Carlo Curti Explained

Birth Date:1859 5, mf=yes
Birth Place:Gallicchio, Italy
Death Date:[1] [2]
Death Place:Mexico City, Mexico
Nationality:Italian
Occupation:Mandolinist, violinist, xylophonist, music educator

Carlo Curti (6 May 1859 – 8 May 1922), also known as Carlos Curti, was an Italian musician, composer and bandleader. He moved to the United States whose most lasting contribution to American society was popularizing the mandolin in American music by starting a national "grass-roots mandolin orchestra craze" (that lasted from 1880 until the 1920s).[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

He also contributed to Mexican society in 1884 by creating one of Mexico's oldest orchestras, the Mexican Typical Orchestra. The orchestra under his leadership represented Mexico at the New Orleans Cotton Exhibition.[8] As with his Spanish Students, Curti dressed his Mexican band in costumes, choosing the charro cowboy outfit.[8] [9] The patriotic value of having Mexico represented on the international stage gave a boost to mariachi bands (which had normally been repressed by social elites); the mariachis began using charro outfits as Curti's orchestra had done, expressing pride in being Mexican.[9] [10] Curti's Orquestra Típica Mexicana has been called the "predecessor of the Mariachi bands."[11]

He was an orchestra leader, composer, educator at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música (Mexican National Conservatory of Music), xylophonist, violinist, mandolinist and author of a mandolin method. He directed the orchestra at the New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel in his later career.[12]

Also known as a composer of zarzuelas and dance music, among his most noted tunes are "La Tipica" and "Flower of Mexico".[13] His brother was harpist Giovanni (Juan or John) Curti, who also was a member of his orchestra.[5] [6]

Spanish Students (1880–1884)

Curti was born in Gallicchio, province of Potenza, Basilicata.[14] About five years after he arrived in the United States (c.1875), Curti saw the opportunity to imitate one of the great acts of his day, the Estudiantina Figaro, also known as the Estudiantina Figueroa or "Spanish Students" troupe, a costumed, dancing, bandurria-playing group from Spain that was touring in the United States (as well as the United Kingdom and parts of South America in the early 1880s).[3] [15] [16] Curti had experience in show business, working with a small traveling opera, along with his brother John.[3] He took advantage, figuring that people wouldn't see the difference when he (an Italian) pretended to be Spanish. He even started using Carlos, instead of Carlo.

He established a group similar to the Spanish Students, but made up of Italians playing mandolins (because of the similarity to violins, which they knew). The group blatantly used the Spanish Students' name while touring the United States.[3] [16] He later admitted what he had done, and started another group or changed his groups' name to the "Roman Students".[16]

The imitators' use of mandolins helped to generate enormous public interest in an instrument previously relatively unknown in the United States.[17] They left an impression on the people who saw them, and the mandolin, rather than the bandurria became established in the United States and Europe.[3]

Mexican Typical Orchestra (1884–1887)

Beginning in 1884

Curti took his knowledge of the elaborate costumed performances he had participated in and organized since coming to the United States, and created a new show in Mexico, what became the Orquesta Típica Mexicana (Mexican Typical Orchestra). The Mexican Typical Orchestra was originally conceived by the salterio player Encarnación García and bandolónist Andrés Díaz de la Vega but its creation was consolidated in the hands of its director and founder, xylophone player and composer Carlos Curti, in August 1884.[8]

It initially consisted of 19 musicians, most of them from the Conservatorio Nacional de Música (Mexican National Conservatory of Music) and distributed as follows:[8] [18]

First concert

The orchestra debuted Saturday night September 20, 1884 at a private concert, held at the Conservatory Orchestra's Theatre and alternated in the concert with the Conservatory Orchestra.[21] The Mexican Typical Orchestra played the following five works during the third part of programming:[8] [18]

Presidential endorsement

This concert was attended by the president of Mexico, General Porfirio Díaz, who at the time named the group "Orquesta Típica Mexicana".[8] [21] The president was interested in supporting the group, because he had issues during his election campaign in which his opponents used folk music as propaganda against him.[22] The president wanted to bring order and stability and modernity to Mexico, and music was one of the tools he used.[23] The "Aires Nacionales Mexicanos" (Mexican National Tunes) put together by Curti along with ethnic instruments like the salterio impressed the General.[22] [21]

The orchestra toured Mexico, the United States and Europe.[8] [22] They gave performances in several places in the Mexican capital.[21] The orchestra performed at the Arbeu Theater in a performance dedicated to the Honorable Foreign Colonies and to the Mexican students; this was also an audition, performed on December 3, 1884, and of Carlos Curti's arrangement of "Mexican National Tunes" was endorsed.[21] As a result, the orchestra was invited to perform at the New Orleans Universal Expo.[21] Over the next three years the band made several tours; the first to the United States, starting for the Universal Exhibition in New Orleans and continuing to New York and several cities in the US. The second tour started in January 1886, visiting Zacatecas on January 8, and then again the US, Canada and Cuba returning to the City Mexico in July 1887.[21] The band disintegrated abruptly in the city of Puebla, and little is known of its fate after so sudden dissolution.[21] It was understood that the musicians who should return to their academic activities at the National Conservatory of Music that had been abandoned during the touring.[21] Among these was Mr. Curti, who later dedicated himself to conduct the orchestra Circo Orrín.

The orchestra after Carlo Curti

The Mexican typical orchestra would continue in 1901 with conductor Juan Velázquez, who was with the orchestra and Carlos Curti during his second tour.[21] The third lead was Miguel Lerdo de Tejada who organized it as the Orquesta Típica Lerdo in 1901. The orchestra is still in existence, after 120 years, and was declared a "Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Capital" (of Mexico) on May 31, 2011.[24]

Last years

After fourteen years in Mexico, Curti returned to New York in 1897.[25] At the beginning of the 1900s, he was conductor of the Waldorf–Astoria Orchestra for several years. He also formed another group called "Orquesta Mexicana Curti" with whom made recordings for Columbia Records in 1905, 1906 and 1912. His later life was marked by tragic events: he suffered financial difficulties and his wife Carmen shot herself on January 28, 1914, after he had lost his job at the Waldorf-Astoria.[13] Then Curti came back to Mexico City, where he committed suicide in 1922.[13]

Works

Not merely an imitator, Curti was a multi-instrumental musician and a composer as well. He published sheet music as early as 1880 in New York, but also published extensively in Mexico.[26] [27]

Recordings

Victor

His compositions were recorded 10 times on Victor Records.[30] including:

Columbia

Zonophone

Modern

Among modern reinterpretations are:

See also

References

External links

Spanish Students

These links are about two groups performing under the name "Spanish Students" that were identifiable by their promoter's name. The links are limited to those two groups, even though there were other groups using the name.

Abbey and Hickey, the first Spanish Students, and Humpty Dumpty

Carlo Curti's Spanish Students

Carlo Curti's Roman Students

Reappearance of Carlo Curti's version of the Spanish Students

Mexican Typical Orchestra

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FindAGrave . Cárlos Curti. Cárlos Curti BIRTH 6 May 1859 Gallicchio, Provincia di Potenza, Basilicata, Italy DEATH 8 May 1922 (aged 63) Mexico City, Cuauhtémoc Borough, Ciudad de México, Mexico BURIAL Panteón Civil de Doloresm Miguel Hidalgo, Miguel Hidalgo Borough, Ciudad de México, Mexico PLOT Zone "C" of which there are two zones...According to an article published by "El Excelsior" on May 9, 1922, front page, he died by suicide at 123 Calle de Doctor Liceraga, in Mexico City..
  2. Web site: Family Search . Carlos Curtis Vital • Mexico, Distrito Federal, Civil Registration, 1832-2005. México, Distrito Federal, Registro Civil, 1832-2005, 10 May 1922.
  3. Book: Sparks, Paul . 1995 . The Classical Mandolin . Oxford . Oxford University Press . 26–27 . 978-0-19-517337-6.
  4. Web site: Carlo Curti discovered in New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957. Ancestry.com. 2016-04-23.
  5. Web site: Charles Curti discovered in 1880 U.S. Federal Census. Ancestry.com. 2016-04-23.
  6. Web site: Carlos Curti discovered in 1910 U.S. Federal Census. Ancestry.com. 2016-04-23.
  7. Book: Shepherd . John . Horn . David . Laing . Dave. Wicke . Peter. 3. 2003 . Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World Part 1 Performance and Production, Volume 2. A&C Black . 444 . 9781847144720.
  8. Web site: Programa de Cómputo para la Enseñanza: Cultura y Vida Cotidiana: 1900-1920, Historia de México II Primera Unidad: Crisis del Porfiriato y México Revolucionario 1900-1920, La música y el teatro popular de 1900 a 1920 . Chavez . Humberto Dominguez . Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México . September 9, 2015 .
  9. Web site: Mariachi y su Historia. mariachi-sanandres.com. September 18, 2015. Rural festivities called "fandangos" or "Mariaches" extended for two or three days of celebration with alcoholic beverages as tequila, elements such as music and were highly despised by the upper classes. Even in 1901 the state government of Michoacan tried to ban the mariachi...Carlos Curti...had the idea to dress as cowboys musicians ...the mariachi costume concept begins to take shape.. . https://web.archive.org/web/20151126052414/http://www.mariachi-sanandres.com/#!historia/citr. 2015-11-26. dead.
  10. Web site: El Traje de Charro . . October 22, 2013 . mariachisinlosangeles.com. September 18, 2015 . Charro attire was taken very seriously by the association because it was to commemorate the strength and patriotism of their country...One thing is certain… that traje de charro is not to be taken lightly. Its symbolism is justified by the years of conflict and honorable prestige that the country of Mexico has gained.....
  11. Castillo. Manuel M.. 2014. Italian and Spanish works of Mexican composers: Maria Grever, Ignacio Fernandez Esperon "Tata Nacho," and Agustin Lara. The University of Kentucky UKnowledge, Thesis and Dissertations, Music. The University of Kentucky. 20. September 8, 2015. The Orquesta Típica is the predecessor of the Mariachi bands and is the same orchestra that Tata Nacho conducted from 1960-1968..
  12. Book: 1908. A Novel Idea . Musical Courier, vol. 57. 63. March 24, 2019.
  13. Web site: Carlos Curti (1859-1926) . mandoisland.de. August 4, 2018 .
  14. Web site: Curti, Carlos. Dickson. Jean. 2010. Oxford Music Online. 10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2085000. 978-1-56159-263-0. August 3, 2016.
  15. http://sharing.ancestry.com/7334118?h=fb0c1d Carlos Curti in the 1910 United States Federal Census Year: 1910; Census Place: Manhattan Ward 12, New York, New York; Roll: T624_1027; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 1420; FHL microfilm: 1375040
  16. Dickson. Jean. Mandolin Mania in Buffalo's Italian Community, 1895 to 1918. Journal of World Anthropology: Occasional Papers. II. 2. 1. 8 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402143811/http://wings.buffalo.edu/research/anthrogis/oldsite/JWA/V2N2/Dickson-art.pdf. 2015-04-02. dead.
  17. . Jean Dickson, University at Buffalo (SUNY) . Mandolin Mania in Buffalo's Italian Community, 1895 to 1918 . Journal of World Anthropology: Occasional Papers . II . 2 . 2006 . 1–15 . 2015-09-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402143811/http://wings.buffalo.edu/research/anthrogis/oldsite/JWA/V2N2/Dickson-art.pdf . 2015-04-02 . dead.
  18. Book: de Olavarría y Ferrari, Enrique . 1895 . Reseña histórica del teatro en México, Volumes 3-4 . La Europea . 408–409 .
  19. Web site: Dulcemelos rescata música de la Independencia y de la Revolución . Ontiveros . Elvia Alaniz . excentricaonline.com . September 15, 2015 . According to his research, he noted that in 1884 the first Typical Orchestra was created in Mexico City, which was the first harp teacher Maria Encarnacion Garcia. The director Carlos Curti started writing some arrangements and parts which already included the psaltery... . https://web.archive.org/web/20160312234345/http://www.excentricaonline.com/libros/contexturas_more.php?id=7993_0_16_0_M131 . March 12, 2016 . dead .
  20. Book: Loza, Steven Joseph . 1993 . Barrio Rhythm: Mexican American Music in Los Angeles . registration. University of Illinois Press . 15 .
  21. Web site: Remembering Daniel Zarabozo, History of the Music in Mexico, 1964. . Zarabozo . Raúl . 2000 . September 9, 2015 . This text for this web-page source was taken mainly from "De los Mixcoacallis a la Orquesta Típica" (Selection of Texts, Chronologies and Notes of Fernando Muñoz), Mexico, 1987..
  22. Book: Oorts, Paul . World Mandolin: La Tipica . 1 . 2015-09-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091414/http://archive.mandolinsessions.com/feb08/Oorts.pdf . 2016-03-04 . dead .
  23. Web site: Mexican Folk Music Final. . quizlet.com . September 19, 2015.
  24. News: Concierto de Orquesta Típica, en Museo José Luis Cuevas . . March 13, 2015 . SIPSE.com . September 10, 2015 .
  25. . Major and Minor . Musical Record . Boston, Massachusetts . Oliver Ditson Company. January 1897 . Deland. Lorin F.. September 11, 2015. Señior Carlos Curti, who was the conductor of "Curti's Original Spanish Students," and later of the "Mexican Typical Orchestra," has returned to New York City, after a residence of fourteen years in Mexico. Señior Curti performs on several instruments, but at present makes a specialty of mandolins..
  26. Web site: Notated Music Parting [and] Skating by moonlight ]. . The Library of Congress . Library of Congress . September 10, 2015 .
  27. Web site: Curti, Carlos 1861-1926 . . composers-classical-music.com . September 9, 2015 .
  28. . White, Smith and Company's Monthly Bulletin of New Music . Folio. White, Smith and Company . August 1892 . September 11, 2015. MY IRISH HOME Carlo Curti 40(cents) Words by Joe A. Burgess. Mr Curti is the well-known leader the Spanish Students, and is composer of much merit..
  29. Book: . Catalogue of Title Entries of Books and Other Articles Entered in the Office of the Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress, at Washington, Volume 34. US Treasury Department . 116. 1903.
  30. Web site: Carlos Curti (composer) . . Discography of American Historical Recordings . UC Santa Barbara . September 9, 2015 .
  31. Book: Estudiantina Walzer ;La tipica polka . . Columbia Records . 874907107 . September 10, 2015 .
  32. Book: La Tipica . . 1910 . Columbia Records . 456583097 . September 10, 2015 .
  33. Web site: Zonophone 508 (10-in. single-faced). adp.library.ucsb.edu. July 3, 2020.
  34. Web site: Los Alegres de Terán – Los Alegres de Terán . discogs.com. July 11, 2020.
  35. Web site: Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán - Bailando Polkas . discogs.com. 1963 . June 28, 2020.
  36. Web site: Various Artists - Conjunto!: Texas-Mexican Border Music, Vol. 1 . allmusic.com. June 28, 2020.
  37. Web site: Nashville Mandolin Ensemble - All the Rage, Mandolin Ensemble Music . allmusic.com. June 28, 2020.
  38. Web site: Terry Waldo - Let It Shine. allmusic.com. June 28, 2020.
  39. Web site: The Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra - Unplugged since 1900. milwaukeemandolinorchestra.org. June 28, 2020.
  40. Web site: The Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra - Videos. milwaukeemandolinorchestra.org. June 28, 2020.

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