Music in Guatemala
The music in Guatemala has its roots in the traditions of the indigenous people and European influences since the middle of the 16th century. The national instrument of Guatemala is the marimba . The first document in which the marimba is mentioned is a report from 1680 according to which a marimba group played in front of the cathedral of Antigua Guatemala after the festival in the church square. The instrument is later mentioned and described by the historian Domingo Juarros (1752-1820) in his Compendium of the History of Guatemala. However, the instrument could be significantly older than a replica of a West African marimba.
overview
Guatemala looks back on almost five centuries of European-style art music , from the liturgical chants of the Spanish missionaries from 1524 to contemporary modern and postmodern compositions of various styles. Much of the older music that originated in Guatemala was only recently rediscovered and revived. Music archeology and music ethnology also research the music of the Maya and the numerous peoples who descended from them . Although globalized commercial popular music has the greatest presence in the lives of most Guatemalans through the modern media, the marimba remains at the center of musical practice, from the popular performance called k'ojom (pronounced: koch -om) to the chromatic marimba. It is taken very seriously in Guatemala and is the subject of much debate.
Marimba
The first version is a simple diatonic xylophone , which was introduced by Afro-Caribbean slaves as early as 1550 , and which hangs down from the shoulders in front of the belly of the performer with the help of a strap. The next stage of development is a diatonic model, which, however, already stands on a wooden frame with four or six legs and is equipped with primitive resonance bodies. In 1894, by adding semitones (corresponding to the black keys on a keyboard), it becomes a chromatic instrument, which makes the common pianistic salon repertoire its own. The latter structural development is due to the composer Julián Paniagua Martínez and the instrument maker Sebastián Hurtado. In the first decades of the 20th century, the resonance boxes were made of cedar or spruce wood.
The marimba group consisted of two xylophones from around 1900, one of four, the other of three players. There was also a double bass and drums and possibly trumpets and saxophones . While many pieces of the older folk and dance music continued to be played, the repertoire has now been expanded to include newly composed salon music . Composers of these waltzes , polkas and mazurkas were primarily Domingo Bethancourt (1906–1982), Ovalle brothers, Mariano Valverde (1884–1956), Wotzbelí Aguilar (1897–1940) and Belarmino Molina (1879–1950). The singer Paco Pérez (1917–1951) became famous for his waltz Luna de Xelajú, which was popularized by the marimba groups .
Renaissance
Guatemala was one of the first areas of the New World to hear European music. As part of the Catholic liturgy , the Spanish missionaries introduced Flemish and Spanish church music . The first cathedral already had a choir that sang both Gregorian and Latin polyphony in services .
In the second half of the 16th century the Spanish composers Hernando Franco and Pedro Bermúdez as well as the Portuguese Gaspar Fernandes (1566–1629) enriched church music. Research identified a lively musical life around 1600 in the western highlands, today's Huehuetenango. The native members of the church choirs learned song and polyphony from the missionaries, and some of these native composers contributed their choral songs, both texts in Spanish and Mayan languages .
Baroque and early classic
The most important composers in the late baroque and classical periods were the Guatemalan-born Kapellmeister of the cathedral Manuel Joseph de Quirós († 1765) and Rafael Antonio Castellanos († 1791). The latter used elements of local folk music in his vocal works, mainly Christmas carols of the Villancico type , where characteristic rhythmic, melodic and other stylistic peculiarities of Afro-Caribbean music can often be heard. The 176 compositions he has survived reflect his mastery in the musical style of his time as well as his originality in the use of Gregorian chant and baroque polyphony. Castellano's students such as Pedro Antonio Rojas , Manuel Silvestre Pellegeros , Francisco Aragón and Pedro Nolasco Estrada Aristondo also became masters of the cantata and the villancico.
Classic and Romantic
The latter's successor as cathedral music director was Vicente Sáenz from 1804 until his death in 1841 . At the same time his son Benedicto Sáenz the Elder († 1831) was working.
Among the composers of the classical style, José Eulalio Samayoa (1781–1866?) Is the first composer in the New World who composed several symphonies in addition to a number of church works . His 7th symphony, dedicated to the victory of the federalists in the battle of Xiquilisco (today in El Salvador ), is a model of classical balance. His later Sinfonía Cívica and Sinfonía Histórica are in an early Romantic style, with frequent programmatic episodes.
José Escolástico Andrino , who worked as a violinist in the capital Guatemala and Havana , and later as an organist and civil servant in San Salvador , also composed several symphonies. The highly talented young organist Benedicto Sáenz d. J. († 1857) composed mainly church music, his Messa Solenne was published in Paris on the advice of the well-known Italian composer Saverio Mercadante . Sáenz d. J. and his brother Anselmo were also instrumental in the introduction of Italian opera in Guatemala: After a few failures, the opera productions became great successes from 1843, which led to the construction of an impressive national theater , the later Teatro Colón .
The late 19th century was marked by different currents in Guatemala. In addition to the already mentioned introduction of opera, the training of talented pianists in Italy was important. During this time the military bands were created and the chromatic marimba was invented. Luis Felipe Arias (1876–1908), Herculano Alvarado (1879–1921), Julián González and Miguel Espinosa , who were trained as piano virtuosos in Italy and France , introduced the piano works of Ludwig van Beethoven , Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt in Guatemala . They influenced the next generation of pianists like Rafael Vásquez , Alfredo Wyld and Rafael A. Castillo , who rose to fame in the first three decades of the 20th century.
The military band learned under the guidance of the Saxon conductor Emil Dressner an upswing. The composers of salon pieces, opera fantasies and dance music who distinguished themselves as Dressner's students include Germán Alcántara (1856–1911), Rafael Álvarez Ovalle (1855–1946), Manuel Moraga (1833–96), Julián Paniagua Martínez (1856–1946) ) and Fabián Rodríguez (1862–1929).
The invention and development of the chromatic marimba by Julián Paniagua Martínez and the instrument maker Sebastián Hurtado in the highland city of Quetzaltenango from 1894 brought the entire repertoire of salon music within reach of marimba players, and as a result the light music of the time became widespread. Many pieces from these decades are still performed by heart by the marimba groups on all kinds of social occasions.
Back to the roots
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some composers turned their attention to the mythology of the Maya and at the same time to the folk music of the Indian population. They used these elements as a basis for their stage and program music, so that a new style, rooted in Indian cultures, emerged.
Jesús Castillo was the first musician to collect folk music from 1890, which he used in his overtures, symphonic poems and stage works such as the opera Quiché Vinak . His half-brother Ricardo Castillo studied in Paris , where he made both impressionist and neoclassical composition techniques his own. His piano music and his symphonic work combined contemporary music with Mayan mythology , primarily legends from the Popol Vuh .
José Castañeda (1898–1983), who also made his compositional tools his own in Paris, was also interested in the mythology of the past, as expressed in his ballet La serpiente emplumada ('The Feathered Serpent'). In contrast to this, his two symphonies and several string quartets are abstract and experimental.
Some of the younger ones who had acquired their craft at Castillo and Castañeda were able to perfect themselves with the Austrian composer Franz Ippisch, who immigrated to Guatemala . Joaquín Orellana developed a series of sound objects, which he derived from the marimba and other folk instruments, and which he bases his works on the conflictual situation in his country. He was the first to work in his country in the field of electroacoustic music. His students, the Gandarias brothers , followed his example and developed the majority of their work with electroacoustic means. Several postmodern stylistic devices have been used among the younger composers .
Musical life
Guatemala has several symphony and chamber orchestras , military bands, choirs and chamber music groups, as well as numerous marimba groups.
The National Symphony Orchestra was directed in 1945 by the violin virtuoso Andrés Archila , then from 1964 by Ricardo del Carmen . In the 1970s, a second conductor was added, Jorge Álvaro Sarmientos , who until then had played in the drums department. When both conductors were retired from 1991 after exciting years, the board of the orchestra decided to work with guest conductors and forego a boss, which had a negative impact on musical development. This orchestra is supported by the Ministry of Culture and its activities are primarily didactic.
A youth orchestra was founded in 1970 by Manuel Alvarado Coronado ; further youth orchestras can be found in the conservatory and privately. Among these, the Jesús Castillo orchestra became known, which met from 1997 to 2007 before disbanding. The city music school has had two student orchestras since 2008.
Among the privately supported orchestras are the Orquesta Clásica (1990–2007), directed by Ricardo del Carmen at the Francisco Marroquín University , and the Millennium Orchestra , which rehearses at the Rafael Landívar University and often gives concerts at the National Theater as well as in Antigua . The latter was founded in 1993 by the conductor Dieter Lehnhoff and was the official orchestra of the city of Guatemala from 1998 to 2003.
Among the choirs, the university associations and the state national choir are very active. Numerous school and amateur associations meet at several annual choral music meetings. Since the beginning of the new century, operas with international singers have been regularly rehearsed and staged.
Serious music
The art music of Guatemala, like that of western music history in general, is divided into different historical periods: Renaissance , Baroque , Classical , Romantic , Modern and Postmodern .
Popular music
Popular music is very widespread in Guatemala: pop groups, rock bands, tropical salsa and merengue groups, mariachian ensembles, as well as disc jockeys and hip-hop associations are numerous. The most famous pop singer is Mexico- based Ricardo Arjona . Luis Galich, Roberto Rey, Herman May, Tania Zea and Karim May are also popular. Among the pop groups are Alux Nahual, Viernes Verde, Latona and Bohemia Suburbana.
Discography
- Chapinlandia: Marimba Music of Guatemala . Washington, DC: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2007. SFW CD 40542.
- Valses inolvidables de Guatemala . Guatemala: ADESCA, 2000. Orquesta Metropolitana Millennium, Dieter Lehnhoff . [3]
- Tesoros musicales de la Antigua Guatemala . Guatemala: Universidad Rafael Landívar, 2003. Orquesta Millennium, Dieter Lehnhoff .
- Melodías inolvidables de Guatemala . Guatemala: Universidad Rafael Landívar, Fundación Soros-Guatemala, 2007. Orquesta Millennium, Dieter Lehnhoff .
- Arias favoritas . Cristina Altamira. Guatemala Music Council, 2009.
literature
- Helmut Brenner : Marimbas in Latin America. Historical facts and status quo of the marimba traditions in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. Olms, Hildesheim 2007, ISBN 3-487-12959-0 (Studies and Materials for Musicology, 43).
- Lester Godínez: La marimba Guatemalteca. Fondo de Cultura Económica, Guatemala City 2003.
- Dieter Lehnhoff : Guatemala. Diccionario de la Música Española e Hispanoamericana. 10 volumes. Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, Madrid 2000, ISBN 84-8048-303-2 , 6 / 1-11.
- Dieter Lehnhoff: Creación musical en Guatemala. Editorial Galería Guatemala, Guatemala City 2005, ISBN 99922-704-7-0 .