Jaime León is one of the most important Colombian and Latin American art music composers of the XX century.
The book includes The song cycle
Canciones de Navidad
on poetry by Rigoberto Cordero. Rigoberto Cordero y León (Cuenca, Ecuador, 1944-2001), was an important Ecuadorian poet, essayist and music critic. The cycle is fascinating because it integrates very varied elements that include harmonies reminiscent of those of American musical theater and Colombian folk rhythms such as Bambuco. The syncopated rhythm of Bambuco appears in El asnillo y el buey and Cancioncilla de Navidad.
Villancico de la estrella
(Christmas carol of the star)
El asnillo y el buey
(The donkey and the ox)
Cancioncilla de navidad
(Christmas song)
Villancico de las campanas
(Christmas carol of the bells)
Another Christmas-themed song that does not belong to the cycle is Canción de Noel, with text by Eduardo Castillo. Considered a Parnassian, symbolist and modernist poet, Eduardo Castillo (Zipaquirá, Colombia, 1889 - Bogotá, 1938) was a regular visitor of coffees and literary gatherings
The
Canción de noel (Song of Noel)
, also in Bambuco rhythm, describes the Christmas night.