Orquesta Euterpe
Orquesta Euterpe
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Grupo antillano
About Orquesta Euterpe
Orquesta Euterpe was the most famous orchestra in Puerto Rico during the late '20s and '30s. Its repertoire included: danzas, danzones, bolero, waltzes and fox trots. Eventually, the band became recognized as the best interpreter of the Puerto Rican danza. La danza de Puerto Rico "Laura Y Georgina" de Juan Morel Campos. The Carmelo Díaz Soler Orchestra was organized in the 1920s. Its leader was born in Ciales, Puerto Rico. His musical training prepared him to become a military bandmaster. Young Carmelo was taught solfeggio, music theory, cornet, bass, bombardino (sax horn) and piano rudiments. He served his apprenticeship playing with the Police Force Band of San Juan and the San Juan Firemen's Band. In 1914, he organized his first ensemble, a small group called Sombras de la Noche, that provided musical background for the silent movies at the Teatro Tres Banderas. In the 1920s he changed the name of the band to Orquesta Euterpe, which eventually was expanded to Orquesta de Carmelo Díaz Soler. The group's instrumentation was designed to play danzas in their traditional style. It included: violins, bombardino (sax horn,) trumpets, saxophones, guitar, bass, piano, rhythm and vocalists. Euterpe was the most famous orchestra in Puerto Rico during the late '20s and '30s. Its repertoire included: danzas, danzones, bolero, waltzes and fox trots. Eventually, the band became recognized as the best interpreter of the Puerto Rican danza. In 1927, the Carmelo Díaz Soler Orchestra traveled to Camden, New Jersey, to record 52 tunes for Columbia Records. The majority of the songs were danzas, but the session also included some danzones and other typical rhythms. Carmelo Díaz attracted some of the best musicians and composers of his time to his band. Among the best remembered are: Rafael Alers, Jesús María Escobar, Francisco López Cruz, Juanchín Ramírez and Carmelo's own two children, Angel Luis Díaz and Miguel Angel Díaz. The orchestra was among the first in Puerto Rico to use vocalists. Angel Moreno heads a list of vocalists that includes: Mona Marti, Corozo y Pepito, Armando Ríos Araujo, Héctor Rivera and Pellín Rodríguez. It was one of the first bands to play on the radio and became a fixture in the noon program of the West Indies Advertising Company on station WKAQ. Sunday afternoons in Puerto Rico were characterized by the strains of the Carmelo Díaz Soler Orchestra playing danzas such as: Violeta and Virginia. The orchestra remained active and popular until its leader died, June 21, 1942.
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