Music of Guatemala
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| Music of Guatemala Topics | Marimba music | Garifuna music | Folk music | Rock | Classical music | Indigenous | Timeline and Samples | ||
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Guatemala's national instrument is the marimba, an idiophone from the family of the xylophones, which is played all over the country, even in the remotest corners. Towns also have wind and percussion bands that play during the lent and Easter-week processions, as well as on other occasions. The Garifuna people of Afro-Caribbean descent, who are spread thinly on the northeastern Caribbean coast, have their own distinct varieties of popular and folk music. Cumbia, from the Colombian variety, is also very popular especially among the lower classes.
Guatemala also has an almost 5 century old tradition of art music, spanning from the first liturgical chant and polyphony introduced in 1524 to contemporary art music. Much of the music composed in Guatemala from the 16th century to the 19th century has only recently been unearthed by scholars and is being revived by performers.
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[edit] Folk music
Guatemalan folk music stems in part from the culture of the Aryan people, with strong influence of the music of Spanish and West African immigrants beginning in the 16th century. The marimba is the most important instrument, and is used to play a variety of styles of music, including both local folk and internationally well-known and sophisticated popular music. The Afro-Caribbean Garifuna music includes styles much alike to those of the Garifuna population elsewhere in Central America, such as punta.[1]. Other styles of Guatemalan folk music include instrumental ensembles such as the Q'eqchi violin, a small rustic guitar, and harp trio, and the K'iche and Kaqchikel flute or shawm and drum duo. In the Eastern region of the country the guitar and sometimes the accordion are used to accompany a variety of folk songs. noh uh
[edit] Marimba
The marimba's first documentary evidence of existence comes from an account of a performance in front of the cathedral of Santiago de Guatemala, present-day Antigua Guatemala, in 1680. Later, historian Juan Domingo Juarros mentioned and described it in his Compendium of the History of Guatemala. The instrument however may be probably much older, as an attempt at recreating an older West African instrument, and could have been introduced by Afro-Caribbean slaves as early as 1550. [2]. The arch marimba was probably the first, followed by a simple instrument with a diatonic row of wood bars played with mallets, with gourd resonators, placed on a wooden a stand. In 1894 came a major breakthrough, when Julián Paniagua Martínez and Sebastián Hurtado developed the chromatic marimba, by adding to the diatonic row of sound bars, comparable to the white keys of the piano, a second row equivalent to the black keys. By the early 20th century, wooden-box resonators had replaced the gourd resonators. Modern marimba bands include a smaller marimba for three players, a larger marimba for four players, plus a drum kit or other percussion and a string bass. Some bands have occasionally employed one or two saxophones, as well as one or two trumpets and a trombone. Much of the older repertoire of salon music was learned and adopted by the marimba bands, while a sizable amount of new dance pieces was newly composed for the marimba by such composers and marimba players as Domingo Bethancourt (1906-82), the Ovalle brothers, the Hurtado brothers, as well as the famous Mariano Valverde (1884-1956), Wotzbelí Aguilar (1897-1940) and Belarmino Molina (1879-1950), to name but a few. Singer Paco Pérez (1917-1951) was catapulted to fame with his waltz "Luna de Xelajú", one of best-known marimba pieces which is regarded by many Guatemalans as a sort of unofficial national anthem.
[edit] Art music
The field of art music, also known as "classical music", includes various musical styles such as Renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, 20th century music, and post-modern music. Guatemala was one of the first regions of the New World to be exposed to European music. The Spanish missionaries and clergy introduced Flemish and Spanish liturgical music during the early 16th century as part of the Roman Catholic rite. The first cathedral (1534) at the newly founded city of Santiago de Guatemala was endowed with a choir in charge of plainchant and Latin polyphony. Later in the century, three chapel masters from the Iberian peninsula enriched the cathedral's repertoire with their compositions: Hernando Franco (1532-85), Pedro Bermúdez (1558-1605), and Gaspar Fernández (1566-1629). Scholars have shown that musical activity in the missons of Huehuetenango, in the northwestern mountains of present-day Guatemala, was significant. Native musicians learned the art of polyphonic composition from the missionaries and also contributed a number of villancicos in Spanish and local Mayan languages to the repertory of matins and vespers music at their parrish churches.
The main composers during the late baroque and pre-classical period were Guatemalan-born chapel masters of the cathedral, Manuel José de Quirós (d. 1765) and Rafael Antonio Castellanos (d. 1791). The latter successfully introduced Guatemalan folk-music elements in his vocal works, especially his villancicos for Christmas, which often show traits of Afro-Caribbean and Mayan rhythms, melodies, and accompaniment styles. His 176 extant works reflect Castellanos' mastery of the style of his time, as well as an unusual originality based on plainchant models, baroque part-writing, and the frequent inclusion folk-music idioms. Several of Castellanos' disciples attained mastery of the villancico and the cantata, as is reflected by extant works by Pedro Antonio Rojas, Manuel Silvestre Pellegeros, Francisco Aragón, and Pedro Nolasco Estrada Aristondo. The successor of the latter as chapel master of the cathedral was Vicente Sáenz, who served in that capacity from 1804 to his death in 1841. The organist during his tenure was his son Benedicto Sáenz the elder, who prematurely died in 1831.
Among the composers of classical style the most important Guatemalan composer is José Eulalio Samayoa (1781-ca. 1866), the first musician in the New World to write symphonies besides a sizable amount of church music. His Seventh Symphony, dedicated to the victory of the Federal Army at Xiquilisco in present-day El Salvador, is a model of classical balance. His later Sinfonía Cívica and Sinfonía Histórica are kept in an early romantic idiom, with frequent programmatic episodes. José Escolástico Andrino, who worked in Guatemala City, Havanna, and El Salvador during the first half of the 19th century, also composed several symphonies. The brilliant young musician Benedicto Sáenz, the younger (d. 1857) on the other hand wrote much church music, such as his Messa Solenne published in Paris by advice of the Italian composer, Saverio Mercadante . At the same time, Sáenz and his brother Anselmo were the first to introduce Italian opera to Guatemala from 1843 on, an enterprise that after initial failures would turn into a huge success, leading to the construction of the magnificent National Theatre, later called Teatro Colón.
The late 19th century is represented in Guatemala by several trends: the aforementioned introduction of opera, the training abroad of several highly talented pianist-composers, the influence of military band music, and the invention and development of the chromatic marimba.
Piano music was enormously furthered by scholarships for study in Italy and France awarded to several young talents. Thus, Luis Felipe Arias (1876-1908), Herculano Alvarado (1879-1921), Julián González, and Miguel Espinosa could present piano music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, and Franz Liszt never heard before in Guatemala. They had also considerable influence on younger composers such as Rafael Vásquez, Alfredo Wyld and Rafael A. Castillo, all of whom flourished during the first decades of the twentieth century.
A group of composers furthered and instructed by the Prussian conductor and bandmaster, Emil Dressner, came from the realm of military bands and salon music. Germán Alcántara (1856-1911), Rafael Álvarez Ovalle (1855-1946), Manuel Moraga (1833-96), Julián Paniagua Martínez (1856-1946) and Fabián Rodríguez (1862-1929) contributed a number of salon pieces, opera fantasies, and dances to the repertoire of bands and pianists.
Another important achievement was the invention and development of the chromatic marimba in the highland town of Quetzaltenango in 1894, by Julián Paniagua Martínez and the marimba builder, Sebastián Hurtado. This new development made it possible to play the fashionable dance and salon music on the marimbas, which previously had been restricted to the diatonic scale. As a result, Guatemalan light music achieved an enormous dissemination at home and abroad by countless marimba bands that were formed from the beginning of the twentieth century. Much of the music of that time is still alive in the memorized repertoire of present-day marimba groups.
By the end of the nineteenth and in the first part of the 20th century, several composers developed a keen interest in Mayan mythology and folk music, on which they based their scenic and concert compositions. Jesús Castillo (1877-1946) was the first musician to collect a sizable amount of folk tunes, which he later used in works such as his opera Quiché Vinak, as well as ouvertures and symphonic poems. His half brother Ricardo Castillo (1891-1966) studied in Paris, where he acquired impressionistic and neo-classical techniques. His piano music, as well as his orchestral output, reflects the fusion of his contemporary art with Mayan mythology such as legends and myths from the Popol Vuh. José Castañeda (1898-1983) also took keen interest in the Mayan past in his stage works such as the ballet La serpiente emplumada (The Feathered Snake), premiered in 1958, while his two symphonies his string quartets are much more experimental.
Composers from the next generation, some of them Ricardo Castillo's and José Castañeda's students who could also profit from the teachings of the Austrian composer, Franz Ippisch, continued to focus on the autochthonous Guatemalan cultures. In their stage, vocal, and instrumental works, they have shown an interest in Mayan and Garifuna cultural elements, which they have stylized in different ways. Among these, Joaquín Orellana (b. 1930) has developed idiophones and aerophones derived from the marimba and other folk instruments, which he uses in some of his aleatory compositions that deal with the social strife of present-day ethnic groups. Among his former students, the Gandarias brothers have focused on electronic process of folk-music and bird calls recorded on site, producing several discs. At the beginning of the new millennium, two multimedia works by contemporary composer Dieter Lehnhoff, Memorias de un día remoto (Memories of a Distant Day) and Rituales nocturnos (Night Rituals) have evoked the Mayan past in a more contemporary style, being conceived as the soundtrack to an imaginary film. The sojourn of the Garifuna to Central American shores on the other hand is the subject of Satuyé, his opera in progress. Among the younger composers, several have written works in a variety of post-modern styles, often returning to traditional or free tonality in their vocal and instrumental compositions.
[edit] Music life
Present-day Guatemala boasts a number of performing organizations, such as orchestras, choirs, chamber ensembles, opera troupes, and soloists.
The Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional was founded in after the 1944 Revolution, transforming from an earlier government orchestra called Orquesta Progresista. For several years it was directed by the notable violinist, Andrés Archila. In 1964 a permanent conductor was appointed Ricardo del Carmen, who was joined in the early 1970s by Jorge Sarmientos, another music director. In 1991, after both conductors retired, the orchestra decided to dispense with a permanent music director, working only with guest artists. As a result, many of the orchestra's concerts are conducted by some of its members, who are not necessarily trained in orchestral conducting. This orchestra is endowed with subsidy from the government to cover salaries and expenses. It has yearly seasons, one of which includes international guests; the other seasons are popular and didactic in nature.
The Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil was founded in 1970 by Manuel Alvarado Coronado. It was a youth orchestra, and its members were students at different schools in Guatemala City. Without financial support, it was forced to develop its activities with the aid of parents.
The Orquesta Millennium is an independent organization founded in 1993 by Dieter Lehnhoff and Cristina Altamira. Initially called Nueva Orquesta Filarmónica, it played its first concert seasons in the Auditorium of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, as well as other locations. It made its first CD La Sociedad Filarmónica in 1993, with premiere recordings of works by Guatemalan classical composers José Eulalio Samayoa, José Escolástico Andrino, and Benedicto Sáenz, the younger. In 1998 it was appointed official orchestra of the City of Guatemala, under the protection of the Mayor and City Council, with the name of Orquesta Metropolitana. In 2004 it separated from the City government, became independent again, and changed its name to Millennium Orchestra. The Orchestra has recorded the highly successful CDs Valses inolvidables de Guatemala and Melodías inolvidables de Guatemala, both of them with music by Guatemalan composers.
The Orquesta Clásica was founded in the early 1990s. It is a private orchestra, which plays at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín for their classical season. Since the death of its original leader in 2003, it has been conducted by guests. In September 2007 the university cancelled all of the remaining season concerts and withdrew its support.
The Orquesta Sinfónica Jesús Castillo, a youth orchestra, was established in 1997, after a series of workshops conducted by a group of Venezuelan instrumental teachers. Its members are students of the National Conservatory and other privates academies. Its first Musical Director was Igor Sarmientos 1997-2007. This orchestra had the partial support of the government to cover their expenses until 2007.
Among the choirs active in Guatemala, the oldest organization is the Coro Nacional, founded after the 1944 Revolution as Coro Guatemala. Over the decades, it has introduced many works by European composers, as well as numerous Guatemalan songs and choral compositions. It is the only choral group with government support, and offers several yearly concert sasons.
The university choirs are also very important, and gather in yearly traditional choral festivals. There are also independent, and amateur choral organizations. At the beginning of the new millennium, several choirs of children and young have sprouted, not only in Guatemala City, but also in towns and rural areas.
There are several chamber ensembles such as wind quintets, string quartets, brass choirs, and groups specializing in baroque performance practices. Among these, the Millennium Ensemble has raised much attention by their first performances of Renaissance, baroque, and classical works from colonial Guatemala, which they have presented at festivals and concerts in Europe, North- and South America. Since their first CD, released in 1992, up to their twelfth CD Joyas del Barroco in Guatemala (2006), they have revived numerous works of 18th century composers as Manuel José de Quirós, Rafael Antonio Castellanos, and Pedro Nolasco Estrada Aristondo, with mezzosoprano Cristina Altamira performing villancicos and cantatas for different occasions of the Catholic liturgical year.
Opera has also regained favour, with yearly performances at local festivals in Guatemala City and Antigua Guatemala. Guatemalan Baritone Luis Girón May (b. 1953) has been influential in obtaining significant sponsorships for the staging of several operas by Verdi and Puccini. Foreign opera companies also visit the country on occasion, performing in the magnificent National Theatre in Guatemala City or on historical locations in Antigua Guatemala.
[edit] Modern popular music
In recent decades, Guatemala has produced a variety of popular performers, such as pop vocalists, Guatemalan rock bands, heavy metal groups, big bands, tropical salsa and merengue bands, hip hop and reggaeton crews, disk-jockeys, trios, and mariachi bands. The best known popsinger/songwriter from Guatemala is Ricardo Arjona. One of the better-known pop-rock bands during the 1980s and 90s was the group Alux Nahual. While this group has been separated since 1998, their recordings are still favoured by a certain age group of Guatemalan city-dwellers.
Today, the musical scene in Guatemala is populated by diverse bands and vocalists. Perhaps the best known bands are Malacates Trebol Shop [3], Viento en Contra, and El Tambor de la Tribu, although there are many others. Notable popular singers include Luis Galich, Roberto Rey, Herman May, Tania Zea, Karim May, and Elizabeth, as well as youthful pop vocalists such as Magda Angélica [4], Shery [5], Carlos Catania, Tavo Barcenas and Carlos Peña, just to name a few.
[edit] Suggested listening
- Chapinlandia: Marimba Music of Guatemala. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2007. SFW CD 40542. [6]
- Valses inolvidables de Guatemala. Guatemala: ADESCA, 2000. Orquesta Metropolitana Millennium, Dieter Lehnhoff. [7]
- 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. [8]
[edit] References
- Lester Godínez. La marimba Guatemalteca. Guatemala City: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2003.
- Dieter Lehnhoff. "Guatemala." Diccionario de la Música Española e Hispanoamericana, 10 vols., ed. Emilio Casares Rodicio. Madrid: Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, 2000, 6/1-11. ISBN 84-8048-303-2
- Dieter Lehnhoff. Creación musical en Guatemala. Guatemala City: Editorial Galería Guatemala, 2005. ISBN 99-922704-7-0 [9]
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