A tale of two Chavez

Many column inches here, and elsewhere, devoted to the music education and freedom of press policies of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavéz. Wouldn't some of them be better spent reappraising the music of his namesake, Mexican composer Carlos Chavéz?

Carlos Chavéz (photo above) was born in 1899, and lived to 1978. During the mid-20th century he was a major influence on the Mexican musical scene, and his important achievements include the formation of the Orquesta Sinfónia del Estado de México. His early works coincided with the period of post-revolutionary government in Mexico when Indian music and indigenous culture became a prized national asset. The Sinfonia India is the second of Chavéz's seven symphonies. The single movement work was completed in 1936, and incorporates authentic Indian melodies from the state of Sonora. The scoring is Indian exotic, including maraca, Yaqui metal rattle, water gourd, tenabri (butterfly cocoons), teponaxtles (a member of the xylophone family), a rattling string of deer hooves, tlapanhuehuetl (bass drum) and rasping stick, as well as full orchestra.

I must declare an interest in this symphony. During the 1980s I spent some time in Mexico helping develop the classical music market in that wonderful country. For that project EMI recorded Chavéz's Sinfonia India as part of a two LP project Music of Mexico featuring 20th century works by local composers. The conductor was Enrique Batiz (left), with the Orquesta Sinfónia del Estado de México. The sessions were produced by Brian Culverhouse in the Sala Nezahualcoyotu in Mexico City. The vinyl LP of Sinfonia India plays as I write, and still sounds quite magnificent with all those wonderful percussion colours. If we want to celebrate the musical achievements of Latin America let's pay some more attention to Carlos Chavez and the other Mexican composers featured on those long deleted records.

* Music of Mexico Volume 1 was released in 1981:
Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940): Sensemayá
José Pablo Moncayo: (1912-1958) Huapango
Revueltas: Homage to Federico Garcia Lorca
Chavéz: Sinfonia India
This release had a gatefold sleeve, and it was used to full advantage to display an allegorical mural by the Mexican revolutionary artist Diego Rivera depicting the independence of Mexico. Those were the days when sleeve art was art! View the mural via this link.

Volume 2 was released in 1984:
Revueltas: Redes
Revueltas: Ocho por Radio
Blas Galindo (1910-1993): Suite, Homenaje a Cervantes
Rodolfo Halffter (1900-1987): Tripartia

EMI departed from their usual practice of shipping the recording equipment and house production team out to Mexico City from England. Instead freelance Brian Culverhouse acted both as producer and balance engineer, and the digital recording equipment was supplied by Soundstream, Inc from the US.

Now read about a composer from Cuba - Odaline de la Martinez
Image credit, from an excellent online biography of Carlos Chavéz. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Many musicians are just making a quick buck

"At present," she says ruefully, "there is a growing trend towards commercialisation, with many musicians practically playing to the gallery just to make a quick buck rather than for the love of the Classics. This explains why many students stop attending classes after they have developed a certain level of proficiency." The perennial sellers are compositions of the Baroque and Romantic composers, and the Hooked On Classics series.

"Today, the keyboard has replaced many instruments. Though a number of piano teaching classes have mushroomed all over the city, the students prefer to learn the keyboard. As a result, there are fewer takers for piano classes these days. As for other instruments such as the violin and the flute, the numbers are dwindling."

Another doomsday report from the musical front line in the US or UK? Well actually no. Extracts from a very interesting article in The Hindu on the decline of Western classical music in India. Thanks to the excellent Traditional Catholic blog for the heads-up. Now sample the essence of India.

Header image from The Hindu. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

The essence of India

Photograph Steve McCurry

Having just returned from 2 weeks in this extraordinary country, I felt that a glimpse of its warmth, scents and colours would perhaps brighten some dark days. I first visited the subcontinent in 1963, touring round the world with my father. I was just 19, and the done thing was of course to go overland with a backpack, but I wasn’t going to turn my nose up to the offer of 2 months in Asia in comfortable hotels! The shock of discovery of another world, where a huge number of people lived with completely different standards and values than those I had grown up with, was one of the significant experiences of my life. I remember feeling with great clarity, on the streets of the holy city of Benares, “the West has lost its soul”.

Amidst the chaos of bullock carts, rickshaws, bicycles, goats, dogs and cows, the riot of colours and smells and the cacophony of truck horns, bells and assorted shouts, I somehow felt at home, and did not resist much when an eager shopkeeper draped me in a sari and exclaimed how well it suited me. Nearly twenty years later, I returned, not as a tourist, but as a pilgrim to the shrine of Meher Baba, the holy man who has given the King of Hearts its inspiration, its name, and the friendly face on its sign.

Photograph Steve McCurry

Since then, I have visited about a dozen times, and the feeling of belonging has remained. India is a country of paradoxes and contradictions, symbolised by its constant contrasts: in the streets of the bazaar, the stench of rotting garbage is suddenly replaced by heavenly fragrances of sandalwood and frangipani; religion is expressed by frozen superstitious rituals and fanaticism as well as refined scholarship, sublime poetry or deep devotion. Deep spirituality and rampant corruption rub shoulders everywhere.

Even though Western influence is rapidly transforming the cities, in rural areas there is still a sense of timelessness and grace; women wear the sari and carry great brass pots on their heads with elegant poise, and the men, slight and dark, greet you with a hand on their heart or joined hands with the traditional “Namaskar”. The site where Meher Baba is buried is a hill on the Deccan plateau, from which the view extends in every direction. A sense of peace pervades the immense space, in spite of the many noises, whistle of a steam train, bird calls of all kinds, shouts of children playing cricket, and tooting horns. Diesel trucks, lavishly decorated in bright colours and tinsel streamers, rattle over the bumpy road producing clouds of smoke. “Horn Please” says the completely unnecessary inscription on the back.

Photograph Steve McCurry

At the bottom of the hill lies a small shrine with a charming story. It belongs to the cook of Queen Victoria, who, having served the Queen for many years, declared that he must now return home to serve God. The Queen accepted regretfully and gave him a purse of gold, which he threw in the river as soon as he arrived back in India, to adopt the life of an itinerant sadhu. He gathered quite a following and one day, led his disciples to a deserted, arid spot outside the city of Ahmednagar, and told them that this was where he should be buried. As they remonstrated, saying: “Master, how will we tend your shrine in this out of the way place”, he replied: “You don’t know what you are talking about. A very great master will come to live here, and the dust of his feet on my grave will be enough to honour it.” Some years later, in 1923, Meher Baba established his headquarters on that very spot, and the saint’s prophecy was realised. Such stories carry some of the essence of India, which remains under the current varnish of materialism, and I believe cannot be lost. Aude Gotto

This inspirational article was written by Aude Gotto. The wonderful music making at the King of Hearts in Norwich, and the beautiful harpsichords made by Alan Gotto have been featured several times On An Overgrown Path, and Aude Gotto is founder and Director & Artistic Manager of the King of Hearts, and her husband is Alan Gotto.

In March there are some very exciting things happening at the King of Hearts. On Saturday 25th March the Tudor building will host a display and demonstration by Alan Gotto of virginals, spinets, harpsichords, clavichords, and square pianos. Keyboard players are invited to bring their own music to try out the instruments.

And on the following day (Sunday 26th March at 11.00am) there is A Morning with Mr. Bach, with harpsichordist and actor Geoffrey Thomas playing and acting the great composer's music and life. Both events should be wonderful, more details from The King of Hearts web site.

Image credits - all from photographer Steve McCurry, his online gallery is unmissable. Image owners - if you do not want your picture used in this article please contact me and it will be removed. Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
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