Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes (3 April 1874, in Havana – 7 September 1944) was a Cuban composer, and an author of books on the history of Cuban folk music.Orovio, Helio 2004. Cuban music from A to Z. He was an Officer of the French Legion of Honour.
The outstanding habanera Tú, written when he was sixteen, was his best-known composition.Gordiano Lupi Mi Cuba 8896042062 2008 p199 "Habanera and danzón were the harbingers of the Argentine tango and the song "Tu" by Edoardo Sanchez had its roots in all that" As an adult, he composed the scores for the opera Yumurí, the ballet Dioné, the oratorio Navidad and the cantata Anacaona.
His writings are still charming and informative today, though their standing has suffered from an accurate criticism by later musicologists. They realized that he had systematically underestimated the contribution of the Africans in Cuba. He insisted, instead, on the supposed contribution of Cuba's original aboriginal population, which was subsequently disproved. "It is a shame that a succession of errors should have spoilt the greatest work of a man who had carried his musicianship for almost half a century with rare dignity. Because in the end...Sanchez de Fuentes will remain, above all, a composer of habaneras and songs. In a hundred years his Cuban melodies will occupy a place of honor in our traditions..."Carpentier, Alejo 2001 . Music in Cuba. Minneapolis MN. p254 (this comment by Carpentier applies to the books and also to some of the musical works)
Bibliography
El folklore en la música cubana Cuba y sus músicos Influencia de los ritmos africanos en nuestro cancionero La contradanza y la habanera Ignacio Cervantes Consideraciones sobre la música cubana Viejos ritmos cubanos La última firma de Brindis de Sala La música aborigen de América Foklorismo
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