Product Description
Kiss Me Much (Bolero) - Clarinet Quartet
Bésame Mucho is one of the most popular songs in the Latin American repertoire. It was composed by Mexican singer Consuelo Velázquez Torres in 1932, when she was 16 years old. It soon became one of the most covered songs worldwide and was named the song of the 20th century. Musically, the song seems to have been inspired by an aria from Enrique Granados' Goyescas suite, known as "La maja y el ruiseñor." The lyrics are a different story. According to the testimony of the composer's son, Mariano Rivera Velázquez, the lyrics weren't completed until 1940, when World War II was in full swing. Consuelo, somewhat more mature by this time, was particularly moved by stories of young couples separating from each other, whose men had to perform military service and faced the possibility of death. These reflections would allow Consuelo Velázquez to complete the song's lyrics. In any case, we must remember that she herself stated that she had composed this song before being kissed for the first time.
The song was first recorded by singer Emilio Tuero in 1941, and shortly after by Chela Campos. However, it was American Andy Russell who made its internationalization possible, recording it in 1944, after which it topped the charts in the United States for 14 weeks. From that moment on, the song became known on every continent, but towards the 1950s, at the height of Franco's regime, the League of Spanish Decency banned the song in Spain. The fame of this song has spread throughout the world, overcoming language barriers, especially since Nat King Cole recorded the first translated version. It has been recorded in more than 40 languages, and has been sung by such iconic figures as The Beatles, Edith Piaf, Frank Sinatra, Elvy Presley, Sara Montiel, Plácido Domingo, Paloma San Basilio, Andrea Bocelli, Luis Miguel, and many more.
Bésame Mucho in cinematography: The big screen has been another space for its dissemination. Bésame Mucho has been incorporated into the soundtracks of films such as Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears (1979); Emir Kusturika's Arizona Dreams (1993); Bésame Mucho by Philippe Toledano (1994); Mike Newell's Mona Lisa Smile (2003); Luis Llosa's The Feast of the Goat (2005); Juno (2007) and Coco (2017), also from Disney Studios.
Consuelo Velázquez Torres was a Mexican composer and pianist born in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, on August 21, 1916, and died in Mexico City in 2005. In 1938, she earned her degree in pianist and music teacher from the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Along with this, she dedicated herself to composing love songs. She was hired by radio station XEQ to play on a classical music program under a false (male) identity. Over time, the station's director and producer of important artists, Mariano Rivera, allowed her to become known and showcase her popular repertoire. Since it was frowned upon for a concert pianist to play boleros, Consuelo claimed those songs belonged to a friend. As soon as "Bésame Mucho" was released, the composer tasted the honey of international success. She married Mariano Rivera at the age of 28 and had two sons named Mariano and Sergio. She was a congresswoman for the Institutional Revolutionary Party from 1979 to 1982. She worked hard to defend copyright in her country, thanks to which she became president of the Association of Authors and Composers of Mexico.
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