The hypothesis of this study is that there are Afro-Cuban rhythmic elements that bear a marked similarity to African rhythmic elements. Concepts and terminology borrowed from ethnomusicological studies of African rhythm may contribute to an understanding of Afro-Cuban rhythmic characteristics, and how the sum of these characteristics within a given musical work may produce an identifiably Afro-Cuban rhythmic style. Previous studies of Cuban music, however, had not analyzed Afro-Cuban rhythmic characteristics in depth with reference to concepts found in analyses of African rhythm. / A Cuban musical repertory was chosen for analysis because of the documented high survival of African rhythmic characteristics in the island's music. The published vocal works of Caturla and Roldan were chosen because as art-music composers who consciously wrote nationalist, folk-inspired music, and who were aware of research into Afro-Cuban music and ethnography, there was a high likelihood of finding a fair sampling of Afro-Cuban rhythmic elements in their music. / The following rhythmic characteristics were chosen as potential determinants of an Afro-Cuban rhythmic style: call-and-response form, polymeter, polyrhythms, vertical and horizontal hemiolas, rhythmic cells, use of silent downbeats, additive rhythm, time-lines, and metric modulation. The analytical method consisted of re-notating and re-scoring selected passages so that the genuine sense of audible Afro-Cuban rhythmic characteristics could be revealed, unencumbered by the preconceptions of Western notation. / The study showed that nearly all of the characteristics could be found in both composers' works. Call-and-response form and metric modulation were absent from Caturla's works. The analytical method used here provides illuminating insights into Caturla's and Roldan' s use of rhythm. The method may also be applicable to other Afro-Cuban works, as well as other musics showing an African influence. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-06, Section: A, page: 1937. / Major Professor: Robert Smith. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76431 |
| Contributors | Lezcano, Jose Manuel., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 173 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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