David Cozy <[log in to unmask]> asked:

>Amazon alterted me to this new release:
>
>"Sensemaya--Music of Silvestre Revueltas" Los Angeles Philharmonic;
>Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
>
>As one who loves Mexican music, I'm intrigued.  Has anybody heard any of
>Revueltas's music?  Reactions?

In short, I would say:  go for it!  I do not know Salonen's version, only
the excellent ones conducted by Mata, Herrera de ka Fuente,...  This is
colourful and wild music, but not just that.  Revueltas often manages to
evoke a feeling of classicism, with finely balanced textures and timbres,
a more even and restrained handling of contrasts than in Ives, a sense of
motoric control, while being largely independent from European standards.
Brass instruments are handled in a very individual, "soloistic" manner,
which allows the composer to achieve striking effects without overlooking
their smooth, sensuous quality.  Even "La Noche de los Mayas", a grandiose,
incantatory 4-part fresco, impresses with its splendid blends of timbres
and delicately emotional, nostalgic mood, even though it does not try to
avoid sentimentality and savage naivety at any cost.  It also manages to
escape the primary duality of "powerful brass" and "full-bodied strings".

I would not say, like many, that Revueltas is "the" great Mexican composer,
as opposed to Chavez.  Chavez was a major symphonist, whose 3rd and 6th
symphonies are essential.  Revueltas would be closer to a Mexican
Villa-Lobos.  Both Chavez and Revueltas can be noted for their ability
to shape strong, precise architectures, but those seem to come from the
material itself in "la Noche de los Mayas", whereas Chavez's 6th would
be a titanic struggle of elaborate formal patterns and epic, expanding
thematic lines, as it were.

Well, my knowledge of Mexican "serious" music is very fragmentary, but in
any case one cannot afford to ignore La Noche de los Mayas!

Best wishes,

Thanh-Tam Le
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