In reality, I wanted to talk to you about another famous composition by LM Gottschalk, Bamboula, but I only had one incomplete performance at the end.
Therefore, with a quick "cat-like" tail flick, I dedicate this chat to another great piece, Souvenir de Porto Rico, Marche des Gibaros, belonging - as, for example, Souvenir de l'Havana, Le Mancenillier - to the "West Indian Souvenirs".
Gottschalk, born in the USA, was rejected at a very young age from the Paris Conservatory by Zimmermann (Pierre) without an audition, as according to him "the USA is a land of steam engines and railways, and not of musicians!"
LM overcame this setback, as many others did in his life, helped in this by an enormous musical talent and uncommon charm (the relevance of women to success!).
His being American, or rather - taking into account the dominance of Romantic aesthetics and the gross ignorance of Europeans regarding America - was an asset, since his music was exotic for the dominant aesthetic and, therefore, full of charm. It is no coincidence that many of his European compositions appeared with the name: Louis Moreau Gottschalk de la Louisiana, something the author enjoyed, also to spite the aforementioned Zimmermann.
Among those who admired the originality of its musical narrative, I cite Hector Berlioz, who declaimed its curious Creole and Negre mixtures.
The March was written by Gottschalk in 1857, during a vacation with the singer Adelina Patti in Puerto Rico. It is based on a folk song performed by local peasants, called Jibaros (the Hispano-Indian mixed-race person is called Jibaro).
Regarding the environment in which he composed the piece, Gottschalk said: "I was perched on the edge of a crater and my room overlooked the country. Every evening I moved the piano onto a terrace and played only for myself, inspired by what I saw."
In his music, we see the march winding its way before LM's eyes from one end of the country to the other, mimicked by the rhythm and volume, first increasing, then decreasing.
The piece consists of the repetition of two themes accompanied by a traditional march rhythm: the first is taken from a popular song and is introduced softly; the second theme (melancholic Pag. 178) provides the contrast, moving to a higher register in a major key and acting as an echo of an unexpressed sorrow. The themes repeat in variations of increasing dynamics and more complex rhythms until the climax, then return to an increasingly softer exposition of the themes. The mixture of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and the use of various examples of European virtuoso style create a piece of incredible rhythmic complexity, producing a sound that was unprecedented at that time.
