Born in
Naples, at eleven years of age, his obvious affinity for music led him to be enrolled in the Neapolitan
Conservatory against the wishes of his parents, Heinrich Aberle and Angela Sforza. After completing his studies he went to
New York City, where he was an
opera director for five years. Later, he undertook a musical tour of
Latin America. Upon arriving in
Guatemala City, he paused to establish a philharmonic society and music conservatory, which he directed from 1873 to 1879. He then went to El Salvador and established a music school. While there, he composed the music for the
Himno Nacional de El Salvador. Later, the Salvadoran government named him director of "La Banda de los Altos Poderes". Because of his advanced age, he retired from public life in 1922. He died in El Salvador in 1930. His preferred instrument was the
piano. He composed a large quantity of
chamber music and made
transcriptions of opera
arias for the piano. His
march in honor of
Francisco Morazán was declared the "National March" in 1882. He wrote two operas, of which "Ivanhoe" (based on the novel by
Sir Walter Scott), is the best known. He also wrote a textbook, "Tratado de Armonía, Contrapunto y Fuga". He died in
San Salvador.
The Salvadoran national anthem Aberle and General
Juan José Cañas (who wrote the lyrics) originally received no compensation for their work. Twenty-three years later, on 4 April 1902, the President,
Tomás Regalado, and the
Legislative Assembly of El Salvador awarded a gold medal to each of them, along with an expression of national gratitude. ==References==