qualities is basic to an understanding of Cuban music. The foremost Cuban composer of the Danza was Ignacio Cervantes. A study of his output is therefore basic to an understanding of Cuban music. This study seeks to penetrate the confusion and controversy surrounding the origins of the Cuban Danza and to clarify its historical and stylistic traits. The path of the Danza is traced from Europe to Cuba and its development there throughout the XIX-Century examining Cervantes’ contribution and that of the other important composers of this dance form during that period.