Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter
Keywords
European music, history of music, Native American music, Native American culture in Europe
Abstract
The great event of the discovery of the New World with its strange, exotic peoples was reflected not only in European literature and art, but also in all areas of music. Especially in the field of music, there are still a number of unexplained phenomena in this context, such as the chaconne, which appeared in Spain soon after the discovery of America. In 1517, the Spanish poet Torres Naharro first mentioned the "chacona" as a peasant dance song. We still don't know how this dance developed or where it came from, but even then, its possible American (Mexican) origins were pointed out. This assumption was plausible, since many elements of their culture came to the Iberian countries with the Native American slaves, just as African rhythms later came to America with Black slaves and continue to influence our music to this day. According to early Spanish authors, this first form of the chaconne was sung and danced by dishwashing maids, mule drivers, and other people on the same social level as slaves. Today, the chaconne has disappeared as a dance form. Only in the concert hall, for example, does the chaconne from J. S. Bach's Partita No. 2 in D minor for solo violin belong to the repertoire of great soloists.
Recommended Citation
Lang, Hans
(1986)
"Der lndianer in der europaischen Musik - Ausgewahlte Beispiele,"
Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter: Vol. 22:
Iss.
3, Article 6.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_newsletter/vol22/iss3/6