Benito Cabrera

A timple player, composer and producer linked to Lanzarote who has taken the timple into symphonic music, fusion and contemporary Canarian song.

Benito Cabrera
Roles
Timple player · Composer · Music producer · Folklorist
Genres
Canarian folklore · Concert timple · Fusion · Folk · Pop · Symphonic music
Instruments
Timple
Activity
1997

Biography

Benito Cabrera is a timple player, composer and music producer linked to Lanzarote. His career has renewed the role of the timple in contemporary Canarian music.

Open biography

Music career

Institutional sources document him as a timple performer, composer and music producer. His public career combines recitals, recordings, tours, teaching and production. The Canary Islands Government stresses that he was the first concert performer to bring the timple into the symphonic sphere, appearing with ensembles such as the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta Clásica de La Laguna and the Córdoba Symphony Orchestra. From 2003 he combined artistic work with teaching timple at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Contribution

His central contribution is to have expanded the public role of the timple: from rooted and accompanying instrument to concert instrument, symphonic dialogue and contemporary fusion. His lyrics for the Canary Islands anthem also place him within an institutional piece of collective memory, built on the Arrorró melody from Teobaldo Power’s Cantos Canarios.

Style

The Canary Islands Government describes a renewal of Canarian music through the fusion of the timple with Celtic folk and pop elements. It also documents pop and jazz rhythms in Contrastes, filtered through Canarian music, and the use of the University of La Laguna Polyphonic Choir. His work therefore moves between island tradition, chamber or symphonic music, Atlantic folk and contemporary popular production.

Repertoire

The documented repertory includes original timple pieces, Canarian traditional music reshaped for concert performance, collaborations with folk and jazz collectives, versions of the Canary Islands anthem and stage projects such as Canarias: vino al mundo. This profile keeps the discography as a verified selection, not as a closed catalogue.

Legacy

His musical legacy is transmitted through recordings, arrangements, teaching, books and collective projects. The official adoption of the Canary Islands anthem and his period as musical director of Los Sabandeños extend that imprint from the instrumental field into institutional memory and large-format popular music.

Canary Islands connection

This profile centres on his Lanzarote connection and on a career developed between Lanzarote, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, mainland Spain and international circuits. The consulted sources differ on the exact birthplace, so `birthIslandId` is not used until a primary source is available.

Works and recordings

2003

Himno de Canarias

Letra oficial de Benito Cabrera sobre la melodía del Arrorró de Teobaldo Power, aprobada por la Ley 20/2003 según el Gobierno de Canarias.

Una sobre el mismo mar

Canción citada por el Gobierno de Canarias entre sus composiciones populares.

2020

Canarias: vino al mundo

Espectáculo presentado en Musicando y dedicado a vínculos históricos y culturales del vino canario.

Timpluras

Proyecto de orquesta de timples dirigido por Cabrera y presente en las versiones institucionales del Himno de Canarias.

Timeline

  1. Año de nacimiento documentado

    Las fuentes coinciden en 1963, pero discrepan sobre el lugar exacto de nacimiento.

  2. Atlántica

    Participa en Atlántica 97, uno de los hitos de proyección citados por el Gobierno de Canarias.

  3. Son Latinos

    Participa en Son Latinos 2000, evento citado por el Gobierno de Canarias.

  4. Himno de Canarias

    La Ley 20/2003 oficializa el himno con texto de Benito Cabrera sobre la melodía del Arrorró de Teobaldo Power.

  5. Docencia de timple

    El Gobierno de Canarias documenta su docencia de timple en el Conservatorio Superior de Música de Santa Cruz de Tenerife desde 2003.

  6. Los Sabandeños

    Asume la dirección musical de Los Sabandeños según fuentes municipales y oficiales.

  7. Contrastes

    Publica Contrastes, disco citado por el Gobierno de Canarias como fusión de timple, pop, jazz y música canaria.

  8. Raíces del Mundo

    Publica Raíces del Mundo con Cuarteto Capriccio.

  9. Espirales

    Presenta Espirales, citado por la biografía oficial y por fuentes municipales.

  10. Canarias: vino al mundo

    Presenta el espectáculo en el ciclo Musicando de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Sources

Benito Cabrera, de minigira por la PenínsulaGobierno de Canarias ↗Himno de CanariasGobierno de Canarias ↗El timplista Benito Cabrera abre el quinto año de Musicando con 'Canarias: vino al mundo'Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ↗BiografíaBenito Cabrera ↗Los timplistas Benito Cabrera y Toñín Corujo comparten escenario en La NoriaGobierno de Canarias ↗