Silvano Boudet Gola

Violinist and composer. He had an intense participation in the musical life of his native city. Author of religious music and of the contradanza "La retozona"

He was born in Santiago de Cuba, former province of Oriente, on November 17, 1828. He died in the heroic city on March 9, 1863. A skilled violin performer, he also directed the orchestra of the Santiago de Cuba cathedral.

Nephew of musician Pedro Boudet. He received awards in Paris. He composed religious music. He is the author of the contradanza "La retozona". He had an intense participation in the musical life of his native city.

According to Laureano Fuentes Matons, at the:
«Centro Theater several lyric-dramatic performances were held, at times when the zarzuela was still unknown in this city; among them we will mention, the one on December 21, 1849, in which Silvano Boudet gave a concert, opening the scene with a symphony composed by him; the famous drama in two acts: El protestante, by students of the declamation academy, Prumme's Melancolía performed on violin by Boudet; La Colasa, by Matilde Domínguez; Agua va, El churrú and the cavatina from Atila, by Ventura Mur; varied air on the flute by Antonio Pujáls, variations on AnaBolena, on piano, by Ramón Aguabella; the Carnival of Venice on violin by Silvano Boudet [...]».

Due to lack of sufficient economic support to study in Paris, Boudet submitted a petition to the Captain General of the island requesting permission to hold a benefit concert on August 21, 1852, which would allow him to raise the necessary funds for his trip; with the resources obtained he was able to go to Paris.

Upon returning to Cuba, he toured Havana, Matanzas, and Bayamo. On May 17, 1857, he accompanied in Santiago de Cuba the American pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk and soprano Adelina Patti; moreover Boudet performed his fantasy El ave entre las flores, for violin and piano.

Regarding his work Primera lección de difuntos, Pablo Hernández Balaguer noted:
«...it is an extremely interesting work of singular beauty. The instrumentation shows a real influence of the classical orchestra and Spanish bands, since it is formed by the traditional strings and woodwinds of the former, in addition to some instruments typical of bands such as the figle [...], as well as the pair of clarinets and horns.

It is good to clarify that these pairs do not come from the classical instrumentation by twos, established by Haydn, but from Spanish retreat bands. Like Laureano Fuentes and Cratilio Guerra, two of his most distinguished contemporaries, he uses the instruments, fundamentally, to accompany the voices or, rather, to accentuate their expressiveness just as Esteban Salas did. [...].

The theme is of extraordinary tenderness and reaches six measures, which possess, along with the profound tonal sense that nourishes them, a true flavor of religious music from the early eighteenth century, or, what amounts to the same thing, something of Neapolitan opera.

There are certain harmonic similarities and melodic turns that remind us of some works by Pergolese. [...]. This work [...] constitutes an important link in the development of our musical nationality, as a vivid example of the nexus existing between the music preceding Esteban Salas and that of later generations.

This link is manifested in harmonic, melodic, and instrumental features, which we will also find in Laureano Fuentes's first compositions [...]. In reality, both the instrumentation and other features are much more conservative in Fuentes than in Boudet [...]».

Works
Song of the Canary and Carnival of Venice, variations for violin and piano
El ave entre las flores, fantasy for violin and piano
La retozona
Los gatos
Mass, for four voices: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, with orchestra;
Nocturne
Melancholic Thoughts
First lesson of the dead, for duet: tenor and bass, with orchestra
First lesson of the dead, for three voices: alto, tenor, and bass, with orchestra
Second lesson of the dead, for solo: tenor, with orchestra
Second lesson of the dead, for three voices: alto, tenor, and bass, with orchestra
Memory of my mother
Once, contradanzas

Source: Ecured