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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 101-125 of 331 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-24507 10-in. 10/4/1920 Los muertos de esa tumba no están muertos Floro y Miguel Male vocal duet, with guitar composer, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor B-24508 10-in. 10/4/1920 Maldito orgullo Floro y Miguel Male vocal duet, with guitar composer, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor B-24509 10-in. 10/4/1920 La china hortensia Floro y Miguel Male vocal duet, with guitar composer, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor B-24510 10-in. 10/4/1920 Estás en el ten conten Floro y Miguel Male vocal duet, with guitar composer, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor B-24511 10-in. 10/4/1920 Mujer a gozar Floro y Miguel Male vocal duet, with guitar composer, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor B-24512 10-in. 10/4/1920 Me voy para España Floro y Miguel Male vocal duet, with guitar composer, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor B-30836 10-in. 9/22/1924 Ay, Teresa! Juan De la Cruz ; Bienvenido León Male vocal duet, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Victor B-30837 10-in. 9/22/1924 Vamos al rio a coger camarones Juan De la Cruz ; Bienvenido León Male vocal duet, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Victor B-30838 10-in. 9/22/1924 Suena, suena la guitarra Juan De la Cruz ; Bienvenido León Male vocal duet, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Victor B-30839 10-in. 9/22/1924 Falsas mujeres Juan De la Cruz ; Bienvenido León Male vocal duet, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Victor B-30840 10-in. 9/22/1924 Mujer, que ahi viene tu marido Juan De la Cruz ; Bienvenido León Male vocal duet, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Victor B-30841 10-in. 9/22/1924 La negrita garzona Juan De la Cruz ; Bienvenido León Male vocal duet, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Victor BVE-33422 10-in. 9/21/1925 El demonio son los hombres Juan De la Cruz ; Bienvenido León Male vocal duet, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Victor BVE-33423 10-in. 9/21/1925 Dulce y sabrosa Juan De la Cruz ; Bienvenido León Male vocal duet, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Victor BVE-33424 10-in. 9/21/1925 Los curas gallegos Juan De la Cruz ; Bienvenido León Male vocal duet, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-33425 10-in. 9/21/1925 Marcha carabalí Juan De la Cruz ; Bienvenido León Male vocal duet, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-33426 10-in. 9/21/1925 La pintura blanca Juan De la Cruz ; Bienvenido León Male vocal duet, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Victor BVE-33427 10-in. 9/21/1925 José Miguel Juan De la Cruz ; Bienvenido León Male vocal duet, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor XVE-48236 10-in. 12/6/1928 Guajiras Eusebio Delfín ; María Luisa Morales Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra composer  
Victor H-3 10-in. 1/4/1911 Linda claro Floro y Cruz Male vocal duet, with guitar composer  
Victor H-17 10-in. 1/6/1911 Mis anhelos Floro y Cruz Male vocal duet, with guitar lyricist, composer  
Victor O-23 10-in. Mar. 1907 ¡No te rías! Adolfo Colombo ; Pilar Jiménez Female-male vocal duet, with bandurría and guitar lyricist, composer  
Victor O-25 10-in. Mar. 1907 Clave de el tiunfo del bolero Adolfo Colombo ; Pilar Jiménez Female-male vocal duet, with string quartet lyricist, composer  
Victor L-26 10-in. 3/15/1913 Ya ves que me muero Blanca Vázquez ; F. Villamil Female-male vocal duet, with mandolin and guitar instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor H-40 10-in. 1/7/1911 Tuya es mi vida Colombo y Marín Male vocal duet, with mandolin and guitar composer  
(Results 101-125 of 331 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Villalón Morales, Alberto," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/113130.

Villalón Morales, Alberto. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/113130.

"Villalón Morales, Alberto." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/113130

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