José Martí and his exaltation of music
“Colour has limits: the word, lips, music, heaven. Which is true and never ending: music is forever beating in space.”
By Daylina Morales Escobar daylina@metropolitana.icrt.cu
The articles José Martí dedicated to music, in comparison with other arts like painting or literature, make believe those who do not know his works in depth that he was not attracted by it. This is totally erroneous, since looking into his work, you find the immense respect he had for it.
Once he said “a poem or a painting can suggest, due to the genius of art, a reality which is beyond the symbols shaping it, but music is in all that ineffable world: nothing has to be suggested because it is suggestion itself.”
Behind these words which awake various feelings, we find Martí full of compassion, which is not in contrast with the likeness of a hero, a politician, a speaker, who arrives and invades with his altruism, Martí: is human.
According to some historians music is not the topic where he stated wide criteria in his life and work. But he tried to understand the pieces of art which caused him to reflect. The interest in music accompanied him mostly during his extend exile in the United States, Mexico, Madrid and Paris. In all those countries and cities he could enjoy outstanding soloists and express his views in rich chronicles.
For instance: he qualified with adjectives some virtuosos of classic music like Bach saying that he was “wild”, Händel “impressive”, Beethoven “mystic”, also through his musical preferences the romantic taste for Chopin, Wagner, Berlioz is expressed.
He enthused over opera, he went to Madrid twice to see one by Meyerbeer, and overenthusiastically he wrote on his notebook, “I have Meyerbeer for Miguel Ángel and Shakespeare in music. Genius of strength, in laughter, in hate, in tenderness. Is’nt maybe the fourth act of the African woman the most imposing and perfect piece of music ever.”
Then he thus wrote during a presentation by composer and orchestra conductor Wagner “when the majestic orchestra began playing, with filial devotion, the epic music, it seemed like white birds were arising from baskets in flames and ardent nymphs of untied hair and round arms, wrapped in clouds, flew across the dark and humid air, riding golden horses.”
Other publications portraying the treatment of the music by the Apostle is “Theoretical treaty of music”, by Narciso Téllez y Arcos, dated in 1868, had his signature on one of its pages, the curiosity is that Alejo Carpentier found this book while he was reviewing didactic texts by authors from the 19th century.
Under the “Orestes” pseudonym, Martí published three articles related to the renowned Cuban musician and violinist José White in the Revista Universal of Mexico between May and June 1875.
In some of these critics we read: “music is the most beautiful expression of beauty: whispering, lulling, exalting, moaning, crying: the soul joins in a bow: the ear subjugates, raptures, enchains.”
As a conclusion, we can say that from his point of view, music is made to be felt, Cuban masters José Domingo Brusquet, Manuel Saumell, Pablo Davernine and Nicolás Espadero gave him his musical education.
Translated by ESTI