Escape to Veracruz Through Márquez’s Sultry “Danzon No. 2”

Let’s travel to Alamos, Mexico, birthplace of composer Arturo Márquez. Márquez was born in 1950 in Alamos, living there until 1962,

when his family moved to Los Angeles County, California. He was exposed to music early on, as his father played violin and was a mariachi. The younger Márquez learned several instruments, primarily violin, and began studying composition. His studies lead him around the world, and he currently resides in Mexico City. He has a large body of work that is worth exploring (I know I want to check out his Zarabandeo for clarinet and piano. It sounds like a lot of fun to play!).

Márquez composed a series of eight Danzones, which fuse Mexican and Cuban musical influences. His most popular Danzón, number 2, my focus for this post. If you’ve watched the Amazon series Mozart In the Jungle, you’ve heard this piece. I highly recommend listening to all eight.

The Dance

Quiet and seductive

The piece begins quietly, with a sparse, seductive, and dreamy ensemble of clarinet (Theme A), piano, pizzicato strings, and claves. The claves are beating out a standard rhythm of Latin music. The oboe takes over the lead at 0:50 (Theme B), with the clarinet sometimes answering, sometimes running along, but always dancing together. At 1:15, the two lead us into a slight mood shift. The violas and flutes enter with Theme A, while the oboe and clarinet perform an obbligato (a brilliant countermelody that is integral to the piece). The theme ends on a bit of a suspenseful chord, and the piano plays a plinky, syncopated transition into the next section (1:45).

We change moods here– more forceful and insistent (1:51). The strings start sawing away with new thematic material for the transition, with some accents from the brass and piano. Around 2:11, the oboe (and other winds?) run up a scale, encouraging the ensemble to modulate at 2:13. You’ll notice that we’ve also increased tempo quite a bit during all of this as well. The strings keep doing their thing, then at 2:20, the horns announce their entrance and the strings run up a scale to take us to a new section.

Up the ante

Now we’re really dancing (2:24)! Márquez has introduced a new theme (Theme C), which is a syncopated back-and-forth between the sections of the orchestra. Check out 2:41, where the brass echo actually calls back to something we heard earlier in Theme A. You think we’re going to continue that phrase, but no, it’s just a teaser. Instead, we get into even more new thematic material (Theme D) in the strings (2:47).

The strings change the mood a little in their new theme. It’s much smoother, with a lot of notes happening in the runs. But things still feel urgent, dizzying. The upper strings and piano take the lead, but listen for the countermelody lower in the cellos. There’s some fun stuff happening here.

At 3:07, the brass interrupt with their own small (but mighty) motif. The strings then back out of the way, allowing for a piccolo and piano duet to come through (Theme B modified). I’ll admit I don’t think I’ve ever heard that in a large ensemble piece, but it definitely works. The winds hold chords underneath. While the accompaniment is much calmer now, the tempo is still quite fast and insistent.

The piano and piccolo finish their theme and the strings pluck out a rhythmic accompaniment (3:23) accentuated by a brass “Hey!” at 3:28. The winds bring in even more new thematic material (Theme E). It’s smooth yet syncopated, and the brass keep shouting out in the background. The winds’ theme finishes around 4:05, but the mood is still suspenseful, alternating between two chords. We get a hint of something more from the trombones starting around 4:08. The group crescendos into a big, unison statement from the low brass at 4:16, slowing us down for the next theme.

A lone voice

One voice rises out of the cacophony we just heard– the piano. Solo, playing a rather sultry intro to this section (4:21). We return to Theme A, this time as a duet between violin and clarinet. They play a beautiful duet, then the rest of the strings (and piano) join them at 4:58 to usher in a lush, full, version of Theme A.

At 5:31, the strings subside and the clarinet solo comes in with the modified Theme B. It turns into a conversational duet with the flute at 5:35, with the piano continuing a rhythmic, octave accompaniment underneath. It feels very dreamlike here, like two lovers talking deeply while the entire world simply blends into the background. Eventually the lovers must say goodbye, and the world emerges once more (6:13).

The strings harken back to the transitional material they played at 1:51, but this time it becomes an accompaniment to a trumpet solo (6:25). This is a brand-new melodic material (Theme F). It starts brash and loud, then has a subdued section at 6:37. It doesn’t last long, however, and we’re back to brash at 6:44. At 6:52, there’s a hit, then a forceful statement from the high brass. They elaborate for a few moments, along with more hits from the orchestra, then move to a faster pace and more chaos (7:02).

Tension and resolution

Suddenly, at 7:23, the mood shifts, but briefly. Márquez breaks the tension, only to have the strings build back up immediately. He also brings back Theme C, followed by Theme D. Everyone is partying now! The brass interrupt at 8:17, just like they did earlier, and we get another listen to the piano/piccolo duet. We then go back to Theme C for another round (8:35).

When the brass interrupt again at 8:55, it’s to signal that the piece is nearing the end. Most of the ensemble either softens immediately or drops out completely, but there’s still an insistent single-pitched rhythm over a syncopated bass line. This grows, adding both instruments and volume, riling us up until the final two, solid notes.

Thanks for joining me on this journey! I’ll leave you with a final video: it’s of the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain’s Main Orchestra doing a fantastic job on this piece.