Hello, Charles Arthur Bosch here. I am new, and I wanted to sign up expressly for the intention of venting about the neglect of Mexican classical by the fine arts community, and even by the Mexican-American community. It is thoroughly disheartening to see such an immense and brilliant tradition of music so ubiquitously dismissed or ignored.

For the uninitiated, Mexico has been doing classical music for almost as long as Europe, before there was Mozart, or Bach, there was Mexican classical. The standards were insanely rigorous, and Mexico has produced many composers that were at least at par with the greats. This runs throughout the entire span of Mexican history, from what I have seen, although I need to become more familiar with the romantic era.

It is a universe unto itself, with everything I love about classical music. But try sharing this with someone who should appreciate it. Uggh.

Hello, Charles, welcome to TC. I hope you will shed light on this rather neglected genre of Mexican Classical, and I, and am sure many others as well, will be interested in learning more. The only name I am familiar with is that of Silvestre Revueltas, but that's because his name came up in a sort of composers game that we used in play in forums.

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Regards,
Navneeth

Want a piece of classical music identified? Post a link or upload a clip here. Someone might have an answer.

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I recall that our (very) occasional contributor Reb included the Carlos Chávez symphonies in his Basic Repertoire List. Good luck finding Chávez symphonies in your local Barnes & Noble, though.

Usually, the cursory pass-through on "Latin-American composers" in music-appreciation texts mentions Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, and Chávez. I like the Bachianas and a lot of Ginastera. How does Chávez compare with those artists?

P.S.: One of my Ginastera perfomance discs is by the Mexico City Phil...

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The hardest knife ill us'd doth lose his edge. Shakespeare- Sonnet 95

Tell us more, Charles. Anything for the guitar?

Right now, what I have been immersed in is a period called Mexican Baroque, which does not seem equivalent to European Baroque. Mexican Baroque seems to encompass Renaissance through Classical styles, and the two major composers I have come across are Juan Gutierrez de Padilla and Ignacio de Jerusalem.

One of the most magnificent classical albums I have listened to is Missa Mexicana by the Harp Consort. It is a compilation (yes, the title is misleading) of early Mexican composers, and it includes sacred and secular music. The beauty of it is that it is set to period and regional instruments, which in my opinion really showcases the pride of place the guitar came to hold in Latin cultures. The album includes Missa ego flos campi by Gutierrez de Padilla, and a host of others.

Another wonderful album is Matins for the Virgin of Guadalupe, by Ignacio de Jerusalem, performed by Chanticleer. Matins was a wildly popular genre of vocal music in the New World, equivalent to opera in Europe, and de Jerusalem's Matins was the most popular. It is Classical style, and it is brilliant.

I am just now losing myself in this little musical universe, but outside of Mexican Baroque, there is a brilliant comtemporary composer named Alicia Urreta. I have never heard anything quite like her, but as mentioned previously, this genre is much neglected and difficult to find.

Hi, Charles

Could you please elaborate a bit more? Like giving out some names, dates, etc.

Henryk Szeryng fell in love for Mexico, a country in which he got his citizenship in 1946. As I understand, he gave the USA premiere of the violin concerto by Manuel Maria Ponce. (Not a great work... but he did it).

Well, Mexico was colonized in the early 1500's, and composers from that time on competed to fill the posts at cathedrals and other institutions. Matins for the Virgin of Guadalupe is dated 1764. Juan Gutierrez de Padilla was the maestro de capilla at the Puebla Cathedral in 1626. This was the most prestigious musical appointment at the time, as Puebla was the fine arts capital of colonial Spain.

The 4 Silvestre Revueltas SQ are master pieces IMHO. Also the Chavez v.c.
(by Szering-Chavez). Great works nearly nobody ever plays live.

hi, could you elaborate on some mexican composers?, i know chavez, the chacone in mi menor is great, and you could check also Moncayo, specialy the huapango, is amazing
regards
mau

A week ago I attended a concert of The Pasadena Symphony which was entirely devoted to music of Mexican composers. They included Syphonia India by Chavez, a concerto for Mariachi and orchestra by Nevin called Pasion Mexicana, La Noche de los Mayas by Reveultas, and ended with Huapango. The conductor is Jorge Mester and he is a native of Mexico City.