Rafael Álvarez Ovalle was a Guatemalan musician and composer born on October 24, 1858 in San Juan Comalapa. He died at the age of 88, on December 26, 1946, in Guatemala City.
Álvarez stood out for mastering various musical instruments, including the flute, the guitar, the piano, and the violin.
In addition, in his career as a composer, his authorship of the national anthem of Guatemala stands out.
Throughout his life he received a large number of tributes from the government of the country, as well as various awards and recognitions.
After his death, the government of Guatemala declared a national mourning and paid for his funeral in full.
Biography
Rafael Álvarez Ovalle was born in the city of San Juan Comalapa in 1858. His father, Rosendo Álvarez, was the director of the music school in his city; was the first to start educating him in music.
When his father died in 1874, Rafael replaced him as music director at the Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa school, where he had been working since 1871. During this time Rafael married Anita Minera de García, with whom he had 8 children.
Later, in 1879, he went to the capital of Guatemala to continue his musical studies and quickly learned to play the flute and the picolo.
In this period he also began to play in the Martial Band under the direction of Emilio Dressner, who saw his potential and decided to help him.
Under Dressner's tutelage, Rafael began to learn harmony and instrumentation, and began to create his first compositions. This relationship lasted until 1885, when Dressner returned to Germany.
In 1887 Rafael participated in a contest to choose the music for the national anthem of Guatemala.
In this edition of the contest, the lyrics by Ramón Pereira Molina had been chosen, and the score chosen to accompany it was that of Rafael Álvarez. At this time the composer was only 28 years old.
However, the result of this contest was never made official, so several years later, in 1896, a contest was reopened to choose music and lyrics for the hymn.
Despite the fact that the chosen lyrics were different (this time written by an anonymous author), Rafael Álvarez won again with his music.
The choice of the anthem was made official in February 1897, and it was performed for the first time in March of that year at the Colón theater: the students of the National Conservatory of Guatemala sang it under the direction of Rafael.
During his life the composer founded several orchestras, among them the Central American College and the female orchestra of the Central Normal Institute for Señoritas Belén.
He received several tributes throughout his life, and after his death the government declared a day of national mourning.
Contributions
One of his most outstanding contributions was his great work to spread the typical Guatemalan music.
It also highlights the composition of the music of the national anthem of Guatemala, and other Guatemalan waltzes and sounds of great importance to this country.
In addition, he founded several orchestras throughout his life, integrating young people and promoting the importance of musical training in Guatemala.
As a professor at the National Conservatory of Music, Rafael Álvarez had a strong influence on the student body and was a precursor to the formation of various musical groups, always with the main purpose of propagating the music of Guatemala.
References
- "Rafael Álvarez Ovalle" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: December 19, 2017 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
- "Rafael Álvarez Ovalle" in: Biographies and Lives. Retrieved on: December 19, 2017 from Biographies and Lives: biografiasyvidas.com
- "Biography of Rafael Álvarez Ovalle" in: Learn Guatemala. Retrieved on: December 19, 2017 from Aprende Guatemala: aprende.guatemala.com
- "Biography of Rafael Álvarez Ovalle" in: Deguate. Retrieved on: December 19, 2017 from Deguate: deguate.com
- "Biography of Rafael Álvarez Ovalle" in: Search Biographies. Retrieved on: December 19, 2017 from Busca Biographies: Buscabiografias.com