A Guide to the Latin American Art Song Repertoire: An Annotated Catalog of Twentieth-Century Art Songs for Voice and Piano

11 Guatemala

162 11 Guatemala Before the Spanish conquest, Guatemala was a part of the heart of Mayan civilization. Mayans still occupy half of Guatemala, maintaining the traditions of the Mayan religion. Mayan music is an integral part of the culture, and musical events center around a calendar that combines dates from the Roman Catholic religion with Mayan agricultural cycles. Guatemala is also home to Arawak and Carib descendants (descendants of African slaves brought over by the Spaniards) and to Spanish-speaking Ladinos, although it took until the 1920s for African rhythms to begin to work their way into Guatemalan music.1 The nineteenth century saw the influence of European art and art forms, as was typical in other regions of Latin America, but also the elevation of local or popular music as it became fashionable at elite events. In 1859, the Teatro Oriente opened, featuring great Italian operas of the time and touring Italian opera companies, many of whose European -trained musicians chose to stay in Guatemala. The Italian-born Juan Aberle, who became the first head of El Salvador’s National Conservatory of Music, spent time in Guatemala before eventually settling in El Salvador.2 Much of the Guatemalan folk music has been catalogued and classified by musicologist and composer Jesús Castillo.3 In general, Guatamalan composers from the middle of the nineteenth century and into the beginning of the twentieth century followed the same trends as did composers in other areas of Latin America—the quest for national identity within the context of European art forms resulted in the incorporation of native elements into otherwise Romantic or Impressionistic music. Composers exemplifying this type of composition include guatemala 163 Ley, Salvador, 1907–1985 11.1, Balada del tiempo mozo, 1940, Enrique Gonzales Martínez, —, Med-high, —, m, —, + 11.2, Copla triste (Elegy), 1940, Enrique Gonzales Martínez, D4–F5, Med, —, EBMMC, PEN, The Art Song in Latin America, + 11.3, Der Krieg, 1950, Matthias Claudius, —, Med-high, German text; score text illegible , m, —, + 11.4, Tres canciones sobre poemas de Enrique Gonzáles Martinez 11.4a, Lumen, 1940, Enrique Gonzales Martínez, —, Medium voice, —, m, —, + 11.4b, Victoria sobre el tiempo, 1940, Enrique Gonzales Martínez, —, Medium voice, —, m, —, + 11.4c, Diafanidad, 1940, Enrique Gonzales Martínez, —, Medium voice, —, m, —, + 11.5, Yo pienso en tí, 1963, José Batres Montúfar, —, Med-high, —, m, —, + Marroquín, José Sabre, 1900–1995 11.6, Canción de cuna a Patricia, 1955, José Agüeros, D4–E5, Med, —, PI, —, + Sandoval, Miguel, 1903–1953 11.7, A casinha pequenina, —, Brazilian folk song, arr. Sandoval, —, —, —, GSch 41941, —, — 11.8, Adelita, —, Mexican folk song, arr. Sandoval, —, —, —, GSch 41941, — 11.9, A la orilla del palmar, —, Mexican folk song, arr. Sandoval, —, —, —, GSch 41941, — 11.10, A las montañas iré, —, Bolivian folk song, arr. Sandoval, —, —, —, GSch 41941, — 11.11, Así amo yo (Cueca), ©1949, Chilean folk song, arr. Sandoval, E4–F#5, Med, —, GSch 41941, — 11.12, ¡Ay, ay, ay!, —, Chilean folk song, arr. Sandoval, —, —, —, GSch 41941, — Jesús Castillo (1877–1946), Ricardo Castillo (1894–1967), Salvador Ley (1907–1985), and Enrique Solares Echeverría (1910–). Ley wrote over fifty songs, a limited number of which are available in manuscript form from the Latin American Music Center at Indiana University. As with the Costa Rican composers, a handful of Guatemalan composers have focused on educational songs. These include Jesús María Alvarado (1896–1977), whose numerous songs for children were published in several books,4 and José Castañeda (1898–), whose children’s songs have also been published. Some of Miguel Sandoval’s (1903–1953) settings of folk songs from Spain and Latin America are included in this catalog. Other composers have employed more modern techniques, such as José Castañeda, who experimented with polytonality, microtonality, and serialism, and José Sarmientos (1931–), who also used serial techniques .5 a guide to the latin ­american art song repertoire 164 11.13, Cantos de España 11.13a, Romería Mariana, ©1954, —, —, Medium voice, —, GRic, — 11.13b, En casa del tío Vicente, ©1954, —, —, Medium voice, —, GRic, — 11.13c, Charrada, ©1954, —, —, Medium voice, —, GRic, — 11.13d, Nostalgia, ©1954, —, —, Medium voice, —, GRic, — 11.13e, Soleá, ©1954, —, —, Medium voice, —, GRic, — 11.13f, Caminito de Avilés, ©1954, —, —, Medium voice, —, GRic, — 11.14, Cielito lindo, —, Mexican folk song, arr. Sandoval, —, —, —, GSch 41941, — 11.15, Coco de los Santos, —, Panamanian folk song, arr. Sandoval, —, —, —, GSch 41941, — 11.16, Cuatro...