Música chilena: archivos MIDI y textos.

Chilean folkloric music: MIDI and texts

Folklore represents the feelings and history of a nation, but it is sometimes difficult to understand different traditions, costumes; even more difficult with food or language. But music has always been regarded as an universal language, expressed and understood by most people of the world in an easier way.

My country, Chile, has a rich tradition of folkloric music, with profound roots in Spanish tradition, and also with Argentine and Mexican influences. There are many genres in Chilean music. Some of them are:

Cueca: The national dance of Chile. Known also as Zamacueca, and as Marinera (which means "dance of sailors") in Perú, as it was exported from Valparaíso (Chile) to El Callao (Perú) by the sailors of the last two centuries. It is generally in a rhythm of 6/8; it is a quick dance, sung, with accompainment of piano, guitars, accordions (sometimes other instruments). The most popular are La Rosa y el Clavel (The rose and the carnation), Adiós, Santiago Querido (Goodbye, dear Santiago), La Consentida (The spoilt girl) -Winner of the Viña del Mar Festival-, Chicha de Curacaví (Chicha of Curacaví), El Guatón Loyola (Loyola, the fat man), and Los Lagos de Chile (The Lakes of Chile).

Tonada: A more general style of composition, in which the strict metric rules of the cueca are not needed. Most of tonadas have accompainment of guitar, piano, or both, but other instruments are not excluded. Most of tonadas survive as part of the purest chilean folklore, and not by creation of the great Chilean musicians. Some of the greatest tonadas are Río río (River, river!), El rodeo (The rodeo), Fiesta Linda (Beautiful feast), Tonadas de Manuel Rodríguez (Manuel Rodríguez' Tonadas), El delantal de la china (The employee's overall), Chile Lindo (Beautiful Chile), Manta de tres colores (Tricolor Poncho), Mi Banderita Chilena (My dear Chilean flag), Bajando pa' Puerto Aysén (Going down to Puerto Aysén), and many, many more.

Waltz: obviously in 3/4, Chilean Waltz is an intermediate state between the popular and folkloric Peruvian Waltz and the melancholic and styled Argentine Waltz. Has nearly the same accompainment as the Tonada. The most famous are Si vas para Chile (If you ever go to Chile) -the most famous chilean song-, La Joya del Pacífico (The Jewel of the Pacific Ocean) -Valparaíso-, El Lobo Chilote (The Sailor of Chiloé), and ¡Qué pena siente el alma! (What a pain feels the soul!).

Other great Chilean folk styles are the sajuriana, the cachimbo (dance from the North of Chile, commonly related to the Andes range), the mapuchina (with harmonic and melodic base in the music of the Mapuches indians, the ferocious inhabitants of precolombine central Chile), the refalosa (an older style, popular in the times of Spanish colonization), the estilo, the Chilean polka, the trote (also from the Northern Chile), and others of lesser importance. However, there is one of a singular importance, which mixes all 20th century influences: the canción (song). With the base of Chilean traditions, gathers new, foreign styles, so canciones can have many different aspects and textures.

Texts and MIDI files

Himno a la victoria de Yungay, canción militar (Texto: Ramón Rengifo - Música: José Zapiola)

Qué dirá el Santo Padre, trote (Violeta Parra)

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