El bambuco al piano. Principales características musicales en cuatro bambucos.

Abstract

The bambuco genre played a key role during the independence process of Colombia (1810-1819), and its following process of consolidation as a sovereign State. This musical genre had a peasant origin, and brought together cultural features of the white population, as well as characteristics of black and indigenous people. Thus, it fitted perfectly with the desperate search for a musical genre that would represent the new mestizo national identity. Therefore, the Bambuco quickly was embraced as a representation of national music; it spread out throughout different regions of the Colombian territory and was adapted to diverse musical formats and instruments. This article will do a brief summary of some of the musical elements that were preserved from the original peasant Bambuco, and the challenges that came up when it was adapted to the system of musical notation, specifically for piano. This research uses discography, interviews, transcripts, references, bibliography, as well as the analysis of four written or adapted-for-piano bambucos. Through using these sources, this investigation seeks to clarify and explain any confusion or difficulties a pianist or arranger might face when approaching the bambuco, a musical genre whose main feature is a rhythmic framework consisting of two metrics accentual oppositions that overlap (ternary - binary).