Javier Zalba

Barbarito's Dance

Barbarito's Dance is dedicated to one of the most important Cuban flute players, Barbarito Torres. The contradanza, a Cuban music style typical of the early 19th century, was influenced by French salon music and ranked among those dance rhythms that were most popular with the Cuban high society of those days. It is generally notated in binary form and has a cheerful character due to its lively pace. The piece brings into prominence the cinquillo, a rhythmic cell that is considered to be of great significance in traditional Cuban music. In its original form, this style of music did not feature improvisations; yet, the theme on hand notated in a tempo characteristic of the contradanza melts into a son montuno, which then provides the basis for the execution of improvised solos. For want of opportunities to improvise, the composition includes various solistic cycles written for the two clarinets, emphasizing - between phrases and rhythmic cells - those aspects that are essential to the performance of Cuban music.