Performance Guide to the Songs of Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes

The purpose of this study is to provide teachers, students, coaches and professional performers with a performance guide to the habaneras, romanzas and canciónes of Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes. Sánchez de Fuentes wrote approximately 200 songs in his lifetime. His compositional style has proven to be appropriate for singers of all levels. Due to lack of accessibility, his music is not as well-known as other Spanish language composers. This study includes a historical overview of the political relationship between the United States and Cuba and the history and development of Cuban music. The overview traces events relevant to Sánchez de Fuentes’ music. The biography is based on a compilation of available sources. To assist the performers and teachers the songs have been categorized into three levels of difficulty: moderately easy, moderately difficult and difficult. Each song was also analyzed and performance suggestions were provided. Appendices include a list of songs, an International Phonetic Alphabet for Spanish language, a danza lineage chart and the music scores of music not available through a publishing company or public domain