- Not to be confused with the habanero pepper.
The habanera (from the Cuban Capital "Havana", which in Spanish is La Habana), a most popular music genre at the end of the 19th century, originated in Cuba and spread all over the Spanish colonies and subsequently to Europe. Many French musicians composed beautiful habaneras, Saint-Saëns among them. The famous aria from the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet was adapted from the habanera El Arreglito," originally composed by the Spanish musician Sebastián Yradier.[1] Bizet used the melody in the belief that it was a folk song. When he was made aware that it had been written by a composer who had died only ten years earlier, he added a note to the vocal score of Carmen, acknowledging its source.[2]
It is based on a descending chromatic scale followed by variants of the same phrase in first the minor and then the major key, corresponding with the vicissitudes of love expressed in the lyrics. In live performances, after singing the concluding words of the song (prends garde à toi!),[3] Carmen tosses a flower to Don José. Later on, in the celebrated Flower Song,[4] Don José tells how he treasured the flower while in prison.
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French
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Translation in English
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See also
- Habanera for a discussion of the history of the habanera.
Notes
External links
- Text and translation at Aria-Database.com. The translation is a metrical one that tries to preserve the rhythm and meter of the original over nuance of meaning. For instance, the phrase prends garde à toi! is translated there as keep guard of yourself, whereas a more direct translation might be simply watch out!.
- Habanera: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
- El Arreglito: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
- A piano solo version of the song "Habanera"
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