Alberto Villalón Morales
Alberto Villalón Morales (Santiago de Cuba, 7 June 1882 – Havana, 16 July 1955) was one of the greatest musicians in the Cuban trova style. He was the only one of the 'four greats' of the trova to come from a well-to-do family. Villalón and his sister América studied guitar with Pepe Sánchez, the father of the trova movement. Later, he studied classical guitar to achieve a really excellent technique. He composed his first canciones and boleros at fourteen, and moved to Havana in 1900. In 1907 he recorded on Edison cylinders. In 1908 he formed the Cuarteto Villalón with Adolfo Colombo (tenor), Claudio García (baritone), Emilio Reinoso (mandolin), and Alberto Villalón (guitar). Colombo and García were regular members of the Teatro Alhambra company; Colombo was the most recorded singer of the age. A difference between Villalón and the other early trovadors was in his guitar technique. With his training he preferred picking (punteado) instead of strumming (rasgueado), which had been the main technique previously. This gave him a wider range of harmonic possibilities and a characteristic style. He had a second career in 1927 when he became a founding member of the Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro. Alberto brought into the septet Juan de la Cruz and Benvenido León, who had been playing with him in a trio. The addition of the first really great sonero, Abelardo Barroso (1905 – 1972), made the Nacional the best group in Cuba for its time. Villalón's career, then, connected the world of trova with the world of son which became central to Cuba's popular music for the rest of the century. |
Birth and Death Data: Born June 7, 1882 (Santiago de Cuba), Died July 16, 1955
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1906 - 1940
Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, composer, lyricist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 301-325 of 331 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brunswick | 11408-11409 | 10-in. | 9/24/1923 | Esperanza | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11410-11411 | 10-in. | 9/24/1923 | Punto carretero | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11412-11413 | 10-in. | 9/25/1923 | March carbali | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11414-11415 | 10-in. | 9/25/1923 | El esclavo | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11416-11417 | 10-in. | 9/25/1923 | Tus lindos ojos | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11418-11419 | 10-in. | 9/25/1923 | Pensamiento | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11420-11421 | 10-in. | 9/25/1923 | Amparo | Villalon Trio | Orchestra | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11422-11423 | 10-in. | 9/25/1923 | Eso es un cuento | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11442-11444 | 10-in. | 9/26/1923 | Camaron apaga la luz | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11445-11446 | 10-in. | 9/26/1923 | Al son de la Loma | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11447-11448 | 10-in. | 9/26/1923 | Si viene la China me voy | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11449-11450 | 10-in. | 9/26/1923 | Amor immenso | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11451-11452 | 10-in. | 9/26/1923 | Dime que has hecho | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11453-11454 | 10-in. | 9/26/1923 | Que te day una Paliza | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11481-11483 | 10-in. | 9/29/1923 | Flores negras | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11484-11485 | 10-in. | 9/29/1923 | Neurosis | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11486-11487 | 10-in. | 9/29/1923 | Adios mujer | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11488-11489 | 10-in. | 9/29/1923 | Los pobres de la tierra | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11490-11491 | 10-in. | 9/29/1923 | El fantasma del suicidio | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11492-11493 | 10-in. | 9/29/1923 | La enredadera | Pedro Martínez | Male vocal solo, with guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11494-11495 | 10-in. | 9/29/1923 | Voy á partir | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11496-11497 | 10-in. | 9/29/1923 | Salvame dios mio | Pedro Martínez | Male vocal solo, with guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11557-11558 | 10-in. | 10/8/1923 | Neurosis | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11559-11560 | 10-in. | 10/8/1923 | Adios mujer | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Brunswick | 11561-11562 | 10-in. | 10/8/1923 | Pensamiento | Villalon Trio | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Villalón Morales, Alberto," accessed October 11, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/113130.
Villalón Morales, Alberto. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 11, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/113130.
"Villalón Morales, Alberto." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 11 October 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Alberto Villalón
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Villalón Morales, Alberto, 1882-1955 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2006079346
Wikidata: Alberto Villalón - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2831849
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.