Giovanni Enrico Aberle Sforza, better known as Juan Aberle, (11 December 1846 – 28 February 1930) was an Italian conductor and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

who lived in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

Biography

Born in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, at eleven years of age, his obvious affinity for music led him to be enrolled in the Neapolitan Conservatory against the wishes of his parents, Heinrich Aberle and Angela Sforza. After completing his studies he went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he was an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

for five years. Later, he undertook a musical tour of

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. Upon arriving in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

, he paused to establish a philharmonic society and music conservatory, which he directed from 1873 to 1879. He then went to El Salvador and established a music school. While there, he composed the music for the Himno Nacional de El Salvador. Later, the Salvadoran government named him director of "La Banda de los Altos Poderes". Because of his advanced age, he retired from public life in 1922. He died in El Salvador in 1930. His preferred instrument was the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. He composed a large quantity of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

and made transcriptions of opera

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

s for the piano. His march in honor of Francisco Morazán was declared the "National March" in 1882. He wrote two operas, of which "Ivanhoe" (based on the novel by

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

), is the best known. He also wrote a textbook, "Tratado de Armonía, Contrapunto y Fuga". He died in

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

The Salvadoran national anthem

Aberle and General

Juan José Cañas Juan José Cañas Pérez (9 June 1826 – 19 January 1918) is known for possibly having written the ''Himno Nacional De El Salvador'' (national hymn of El Salvador) along with Italian-born composer Juan Aberle. Cañas studied medicine at uni ...

(who wrote the lyrics) originally received no compensation for their work. Twenty-three years later, on 4 April 1902, the President,

Tomás Regalado Tomás Regalado may refer to: * Tomás Regalado (American politician) (born 1947), retired American politician and former mayor of Miami, Florida * Tomás Regalado (Salvadoran politician) Tomás Regalado may refer to: * Tomás Pedro Regalado (bor ...

, and the

Legislative Assembly of El Salvador The Legislative Assembly ( es, Asamblea Legislativa) is the legislative branch of the government of El Salvador. Structure The Salvadoran legislature is a unicameral body. It is made up of 84 deputies, all of whom are elected by direct popul ...

awarded a gold medal to each of them, along with an expression of national gratitude.

References

External links

Commemorative stamps, honoring the 100th anniversary of the Salvadoran National Anthem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aberle, Juan 1846 births 1930 deaths Italian composers Italian male composers Italian expatriates in El Salvador Italian expatriates in Guatemala National anthem writers