MPUS 15800 2 credits. TR 1:10 - 2
Latin American Music Workshop is an exploration of the music from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, with emphasis on Latin American styles: Mexican, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and Argentinean music. Aspects of each musical tradition and culture, and its stylistic features and patterns will be performed, analyzed, and illustrated in class
The Workshop is open to all instrumentalist and vocalists, as well as composers interested in arranging and scoring. It includes lectures, reading and listening assignments, as well as a great component of performances, transcription, arrangement and score creation. There will be recording exercises as well as recording projects.
Proceeding from Spanish, Portuguese and African traditions, the class covers first the historical and social context involved in the development of many Latin American hybrid styles. Son, Mambo, Samba, Tango, are just some of the different types of music that evolved from those cultural traditions. The course concludes with a lecture recital of music by Latin American masters such as Piazzolla, Ginastera, Ponce, Chavez,Villa-Lobos, Camargo Guarnieri and others. Dealing with the composers' sources of inspiration, matters of instrumentation, tempo, rhythm, note grouping, ornamentation and general expression are addressed individually and as they interrelate to create a stylistically informed performance.