Héctor Campos-Parsi
Encyclopedia
Héctor Campos-Parsi was a Puerto Rican composer. He studied at the New England Conservatory with Francis Judd Cooke
, he also studied with Paul Hindemith
. In Tanglewood
he studied with Oliver Messiaen and Aaron Copland
and in France with Nadia Boulanger
.
. His father was José Miguel Campos and his mother was Elisa Parsi Bernard. He only had one sibling, a sister, Mercedes Campos Parsi.
He graduated from the University of Puerto Rico
with a bachelor's degree in Humanities. He then enrolled at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México pursuing a degree in medicine, but discontinued his training there for health reasons. Subsequently, he completed a Master's degree in Humanities at the "Centro de Estudios Superiores de Puerto Rico y el Caribe
", for which he wrote a thesis
titled Unos bailan y otros lloran (Some dance and others cry).
he met composer Carlos Chávez
. On a scholarship from the Puerto Rico Department of Public Instruction, Campos-Parsi studied at the New England Conservatory of Music
in Boston. During the summers of 1949 and 1950 he trained with great composers such as Aaron Copland
and Sergev Koussevitzky. Retrieved May 19, 2010. Between 1950 and 1954 Campos-Parsi studied with Hindemith at Yale University
and with Nadia Boulanger
in Paris.
, El País, El Imparcial
, and El Día in the years following 1940. He also contributed short stories, articles and poems to two weekly magazines: Puerto Rico Ilustrado and Alma Latina. The articles included recital and movie reviews, social announcements, and publicity for the various student organizations. He also wrote articles for The San Juan Star
, The Puerto Rico World Journal, and La Torre, a magazine that he headed himself. He also published essays on Puerto Rican music in Clasicos de Puerto Rico, La Gran Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico A-Zeta (Puerto Rico from A to Z).
. Campos-Parsi composed works for orchestra and voice, orchestra and piano, orchestra and choir, cords, wind instruments, piano, violin and piano, voice, organ, and choir.
Among Campos-Parsi's last compositions for orchestra were:
For the theater he also composed the incidental music for both A Midsummer Night's Dream
by Shakespeare, and Dracula
by Bram Stoker
.
The oldest written composition by Campos-Parsi that is preserved is a waltz
in popular Latin American style. The title page was written by hand with very artistic calligraphy
. It is dated June 13, 1941, and bears the title "Elisa." It is dedicated "to my beloved mother", and the cover has an interesting photograph of the composer and his mother in front of their house in Santurce
. The style of this waltz is very similar to the popular Latin waltzes of the time. Divided into short sections that are repeated, its melodic lines have a songlike quality. This work demonstrates that Campos-Parsi's notational technique at this time was rather poor. However, despite problems with the use and cancellation of accidentals, and the rather stiff pianistic writing, the music contains some interesting harmonic ideas and compelling melodies.
award for his Sonata para violin y piano (Sonnet for violin and piano), a first-prize award in a competition presented by WIPR
as well as other awards given by the Organization of American States
and the Ateneo Puertorriqueño. Between 1956 and 1957 he continued his studies in New England
with Copland and then returned to Puerto Rico.
Campos-Parsi undertook an intense cultural promotional work as advisor to the Administration for the Advancement of the Arts and Culture and as director of the IberoAmerican Center of Musical Documentation of the Cayey University College
. He was resident composer for the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, and member of the board of directors
of the prestigious Fundación para las Humanidades (Foundation for the Humanities).
Francis Judd Cooke
Francis Judd Cooke was an American composer, organist, cellist, pianist, conductor, choir director, and professor.-Life:...
, he also studied with Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
. In Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
he studied with Oliver Messiaen and Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
and in France with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
.
Early years
Héctor Campos-Parsi was born in Ponce, Puerto RicoPonce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
. His father was José Miguel Campos and his mother was Elisa Parsi Bernard. He only had one sibling, a sister, Mercedes Campos Parsi.
He graduated from the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
with a bachelor's degree in Humanities. He then enrolled at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México pursuing a degree in medicine, but discontinued his training there for health reasons. Subsequently, he completed a Master's degree in Humanities at the "Centro de Estudios Superiores de Puerto Rico y el Caribe
Center for Advanced Studies on Puerto Rico and the Caribbean
The Center for Advanced Studies on Puerto Rico and the Caribbean is a private research institute in Old San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico that offers graduate studies in arts and philosophy. It was incorporated on February 28, 1968 by Pablo Casals, Luis Muñoz Marín, Roberto Busó Carrasquillo, and...
", for which he wrote a thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
titled Unos bailan y otros lloran (Some dance and others cry).
Musical training
In Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
he met composer Carlos Chávez
Carlos Chávez
Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez was a Mexican composer, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influenced by native Mexican cultures. Of his six Symphonies, his Symphony No...
. On a scholarship from the Puerto Rico Department of Public Instruction, Campos-Parsi studied at the New England Conservatory of Music
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...
in Boston. During the summers of 1949 and 1950 he trained with great composers such as Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
and Sergev Koussevitzky. Retrieved May 19, 2010. Between 1950 and 1954 Campos-Parsi studied with Hindemith at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
in Paris.
Journalism
Campos-Parsi wrote articles for several newspapers: El MundoEl Mundo (Puerto Rico)
-History:El Mundo was founded in 1919 by Romualdo Real.In 1929, former corrector-turned-administrator Angel Ramos and journalist José Coll Vidal, bought the newspaper when Real retired. In 1946 Ramos was the sole owner of the newspaper.-Acquisitions:...
, El País, El Imparcial
El Imparcial
El Imparcial, founded in 1918, was a Puerto Rican newspaper.In the 1970s Miguel A. García Méndez bought the newspaper. The building where the newspaper was run then was destroyed by political sabotage in a fire...
, and El Día in the years following 1940. He also contributed short stories, articles and poems to two weekly magazines: Puerto Rico Ilustrado and Alma Latina. The articles included recital and movie reviews, social announcements, and publicity for the various student organizations. He also wrote articles for The San Juan Star
The San Juan Star
The now-defunct The San Juan Star was an English-language, Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The newspaper was published by Star Media Network, a subdivision of San Juan Star, Inc., which once owned San Juan City Magazine, El Mayagüez Star, and El Ponce Star.The...
, The Puerto Rico World Journal, and La Torre, a magazine that he headed himself. He also published essays on Puerto Rican music in Clasicos de Puerto Rico, La Gran Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico A-Zeta (Puerto Rico from A to Z).
Compositions
Campos-Parsi's major works include Divertimento del Sur for string orchestra with flute and clarinet solos, and the piano work Sonata in G, dedicated to pianist Jesus Maria SanromaJesús Maria Sanromá
Jesús María Sanromá was a Puerto Rican pianist. He is considered by many to be one of the 20th century's most accomplished and important pianists.-Early years:...
. Campos-Parsi composed works for orchestra and voice, orchestra and piano, orchestra and choir, cords, wind instruments, piano, violin and piano, voice, organ, and choir.
Among Campos-Parsi's last compositions for orchestra were:
- in the Music-for-Camera genre:
- Variaciones sobre un tema de Mozart (Variations on a Theme from Mozart)
- Turey-areyto
- Imágenes del encuentro (Images of the Rendezvous)
- in the Music for four solos and piano genre:
- Los Sonetos Sagrados (Sacret Sonnets)
- El Libro de Matilde (The Book of Matilde)
- in the Music for Grand Orchestra genre:
- La Calinda (a ballet)
- in the theatre genre he composed:
- Los Hechos Desconocidos (The Unknown Facts - a series of 10 vignettesSketch comedyA sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
) - Laboratorio de Ideas (Laboratory of Ideas)
- Una Sonrisa en la Isla (A Smile in the Island)
- Tiempo, sueño y espacio (Time, Sleep, and Space - a mixed work of electronic music)
- Los Hechos Desconocidos (The Unknown Facts - a series of 10 vignettes
For the theater he also composed the incidental music for both A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
by Shakespeare, and Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
by Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
.
The oldest written composition by Campos-Parsi that is preserved is a waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
in popular Latin American style. The title page was written by hand with very artistic calligraphy
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
. It is dated June 13, 1941, and bears the title "Elisa." It is dedicated "to my beloved mother", and the cover has an interesting photograph of the composer and his mother in front of their house in Santurce
Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Santurce is a district of San Juan, Puerto Rico.-Summary:Santurce is one of the top ten most populated areas of the island holding Miramar, Loíza, Isla Grande, Barrio Obrero, and Condado as main cultural hot spots for art, music, cuisine, fashion, hotels, technology, multimedia, film, textile and...
. The style of this waltz is very similar to the popular Latin waltzes of the time. Divided into short sections that are repeated, its melodic lines have a songlike quality. This work demonstrates that Campos-Parsi's notational technique at this time was rather poor. However, despite problems with the use and cancellation of accidentals, and the rather stiff pianistic writing, the music contains some interesting harmonic ideas and compelling melodies.
Awards and honors
In 1954 he received the Maurice RavelMaurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
award for his Sonata para violin y piano (Sonnet for violin and piano), a first-prize award in a competition presented by WIPR
WIPR
WIPR may refer to:* WIPR-TV, a television station licensed to San Juan, Puerto Rico* WIPR , a radio station licensed to San Juan, Puerto Rico* WIPR-FM, a radio station licensed to San Juan, Puerto Rico...
as well as other awards given by the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
and the Ateneo Puertorriqueño. Between 1956 and 1957 he continued his studies in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
with Copland and then returned to Puerto Rico.
Campos-Parsi undertook an intense cultural promotional work as advisor to the Administration for the Advancement of the Arts and Culture and as director of the IberoAmerican Center of Musical Documentation of the Cayey University College
University of Puerto Rico at Cayey
The University of Puerto Rico at Cayey is a state university located in the municipality of Cayey, Puerto Rico.-General information:The University of Puerto Rico at Cayey is among the fifty U.S...
. He was resident composer for the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, and member of the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the prestigious Fundación para las Humanidades (Foundation for the Humanities).