José Zapiola Cortés (1802–1885) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an musician, composer and orchestra conductor.

Life

Zapiola was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, the illegitimate son of the Argentinian lawyer Bonifacio Zapiola y Lezica and of the Chilean Carmen Cortés. He early showed a great talent for music and studied with Fray Antonio Briseño between 1812 and 1815. He learned by himself to play the clarinet in 1819, with the support and help of Danish businessman and music lover Carlos Drewetcke. He then trained as a silversmith with Elías Espejo. His parents sent him to

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in 1824 to study harmony and composition. On his return in 1826, he participated in the campaign of Chiloe as band-master of the 7th regiment, and in 1830, on the arrival of the first operatic company in Chile, whose orchestra-leader had died, Zapiola was called to take his place and soon acquired fame, so that he was called repeatedly to

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

to lead the orchestra of the opera there. Zapiola created the chair of music in the Normal School of Santiago and organized the first public musical concerts in Santiago y Valparaíso in 1842, and he may be called the creator of the musical art in Chile. He was rewarded with a gold medal for his services by the government in 1844. In 1850, Zapiola participated in the "''Egalitarian Society''" ( es, Sociedad de la Igualdad), a club created by Rafael Arcos Arlegui and

Francisco Bilbao Francisco Bilbao Barquín (; 19 January 1823 – 9 February 1865) was a Chilean writer, philosopher and liberal politician. Early life Francisco Bilbao Barquin was born in Santiago on 9 January 1823 to Rafael Bilbao Beyne and Argentina Mercedes ...

, which was a utopian socialist attempt, with deeply romantic overtones. The society was founded in Santiago on April 14, 1850, based on the ideals of the

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation ...

. The membership was composed primarily of artisans and young people of middle and high class background. In 1853 Zapiola co-founded (together with

Isidora Zegers Isidora Zegers Montenegro (also known as Isidora Zegers de Huneeus or Isidora Zegers; 1 January 1803 – 14 July 1869) was a Spanish musician and composer. She is known for her contributions to Chilean culture during the 19th century. Biography I ...

, José Bernardo Alzedo and

Francisco Oliva Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

) the weekly ''El Semanario Musical'', the first specialized musical publication in the country. He was also co-editor of the ''Estrella de Chile''. In 1857, Zapiola was appointed director of the newly founded Conservatory of Music at Santiago, where he taught many artists, but he resigned a few months later due to the perceived lack of interest and funding allotted by the government. From 1864 to 1874 he became the Choir-master of the Santiago Cathedral, a post he held in name until his death in Santiago in 1885.

Works

His best musical compositions are ''Domine ad adjuvandum me'' (1835), a ''Requiem'' (1836), ''Himno al triunfo de Yungay'' (1840), and ''Himno a San Martin'' (1842). He also wrote a book of historical incidents, sketches of Chilean customs and autobiographical memoirs: ''Remembraces of thirty years'' (1872) ( es, Recuerdos de treinta años).

Additional information

Selected bibliography

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zapiola, Jose 1802 births 1885 deaths Chilean composers Chilean male composers Chilean male writers 19th-century Chilean historians People from Santiago 19th-century composers 19th-century male writers 19th-century male musicians

Life

Works

Additional information

See also

Selected bibliography

Sources