Within Cuban music are smaller categories such as the son which has a significant African rhythm section, and was the foundation of salsa music. There are many different types of son, for example son-montuno, afro-son and guajira-son. ‘Se quema la chumbamba’ is an example of a son-montuno, one specific feature is the long instrumental improvisation section at the end leading to the climax. There is also the Cuban bolero, independent of the Spanish bolero, which originated in Santiago de Cuba. This style of music is a dance in duple time, with a prominent guitar and tres accompaniment. ‘Alla va candela’ begins as a Cuban bolero, and then merges into a son-montuno. Other types of Cuban music include the rumba and danzón.
‘Se quema la chumbamba’ begins with an introduction played by the cuatro, a short melodic line that is repeated throughout the piece, this is the guajeo. This is played once on its own, and then twice with the rest of the accompanying instruments- the percussion section, double bass and guitar. The use of a repetitive guajeo in the accompaniment and as the introduction is typical of a son, and can be heard in ‘Marieta’ by Ibrahim Ferrer and ‘Candela’ by the Buena Vista Social Club. In contrast, in the introduction to ‘Allá va candela’, that of a bolero, the cuatro is not fixed and although it often repeats, it also pre-empts the melody and is slightly improvisatory. This structure reflects many boleros, such as ‘Pensamiento’, also by the Familia Valera Miranda, and ‘Mi sufrimiento’ by Argentina Villena and Pepe Sanchez.
The accompanying melody played by the cuatro differs between the two songs, as with the two styles of dance. In the son, the guajeo is made predominantly of rising and falling thirds, following the chords, a balanced four bar phrase reflecting the similar balance in the shape of the following vocal melodies. In the guajeo to ‘Se quema la chumbamba’, the upward G minor arpeggio and dominant 7th descent grounds the tonality and the extreme syncopation makes it light and easy to listen and dance to. It forms the accompaniment under which the pregón can vary. In ‘Castigador’, by Sierra Maestra, the cuatro melody is similarly built from notes of the triad, however during the verses it changes to support and reflect the singing and more candential-sounding parts. The cuatro melody in the introduction of ‘Allá va candela’ is based on all the notes of the E major scale, and is much more lyrical and free. This can be heard in the opening flute melody in ‘Tristezas’ by José Pepe Sanchez.
After the introduction in ‘Se quema la chumbamba’, there is an 8-bar phrase sung by the pregón answered by an 8-bar phrase sung by the choro. This repeats 6 times, varying the material sung by the pregón. Call and response originated in Africa, and is a popular Cuban structure often used in sons like ‘De camino a La Vereda’ by the Buena Vista Social Club, or ‘Trompeta Querida’, by Sierra Maestra, which has the same repetitive guajeo, and a call and response structure between the solo trumpet and coro. On the other hand, the main structure of the bolero, as heard in ‘Alla vá candela’ consists of a lyrical solo melody that doesn’t repeat. The words of this song describe intense love which has made the singer’s eyes become a lighthouse and mouth a lantern, and so the improvisational structure of this bolero helps reflect the expressive nature of the passionate lyrics.
The lyrics of ‘Se quema la chumbamba’ describe a fire that occurred in the family in the past, and the strong grounded melody in G minor and never changing coro singing ‘Our land is burning’ portrays this drama. The pregón melody starts on the dominant or median notes, and sometimes rises to the unprepared 7th, creating dissonance, and making the resolution to the tonic more satisfying. The last bar of every four bars always consists of unsyncopated, three crotchets G- the repetition of this bar and emphasis on the tonic makes the music feel like it is going around circles. The words sung by the all-male singers’ voices (traditional of Cuban music), are clearly heard to tell the story and carry well in the slightly high tessitura.
In the son part of ‘Allá va candela’, the main melody is based around the chords of the tonic and dominant triad, and repeats with slight variations every two bars. The coro sing in response an octave E ‘Ma-ma’ on the first and final beat of every two bar phrase. Again, the repetition really emphasises the passion of the pregón and the story of him burning from intense love (perhaps the connection with fire in both songs is due to the generally passionate and dramatic nature of Andalusian music- such as flamenco). This minor and tonally centred melody is also heard in ‘La negra Tomasa’ by Los Guaracheros de oriente and the unvarying coro in ‘No me conviene tu amor’ by Celina Y Reutilio. In addition, in the album ‘Entre dos aguas’ by Paco de Lucia, a famous Spanish guitarist, songs such as ‘El vito’ can be connected to the son Cubano in the strong, fiery minor melodies.
In contrast, the melody of a Cuban bolero, for example at the beginning of ‘Allá va candela’, is as syncopated, but more lyrical and expressive, helped by the slower tempo to the son. ‘Allá va candela’ has three different melodies, none of which are repeated. During the lines ‘Corazón…se ha vuelto’, the melody becomes much more scalic and reflects the words being described, such as the word ‘tucutucutá’, which is the rumbling of the singer’s heart, which is only on one note, allowing the singer to focus on the interesting syncopated quaver rhythm before satisfyingly resolving to the tonic. The expressive nature of this bolero can also heard in ‘Veinte años’ by Maria Teresa Vera and ‘Aprende’ by Trio Matamoros. In both songs the cuatro begins with a longer solo melody introduction, similar to the verse sung by the singers. More importantly however, the cuatro goes on to accompany the verse by playing in the gaps of the vocal melody interesting scalic melodic responses. This creates a contrapuntal-like texture, and is the improvisatory feel of the cuatro part is again aided by the slower melody. This makes it very interesting to listen to, and this expressive melody went on to inspire the rumba, an example of which being ‘Rumba Pa’los Rumberos’ by Los Muñequitos De Matanzas.
After the pregón and coro melodies of the son, there is a long cuatro solo, after which, when the cuatro has found a repeated pattern and settles into a loop there is a shorter bongo solo before the singers enter for a final cadence. The melody of the cuatro solo has a very wide range, and is not restricted to notes in the key, adding chromaticism and notes, such as a C-sharp in ‘Se quema la chumbamba’ which adds an inflection of the dominant dominant 7th. The melody ranges from being stepwise and scalic to having huge leaps making it diverse and exciting to listen to. In addition, a wide variety in rhythms makes is increasingly more vivid, for example with triplets, quavers and occasional hemiolas. This is a contrast to the more normal but syncopated verse melody. The fast and lengthy improvisation towards the end of the son is typical of this Cuban music, and can be heard on many instruments, for example the violin in ‘Bruca Maniguá’ by Ibrahim Ferrer, guitar in ‘Titi, tu Kundungo quiere Papa’ by Arsenio Rodríguez or trumpet in ‘Los que son y no son’, by Ñico Saquito.
Finally, present in both styles and most other Cuban music, the African originated percussion section is prominent in the accompaniment. The maracas play mostly quavers, and the claves alternate between the 3:2 and 2:3 rhythm, a syncopated forwards-moving rhythm that balances the varying rhythm on the bongos. The bass line fits with the percussion, anticipating the beat in ‘Se quema la chumbamba’, and the son section of ‘Allá va candela’, a highly syncopated line, which contrasts the straight bass line of the bolero, which is on the beat. The 2:3 and 3:2 clave rhythm is a staple of Cuban music, carrying to Western responses such as ‘Cuban overture’ by Gershwin.
In conclusion, the son can be seen to differ from the bolero in its use of repetition of the cuatro creating the guajeo, and coro in the call and response of ‘Se quema la chumbamba’. The melody of the bolero is more expressive, and uses notes other than that of the chords, however they both consist of a lot of syncopation and up-beat dance-like melodies.
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