Index of Composer Abbreviations

Encyclopedic Discography of Cuban Music 1925-1960

Cristóbal Díaz-Ayala

To maximize use of data space, more than 300 of the well-known composers were identified by their initials in the index that immediately follows. Since we used initials for composers in the already published first volume of this work (1898-1925), there are some cases in which the initials used in the first volume for a specific composer were given to another composer for this new work. We list the following cases, with the first name being from the first volume, and the second name corresponding to the new work.

This change should not be terribly confusing since the periods covered are different, aside from the fact that in the first volume most of the abbreviations refer to performers and not composers. The composers in question are Romeu, Faílde, Puig, Valdés-Torres, Maury, Marín Varona, and López.

All composers with abbreviations are Cuban unless there is a nationality abbreviation in parenthesis after the name. For example: Alvaro Carrillo (me), is from Mexico.

As explained earlier, it's important to note that the initials appearing in the area indicated by (2) on the discographic entry for each performer correspond to other performers related to the principal performer, and whose initials are only used in the column (11) of that specific discographic entry, and not in the rest of the work of the main performer. In our prrevious example, where the performer is the group called Grupo Afrocubano Lulu-Yonkori de Rodríguez Zayas, one of the singers of the band, Carlos Embale, appears with the initials CE, which is used in Column (11), and listed exclusively for the instances in which Embale sang with this group. For this specific use of initials used for different main performers there is no index compiled, because they are being used for a specific performer or performing group. The initials CE, when they are being used for a composer correspond to Claudio Estrada, and they will be used in Column (10), each time a performer is using a composition written by Claudio Estrada, and those initials can be found among the list of composers.

In the case of names of composers that appear in the primary sources (discs, record covers), or secondary sources (record label archives, catalogues), we have included them. But when composer names were not available, we have used the General Index of Composers of the FM. In addition, we have used books called "Cancioneros" (Compilation Song Books) which contain lists of songs with their composer and lyrics. Such is the case, for example, with the Cancionero by Carmencita Delgado de Rizo, Ediciones Gamma, Third Edition, Bogotá, Colombia, the Cancionero Mexicano published by Editores Mexicanos Unidos, 2nd Edition, Mexico, 1982, 4 Vols., and many others.

Even then, we have found instances where composers cannot be identified; or others where there is doubt, because a song with the same title might have two different sets of lyrics. In still other cases we have ammended incorrect information about composer information which has appeared on some recordings.

We must also warn users that on occasions we have not employed the established abbreviations to identify the more than 300 composers on the abbreviation list, and so they appear with their entire names fully written out. It is exceedingly difficult to have complete control when handling so many thousands of compositions.

It is possible that names of Cuban composers that are less well-known were omitted, and also whose compositions might have been recorded by non-Cuban performers outside of Cuba. Again, it is difficult to track so many hundreds of composers.

A further observation on dates is necessary, which we have tried to complete as faithfully as possible. All the recordings in 78 that do not have a date, are traceable when they deal with small recording labels during the period from 1942 to the late fifties.

As explained before, when LP recordings first began, compilations of 78s of a given peformer were made and with those recordings an LP was assembled. With consolidation of LP production, the process was inverted. From an LP, numbers or songs were edited to be released on 78s or 45s, mostly to keep alive the market of victrola owners that existed in the 1950s.

Just to give an idea of that interrelationship, one can see that on some LPs, particularly those released by the "Gema" and "Puchito" labels, we have placed -in some instances- to the left of song titles, numbers that correspond to 78s and 45s issued at the same time as the LPs, for the reason previously stated.

This, of course, usually indicates that these were numbers in high demand by the listening public, or at least that was how the respective recording labels saw it.

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