Collective Difference: The Pan-American Association of Composers

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All these composers idealized Amerindian themes by setting them to Romantic or Impressionistic harmonies and forms. After the First World War, however, an emerging generation of modern composers expanded their interest in Native American musical elements. Futurism and widespread fascination with mechanization and technology in the 1920s produced composers who were eager to experiment with new timbres and new instruments. Edgard Varèse, for example, used Native American percussion instruments such as rasps, rattles, and tom-toms in the early 1920s. His Hyperprism (1922-23) seems to have been the first work to incorporate an Amerindian drum and rattles in an ultramodern setting. Henry Cowell’s Adagio for Cello and Thunderstick (1924) and Ensemble for String Quartet and Thunderstick (1924) both use the instrument known more commonly as the bullroarer. 14 After Le Sacre du printemps other compositions soon followed that explored a new timbral sensibility, especially works for expanded percussion sections. Stravinsky’s Les Noces, completed in 1921, is a notable example. With its instrumentation of solo voices, four pianos used mainly percussively, and an ensemble of seventeen percussion instruments, the work seemed a logical next step in the development of a percussive genre. Around the same time, Darius Milhaud combined percussive possibilities with American themes. 15 His ballet L’Homme et son désir, Op. 48 (1918) contained sections of music written exclusively for percussion, which were inspired by his trip to the Brazilian rainforest. Similarly, his 1927 opera Christophe Colomb paid homage to the European discoverer of the American continent by illustrating stories from his life. Premiered at the Berlin Staatsoper in 1930, this work originally included a rhythmically complex percussion part to accompany the narrator. Between 1929 and 1930 Milhaud composed the first concerto for percussion and orchestra. He also participated in the movement of “negritude” (blackness) with La Création du monde (1922-23), a ballet employing jazz idioms that depicts the creation of the world based on African folk mythology. In a more futuristic vein, George Antheil’s Ballet mécanique (1924-25), a work scored for a large 14 The bullroarer is an oval-shaped wooden instrument with a slight twist in its shape. It is attached to and spun through the air “lasso-style” by a piece of rope, which produces a humming sound. The bullroarer is not unique to Native American populations. It is traditionally used to create sound that travels long distances. 15 Milhaud visited Brazil in 1917 and toured the U.S.A. in 1922 and 1927. 18
percussion ensemble, eight pianos and two airplane propellers, captured the ultramodern spirit of mechanization. 16 Percussion Music in the Americas U.S. composers’ interest in ancient musical materials can be most readily understood as an interest in exoticism. Elsewhere in the Americas, however, the use of neo-primitivist musical materials can sometimes be considered constituents of broader nationalist movements. As these materials emerged from modernization, composers discovered timbral and rhythmic resources in their own native pasts. In Mexico, for example, a well-documented series of nation-building projects followed the Mexican Revolution of 1910-11. This nationalist movement initiated a tidal wave of government- sponsored archaeological research on pre-Columbian cultures and artifacts. One result in the area of music was Daniel Castañeda’s and Vicente Mendoza’s exhaustive work on pre-Hispanic musical instruments, Instrumental precortesiano (Pre-Cortesian Instruments, 1933). Dedicated specifically to percussion instruments, this 280-page volume was published under the auspices of the Mexican National Museum of Archaeology, History and Ethnography. It included hundreds of photographs, detailed drawings, and explanations of the origins and evolution of percussion instruments in Mexico such as the varied types of teponaztli, huéhuetl, and timbal, as well as their accompanying rhythms. Figure 1.2 is a diagram from Instrumental precortesiano of a teponaztli, or slit drum, showing its exact measurements and relief carvings. Carlos Chávez (1899-1978) and his students at the National Conservatory of Mexico in Mexico City benefited from the research presented in Instrumental precortesiano. Between 1931 and 1934 Chávez held a series of composition seminars, the purpose of which was to give young Mexican composers “a living comprehension of the musical tradition of their own country.” 17 Seminarians included Instrumental co-author 16 In the 1920s mechanization was outré. By the early 1930s, however, it was considered largely outdated as an elevated mode of expression, having been satirized and given mass-market appeal by media such as the Charles Chaplin film Modern Times (1936). 17 Carlos Chávez, “Revolt in Mexico.” Modern Music 13/3 (1936), 39. 19
Page 1 and 2: FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF
Page 3 and 4: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to exp
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .
Page 7 and 8: LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE I.1. Pan-Ame
Page 9 and 10: LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES EXAMPLE 1.
Page 11 and 12: EXAMPLE 4.5. Amadeo Roldán, “Sig
Page 13 and 14: INTRODUCTION Friendly cultural and
Page 15 and 16: of America, and [to] stimulate comp
Page 17 and 18: United States, because of its wonde
Page 19 and 20: Figure I.1. Pan-American Exposition
Page 21 and 22: the New Music Quarterly Recordings
Page 23 and 24: CHAPTER 1 1930s PAN-AMERICAN PERCUS
Page 25 and 26: publication composed for percussion
Page 27 and 28: of scientific and technological adv
Page 29: In his Tecumseh, or the Battle of t
Page 33 and 34: in those popular dance genres. The
Page 35 and 36: concertmaster of the New York Philh
Page 37 and 38: Example 1.1. William Russell, Percu
Page 39 and 40: instruments that contributed to the
Page 41 and 42: Example 1.4. Amadeo Roldán, Rítmi
Page 43 and 44: Rítmica No. 5 separates rhythmic e
Page 45 and 46: Paris, “there is nothing more con
Page 47 and 48: of decadence and collapse.” 44 Ne
Page 49 and 50: Example 1.7. Ionisation, mm. 9-12 S
Page 51 and 52: Example 1.8b. Edgard Varèse, Ionis
Page 53 and 54: Example 1.9b. Amadeo Roldán, Rítm
Page 55 and 56: coquettes neither with academies no
Page 57 and 58: Rhythms and general direction of pi
Page 59 and 60: No. 1 conducted by Fritz Reiner wit
Page 61 and 62: against-three cross-rhythm (Example
Page 63 and 64: knowledge of it. Certainly, the sam
Page 65 and 66: with both Roldán and Caturla in th
Page 67: fortissimo 83 and are immediately f
Page 70 and 71: wrote in 1932, “I am convinced th
Page 72 and 73: subject of his early percussion wor
Page 74 and 75: societies, the PAAC presented at le
Page 76 and 77: their own PAAC concerts in Havana a
Page 78 and 79: in Berlin was unsuccessful in Cowel
Page 80 and 81:
This music congress never took plac
Page 82 and 83:
most likely in the hope that he wou
Page 84 and 85:
from Fabini - and Cotapos did not e
Page 86 and 87:
sponsored by the League of Composer
Page 88 and 89:
neither Cuban nor American, nor eve
Page 90 and 91:
Figure 2.1. Concert program, Carneg
Page 92 and 93:
Figure 2.3. Concert program, Slonim
Page 94 and 95:
and somewhat soporific.” 39 With
Page 96 and 97:
Figure 2.4. Concert program, New Sc
Page 98 and 99:
composers of the Pan American, amon
Page 100 and 101:
voz, who stated unequivocally of Ge
Page 102 and 103:
Caturla’s insightful description
Page 104 and 105:
modern American music to these citi
Page 106 and 107:
organizer and financier, and Slonim
Page 108 and 109:
Paris, June 6 and 11, 1931 Paris in
Page 110 and 111:
Example 3.1. Adolph Weiss, American
Page 112 and 113:
elated to Cowell, “the final gong
Page 114 and 115:
however, attributed to the work a m
Page 116 and 117:
of American popular culture in the
Page 118 and 119:
Example 3.4. Wallingford Riegger, T
Page 120 and 121:
musicians seem to turn their invent
Page 122 and 123:
July,” with its quotations from t
Page 124 and 125:
as a medium. Slonimsky described To
Page 126 and 127:
a generation of older composers inc
Page 128 and 129:
the twelve-tone system. Roldán’s
Page 130 and 131:
sponsored many concerts of new Fren
Page 132 and 133:
Figure 3.2. Concert program. Madrid
Page 134 and 135:
in collaboration with Cowell’s Ne
Page 136 and 137:
which I gave the names of Ives, Rug
Page 138 and 139:
Figure 3.5. Concert program. Budape
Page 140 and 141:
talent.” 81 In January 1933 Varè
Page 142 and 143:
The evening consisted of Ruggles’
Page 144 and 145:
on four Latin American PAAC members
Page 146 and 147:
having been governed by Spain (1764
Page 148 and 149:
God’s America, Spanish America.
Page 150 and 151:
Blues and Son: Pan-American Literar
Page 152 and 153:
example is “I, Too, Sing America,
Page 154 and 155:
cultural expressions that defined a
Page 156 and 157:
the repeated lines “tú no sabe i
Page 158 and 159:
Example 4.2. Alejandro García Catu
Page 160 and 161:
Example 4.3. Amadeo Roldán, “Neg
Page 162 and 163:
Example 4.6. Amadeo Roldán, “Sig
Page 164 and 165:
in Havana. Mexican composers Cháve
Page 166 and 167:
Revueltas . . . asked me if I had o
Page 168 and 169:
Example 4.11. Silvestre Revueltas,
Page 170 and 171:
applying Marxist social theory to t
Page 172 and 173:
present in the preceding stanza, le
Page 174 and 175:
Figure 4.1. Carlos Chávez, “Nort
Page 176 and 177:
A slave—under the whip, Beaten an
Page 178 and 179:
may be mistaken for Blacks). Each s
Page 180 and 181:
however, the logo was changed to re
Page 182 and 183:
as well as other musical heritages.
Page 184 and 185:
Henry Brant, Two Sarabandes Adolph
Page 186 and 187:
Charles Weidman assisted by José L
Page 188 and 189:
JUNE 6, 1932 Hause des Rundfunks, B
Page 190 and 191:
Claude Debussy, La fille aux cheveu
Page 192 and 193:
Alejandro García Caturla, La Rumba
Page 194 and 195:
Paul Dambly, A Paris June 26, 1931.
Page 196 and 197:
Oscar Bie, Stuttgarter Neues Tagebl
Page 198 and 199:
BIBLIOGRAPHY Aharonián, Coriún.
Page 200 and 201:
___, ed. Yearbook for Inter-America
Page 202 and 203:
García Canclini, Nestor. Hybrid Cu
Page 204 and 205:
Kuss, Malena. "Leitmotive de Charle
Page 206 and 207:
“Nuts! to Europe: Swell Stuff by
Page 208 and 209:
___. “The Newest American Compose
Page 210 and 211:
Unruh, Vicky. Latin American Vangua
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Collective Difference: The Pan-American Association of Composers

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