Ramón Noble - La Bamba for Organ Organ Solo - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1812497

"La Bamba" from Tríptico Mexicano Ramón Noble (1920-1999) Edward Poston, organ A traditional huapango song, La Bamba is often played during weddings in Veracruz, where the bride and groom perform the accompanying dance. The dance displays the newlywed couple’s unity through their execution of complicated, delicate steps in unison, as well as the couple using only their feet to create a bow with a listón, a long red ribbon. The name of the dance, which has no direct English translation, is presumably connected with the Spanish verb bambolear, meaning “to shake” or perhaps “to stomp.” The arriba (literally, “up”) part of the song suggests the nature of the dance, in which the footwork, called zapateado, is done faster and faster as the music tempo accelerates. A repeated lyric is, “Yo no soy marinero, soy capitán,” meaning “I am not a sailor, I am a captain.” (Veracruz is a maritime locale). The song is best known in American pop culture from a 1958 adaptation by Ritchie Valens, which became a Top 40 hit in the U.S. charts.
The arranger, Ramón Noble (1920-1999), was a Mexican organist, prolific composer, and chorus master. Born in Hidalgo, Mexico, Noble was the founder and chorus master of the Coral Mexicano del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (National Institute of Fine Arts). He held this position from the choir's founding in 1956 until his death in 1999. This piece typifies Noble's ability to combine Mexican nationalistic themes, dances, and rhythms. It begins with soft flute sounds and ends with a fiery toccata texture. This recording features the 1996 Hellmuth Wolff organ at the KU Bales Organ Recital Hall played by Edward Poston, a DMA student in Organ and Church Music. Edward’s mother is from Mexico City.