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William J. McCoy Folksongs of the Spanish Californians, by William J. McCoy. Los Californios® Collection. William J. McCoy’s song folio was first printed in 1895, and was reissued in 1926.

One early popular folio featuring secular music specifically from Mexican California was that done by William J. McCoy in 1895 and published under various titles over time, including Canciones del pais de California and Folksongs of the Spanish Californians. The pieces included are:

Me mue … Tus ojos Crepúsculo de amor Ángel divino Mitad de mi vida El trovador Te adoro yo La indita La culpa El tormento de amor

With the release of Volume 9 of the Music of Early California (2007 Supplement), all of these pieces are again available, and in arrangements friendly to folk guitarists.

Eleanor Hague

Another popular collector and promoter of this heritage was Eleanor Hague. Her work was often published in magazines and academic articles, and she collected many pieces together in larger publications. She was a contributor to the publication Masterkey, published by the Southwest Museum.

Spanish-American Folk-Songs, by Eleanor Hague Los Californios® Collection.

In Spanish-American Folk-Songs, published in 1917 by the American Folk-Lore Society, she included melody lines for a good number of pieces from California, such as:

A la luz de la luna ¡Ay! vienen los yanquis Las blancas flores No me mates (Version of El capotín) Carmela (Carmen, Carmela) Los celos de Carolina Dime, mujer adorada Entré [a] un jardín Levántese, niña María, María Media noche Nadie me quiere O blanca virgen, a tu ventana ¿Quieres que te ponga? (Version of Sombrero blanco) Serenata (Era medio de la noche) Si formas tuvieran mis pensamientos (Los pensamientos) Todo tiene su hasta aquí (El termino) El tormento (El tormento de amor) El trovador Vivo penando Yo no sé si me quieres Yo pienso en ti

Eleanor Hague’s music folio, Early Spanish-Californian Folk-Songs, published in 1922 with piano arrangements, was influential in preserving this music for performing musicians. Carmela (Carmen, Carmela) Nadie me quiere El trovador Un pajarito Serenata (Era medio de la noche) Yo no sé si me quieres

Early Spanish-Californian Folk-Songs, by Eleanor Hague Los Californios® Collection.

The collection of the Braun Research Library at the Southwest Museum includes some additional pieces collected and transcribed by Eleanor Hague, previously unpublished. Some of these reflect her own transcriptions of pieces from the Edison wax cylinder recordings made by Charles Lummis.

Arrangements of these pieces with lead lines and guitar chords, and often harmony lines, are available to musicians in the Music of Early California. (See Web Map at top left corner of page.)

Aurelio M. Espinosa

Folklore de California, by Aurelio M. Espinosa Los Californios® Collection.

Aurelio M. Espinosa, who was also a noted linguist in the Spanish-language field, applied his highly developed academic methodology and resources to the collection of folk lore in New Mexico and California, including documention of the words to many songs from both areas. Las Romances Tradicionales en California was printed in 1925 as part of a collection of essays, Homenaje a Menéndez Pidal, Tomo 1. It is the only source I have encountered to document any appreciable tradition of romances in California. Published in an edition of only 1000 copies, this publication is not currently readily available. One original copy is housed at the Geisel Library at the University of California at San Diego in Special Collections.

Another point of interest in this publication, mentioned in passing, was Espinosa’s observation of similarities between Spanish as spoken in New Mexico and as spoken in historic California. And since Espinosa is the primary authority on the specifics of how Spanish in New Mexico is different from Spanish spoken elsewhere, we can be assured that this is not just idle speculation.

Folklore de California, a pamphlet published in 1930, includes words to a number of songs. This work is more available than the previous document, but has not yet been re-printed for modern use.

Unfortunately, because his interest was in the poetry, Espinosa’s work does not include tunes.

Historic Disk Recordings

Song folio cover. Los Californios^® Collection.

Song folio cover. Los Californios^® Collection.

Where to find this music currently in print and recordings

A CD of this music is available from San Diego Friends of Old Time Music:

Flowers of Our Lost Romance.

Sheet music of this music is also available from San Diego Friends of Old Time Music:

Music of Early California: Volumes 1 — 9 bound together.