Juan Morel Campos (16 May 1857 – 12 May 1896), sometimes erroneously spelled ''Juan Morell Campos'', was a Puerto Rican composer, considered by many to be responsible for taking the genre of danza to its highest level. He composed over 550 musical works before he died unexpectedly at age 38.

Early years

Morel Campos (full name: Juan Nepomuceno Morel Campos) was born in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

, to Manuel Morel Araujo, from the Dominican Republic, and Juana de Dios Campos Collazo, from Venezuela. He began to study music at the young age of eight in his hometown under the guidance of Antonio Egipciaco. Morel Campos was a student of Puerto Rican composer and pianist Gonzalo de J. Núñez (1850 - 1915), whose students also included the internationally known musicians and composers

Manuel Gregorio Tavárez Manuel Gregorio Tavárez Ropero (November 16, 1843 – July 1, 1883), was Puerto Rico's classical and danza composer. He has been called "The Chopin of America". Early years Tavárez was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the son of a French father ...

and

Arístides Chavier Arévalo Arístides Chavier Arévalo (3 September 1867 –1942) was a Puerto Rican pianist, modernism composer, musicologist and music author from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Early years and schooling Chavier Arévalo was born in Ponce on 3 September 1867. In ...

. Morel Campos learned to play practically every

brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin a ...

and eventually became one of the founders and directors of the "Ponce Firemen's Band" (La Banda de Bomberos del

Parque de Bombas The Parque de Bombas ( en, firehouse) is a historic former fire station in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is one of Puerto Rico's most notable buildings, with some considering it "by far the most easily recognized landmark in the Island." It is locat ...

de Ponce). The legendary band was later renamed the

Ponce Municipal Band The Ponce Municipal Band (Spanish: ''Banda Municipal de Ponce''), also known as ''Centenaria Banda Municipal de Ponce'', is the band of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The band is the oldest continuously-performing band in the Caribbean ...

First composition

Later, Morel Campos became a student of the composer Manuel Gregorio Tavárez, "The Father of the Danza". Campos' first danza composition was called "Sopapos". The influence of Tavárez, plus the particular style developed by Morel Campos can be listened to in his music today. Morel Campos had his own dance orchestra, "La Lira Ponceña." Most of his danzas were written for dancing. He modified his compositions so that they may also be played on piano. Morel Campos is best known for his danza compositions, but he also composed

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

es,

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 libr ...

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning co ...

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

and

overture Overture (from French language, French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Be ...

s. Women and the theme of love inspired most of his musical compositions. His great love was a lady named

Mercedes Arias Mercedes Arias (1862 – 7 January 1954) was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican musician and composer from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Among her compositions are ''"Renacimiento"'' (Renaissance), and ''"Flores y Perlas"'' (Flowers and Pearls). Profess ...

, but her family did not approve of their relationship. It was from that frustrated "love" that many of Morel Campos's beautiful ''danzas'' were born, with "''Maldito amor''" (Damned Love) as an example. Among his other best-known compositions were "Felices días" (Happy Days), "No me toques" (Do Not Touch Me), and "Idilio" (Idyll).

Selection of Danzas by Morel Campos

The following is a list of some of Morel Campos's Danzas: *Conversación (Conversation) *Felices días (Happy Days) *Idilio (Idyll) *Maldito amor (Damned Love) *No me toques (Do Not Touch Me) *Sin tí jamás (Never without you) *Sí, te toco (Yes, I will touch you) *Sueño de amor (Dream of love) *Ten piedad (Have pity) *Tormento (Torment) *Un conflicto (A conflict) *Vano empeño (Trying in vain) Domingo Cruz "Cocolía" became director of the Firefighters' Band upon the untimely death of Morel Campos.

Later years

Juan Morel Campos suffered a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

on 26 April 1896 during a concert in Ponce. He died of the stroke soon thereafter on 16 May, in Ponce. In December 1926, his remains were buried on the pedestal of his statue in Plaza Las Delicias. His wife was Secundina Beltrán Collazo. Their children were Olimpia, Eugenia, Belén, Plácido, and Manuel.

Legacy

*Schools named after him: **The Free School of Music Juan Morel Campos in Ponce. **The Juan Morel Campos School of the Arts in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. **The Juan Morel Campos Elementary School (Calle Leon Final) in Ponce. **The Juan Morel Campos in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. * The Juan Morel Campos statue was erected in the

Plaza Las Delicias Plaza Las Delicias is the main plaza in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The square is notable for its fountains and for the various monuments it contains. The historic Parque de Bombas and Ponce Cathedral buildings are located within the plaz ...

in Ponce. *A housing development in

Barrio Segundo Segundo (''Barrio Segundo'') is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Primero, Tercero, Cuarto, Quinto, and Sexto, Segundo is one of the municipality's six core urban barrios. It was organized in 1878. ...

, Ponce, is named for him. *In 1984, the Government of Puerto Rico declared 16 May to be celebrated annually as "Juan Morel Campos Day" and 23 November be known as "The Day of the Composer". *In 2001, Morel Campos was posthumously inducted into the

International Latin Music Hall of Fame The International Latin Music Hall of Fame (ILMHF) was an annual event established in 1999 and held in New York City to honor artists who have largely contributed to the Latin music genre. In addition to the induction into the Hall of Fame, the a ...

. *His nephew

Pedro Albizu Campos Pedro Albizu Campos (September 12, 1891Luis Fortuño Janeiro. ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963).'' p. 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. – April 21, 1965) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and the leading fi ...

became a noted leader of the

Puerto Rican Nationalist Party The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico ( es, Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico, PNPR) is a Puerto Rican political party founded on September 17, 1922, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its primary goal is to work for Puerto Rico's independence. The P ...

. *Morel Campos is commemorated at the Ponce Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens.''Music.''
Travel Ponce.com. Retrieved 3 October 2013.

Notes

References

External links

Recordings Felices Días by Camerata CaribeFirst musical recordings made in Puerto Rico found - Notiséís 360 PR (news site on YouTube)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morel Campos, Juan 1857 births 1896 deaths Puerto Rican composers Puerto Rican male composers Burials at Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro Musicians from Ponce 19th-century American male musicians