Music & The Socio-Cultural Enviroment of Mexico • 3

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Music & The Socio-Cultural Environment of
Post-Revolutionary Mexico

Peter Kun Frary, Professor of Music, University of Hawaii

The Influence of Folklore Research on Music

In México, the politically nationalistic perspective on folklore produced extensive repercussions in the development of art music. Notedly, this fervor over nationalism in music bore a subsequent government priority for ethnomusicological research. Research accelerated the consciousness of nationalistic elements in music and the possibilities thereof. An agency devoted to the full-time study of musical folklore, the Departamento de Música y Folklore, was created by Vasconcelos under the Secretaría de Educación Pública in 1923. The objective of this agency was the study and collection of music, song texts, dance movements, musical artifacts, instruments and cultural information relevant to the indigenous music of México. With the rapidly escalating interest in folklore, centers for research and study were also established at the state controlled Universidad Nacional Autónoma and the Conservatorio Nacional within the next ten years; consequently, future composers and music scholars were exposed to the results of musical folklore research.

The study of musical folklore served the revolutionary government in three ways:

1. It helped to refine the government's cultural-political ideology; this, in turn, induced specific actions in the form of nationalist propaganda, i.e., the various cultural programs.

2. It allowed the incorporation of the results of folklore research into the public education system; therefore an immediate response and lasting impact on the general public was achieved.

3. It helped refine and direct nationalism in the works of composers; this was especially effective since most of the researchers were composers and teachers--notably Ponce and Vicente Mendoza.

Due to ethnomusicological research, a compositional trend of evoking or reproducing the elements of indigenous musics (i.e., the various Indian and mestizo musics) as accurately as possible developed. Chávez and Revueltas were instrumental in establishing this trend as a part of the modern school of Mexican nationalism.²⁴ In contrast, Ponce, in his early nationalistic works--e.g., Canciones mexicanas (1914) for voice and piano and Sonata mexicana (1923) for guitar solo--preferred the Romantic practice of correcting the irregularities of indigenous musics for use in his compositions.

Amidst folklore research and much debate, neither the government nor any one group of composers were able to adequately define or agree on the type of music to be representative of Mexican culture. This is due to the fact that México is an amalgamation of cultures--the Western and the non-Western juxtaposed with the present and the remote past. Communist-influenced composers, e.g., Chávez and Rolón, preached ancient Aztec culture; others, such as Ponce and Revueltas, championed the popular and folk music of the mestizo; still others, chiefly Julian Carrillo,²⁵ were nationalistic in title and inspiration only: elements of indigenous music were not used at all. Musical nationalism, then, was broken into diverse cultural emphases--mestizo popular and folk music, reconstructed ancient Indian music, acculturated contemporary Indian music, etc.--these diverse emphases simultaneously voiced México's unique cultural image in the world while contradicting one another internally. This display of cultural incongruity in the arts is precisely the means by which the Soviets hoped to split México apart. Folklore research contributed to this incongruity by focusing attention on cultural differences and producing more resources for cultural warfare--rallying the proponents of various sides against one another.

Although composers propagated the various cultural emphases surfaced by research, their differences, perhaps, were too intellectual to achieve their intended end. For example, a symphony orchestra performing an avant-garde work evoking ancient Aztec music--the basis of which was arrived at by comparing sixteenth-century missionary accounts of Aztec music, clay flute fingerings and modern acculturated Indian music--is not likely to have swayed the typical Mexican peasant one way or the other. The peasant would have probably been awestruck with the totally alien spectacle of the orchestra rather than the cultural-political implications of the scorings. In the context of high art music, nationalism often communicated on a level accessible only to government and intellectual circles from where it came.

Nationalism and Artistic Success

With the government and the intellectual class strong with nationalistic sentiment, an artist desiring success needed to learn to converse with and win government officials, affiliate himself with prominent cultural-political ideologies and to create art which is nationalistic, yet universally appealing. Because nationalism played an important part in the success of an artist during the post-revolutionary years, some otherwise apolitical artists began incorporating nationalistic themes into their work. Insincere opportunists in the government subsidized muralist school, Chávez admits, were a definite possibility: "I do not know whether, in this complete liberty of action, all the artists involved were always one hundred per cent sincere: a considerable amount of demagoguery must have been present."²⁶

The use of nationalism as a means to success and acceptance seems to have been common throughout Latin America during the twentieth-century. Gerard Béhague, commenting on the preponderance of nationalism in Latin America, observed:

Socio-musical considerations very often explain the attitude of many Latin American composers towards musical nationalism. Examination of a given composer's social environment frequently reveals his deliberate avoidance of breaches between himself and the prevailing artistic conditions."²⁷

The Spanish musicologist, Adolfo Salazar, felt that Latin Americans had

. . . founded their nationalist aesthetics somewhat forcedly and artificially, sometimes more from political feeling than from a truly aesthetic one, more as program than from inner necessity. . . . It is not the character of the model that creates a work of art but the artist's purpose and the adequate realization of the purpose."²⁸

Salazar questions the aesthetics of Latin American nationalism while pointing out some obvious truths. However, it seems unlikely that values of "greater transcendence," i.e., values unrelated to politics or government programs, would be able to produce any greater or lesser art than any other extramusical motivation. While nationalism was certainly important to artistic success in early twentieth-century México, Chávez, writing in the early 1960s, points out that

. . . great art . . . will not be achieved merely by reaching a certain historical, sociological status, or by means of nationalistic technique, or by any techniques whatsoever, but by the genius of individual composers, born in such lands."²⁹

Summary

The Revolution of 1910 produced the catalytic ingredients for nationalism by rallying diverse groups around common socio-political goals. Cultural unity, however, was not inherent with this new found nationalism. Government, Soviet-backed Communists, artists and intellectuals each drew their own brand of nationalistic propaganda from México's juxtaposition of Western and non-Western, present and remote past. Although the consequences of nationalism on musical style were considerable, musical nationalism itself--originating from diverse political and cultural ideologies--cannot be adequately defined by a specific symbolism, technique or socio-political ideology. Some composers, such as Revueltas and Ponce, assimilated the elements of mestizo music into their work; others, notably Chávez, favored the reconstruction and assimilation of ancient Indian music in their music; still others, e.g., Carrillo, avoided the use of indigenous music and were nationalistic in inspiration and title only. Musical nationalism in post-revolutionary México was therefore unified only by the underlying intention of the composer to be nationalistic, not by the style or content of the music. The statement by historian Hans Kohn that nationalism is "first and foremost a state of mind, an act of consciousness"³⁰ aptly characterizes musical nationalism in México. Béhague comments that ". . . Latin American musical nationalism has never been defined to the satisfaction of all; in spite of some agreement as to its fundamental characteristics in Europe, its meaning and functions varied frequently according to the personality being affected."³¹

Finally, the music of post-revolutionary México should be viewed in perspective with the government's program of cultural propaganda. Musical nationalism, especially that which was based on pre-conquest culture, was part of the government's plan to purge the remaining residue of the pre-revolutionary life-style and establish a new identity: anti-imperialist, antiforeign and pro-Mexican. Because the government existed as the only major patron of the arts, the influence of nationalism on musical life was profound. The music of the pre-revolutionary years was brushed aside as pompous and foreign, entertainment for exploitive capitalists, while the new nationalistic music, shaped by the values of the Revolution, came into prominence through nationalist fervor and government subsidy.
©Copyright 2001 by Peter Kun Frary • All Rights Reserved

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.	. Music & The Socio-Cultural Environment of Post-Revolutionary Mexico Peter Kun Frary, Professor of Music, University of Hawaii The Influence of Folklore Research on Music In México, the politically nationalistic perspective on folklore produced extensive repercussions in the development of art music. Notedly, this fervor over nationalism in music bore a subsequent government priority for ethnomusicological research. Research accelerated the consciousness of nationalistic elements in music and the possibilities thereof. An agency devoted to the full-time study of musical folklore, the Departamento de Música y Folklore, was created by Vasconcelos under the Secretaría de Educación Pública in 1923. The objective of this agency was the study and collection of music, song texts, dance movements, musical artifacts, instruments and cultural information relevant to the indigenous music of México. With the rapidly escalating interest in folklore, centers for research and study were also established at the state controlled Universidad Nacional Autónoma and the Conservatorio Nacional within the next ten years; consequently, future composers and music scholars were exposed to the results of musical folklore research. The study of musical folklore served the revolutionary government in three ways: 1. It helped to refine the government's cultural-political ideology; this, in turn, induced specific actions in the form of nationalist propaganda, i.e., the various cultural programs. 2. It allowed the incorporation of the results of folklore research into the public education system; therefore an immediate response and lasting impact on the general public was achieved. 3. It helped refine and direct nationalism in the works of composers; this was especially effective since most of the researchers were composers and teachers--notably Ponce and Vicente Mendoza. Due to ethnomusicological research, a compositional trend of evoking or reproducing the elements of indigenous musics (i.e., the various Indian and mestizo musics) as accurately as possible developed. Chávez and Revueltas were instrumental in establishing this trend as a part of the modern school of Mexican nationalism.²⁴ In contrast, Ponce, in his early nationalistic works--e.g., Canciones mexicanas (1914) for voice and piano and Sonata mexicana (1923) for guitar solo--preferred the Romantic practice of correcting the irregularities of indigenous musics for use in his compositions. Amidst folklore research and much debate, neither the government nor any one group of composers were able to adequately define or agree on the type of music to be representative of Mexican culture. This is due to the fact that México is an amalgamation of cultures--the Western and the non-Western juxtaposed with the present and the remote past. Communist-influenced composers, e.g., Chávez and Rolón, preached ancient Aztec culture; others, such as Ponce and Revueltas, championed the popular and folk music of the mestizo; still others, chiefly Julian Carrillo,²⁵ were nationalistic in title and inspiration only: elements of indigenous music were not used at all. Musical nationalism, then, was broken into diverse cultural emphases--mestizo popular and folk music, reconstructed ancient Indian music, acculturated contemporary Indian music, etc.--these diverse emphases simultaneously voiced México's unique cultural image in the world while contradicting one another internally. This display of cultural incongruity in the arts is precisely the means by which the Soviets hoped to split México apart. Folklore research contributed to this incongruity by focusing attention on cultural differences and producing more resources for cultural warfare--rallying the proponents of various sides against one another. Although composers propagated the various cultural emphases surfaced by research, their differences, perhaps, were too intellectual to achieve their intended end. For example, a symphony orchestra performing an avant-garde work evoking ancient Aztec music--the basis of which was arrived at by comparing sixteenth-century missionary accounts of Aztec music, clay flute fingerings and modern acculturated Indian music--is not likely to have swayed the typical Mexican peasant one way or the other. The peasant would have probably been awestruck with the totally alien spectacle of the orchestra rather than the cultural-political implications of the scorings. In the context of high art music, nationalism often communicated on a level accessible only to government and intellectual circles from where it came. Nationalism and Artistic Success With the government and the intellectual class strong with nationalistic sentiment, an artist desiring success needed to learn to converse with and win government officials, affiliate himself with prominent cultural-political ideologies and to create art which is nationalistic, yet universally appealing. Because nationalism played an important part in the success of an artist during the post-revolutionary years, some otherwise apolitical artists began incorporating nationalistic themes into their work. Insincere opportunists in the government subsidized muralist school, Chávez admits, were a definite possibility: "I do not know whether, in this complete liberty of action, all the artists involved were always one hundred per cent sincere: a considerable amount of demagoguery must have been present."²⁶ The use of nationalism as a means to success and acceptance seems to have been common throughout Latin America during the twentieth-century. Gerard Béhague, commenting on the preponderance of nationalism in Latin America, observed: Socio-musical considerations very often explain the attitude of many Latin American composers towards musical nationalism. Examination of a given composer's social environment frequently reveals his deliberate avoidance of breaches between himself and the prevailing artistic conditions."²⁷ The Spanish musicologist, Adolfo Salazar, felt that Latin Americans had . . . founded their nationalist aesthetics somewhat forcedly and artificially, sometimes more from political feeling than from a truly aesthetic one, more as program than from inner necessity. . . . It is not the character of the model that creates a work of art but the artist's purpose and the adequate realization of the purpose."²⁸ Salazar questions the aesthetics of Latin American nationalism while pointing out some obvious truths. However, it seems unlikely that values of "greater transcendence," i.e., values unrelated to politics or government programs, would be able to produce any greater or lesser art than any other extramusical motivation. While nationalism was certainly important to artistic success in early twentieth-century México, Chávez, writing in the early 1960s, points out that . . . great art . . . will not be achieved merely by reaching a certain historical, sociological status, or by means of nationalistic technique, or by any techniques whatsoever, but by the genius of individual composers, born in such lands."²⁹ Summary The Revolution of 1910 produced the catalytic ingredients for nationalism by rallying diverse groups around common socio-political goals. Cultural unity, however, was not inherent with this new found nationalism. Government, Soviet-backed Communists, artists and intellectuals each drew their own brand of nationalistic propaganda from México's juxtaposition of Western and non-Western, present and remote past. Although the consequences of nationalism on musical style were considerable, musical nationalism itself--originating from diverse political and cultural ideologies--cannot be adequately defined by a specific symbolism, technique or socio-political ideology. Some composers, such as Revueltas and Ponce, assimilated the elements of mestizo music into their work; others, notably Chávez, favored the reconstruction and assimilation of ancient Indian music in their music; still others, e.g., Carrillo, avoided the use of indigenous music and were nationalistic in inspiration and title only. Musical nationalism in post-revolutionary México was therefore unified only by the underlying intention of the composer to be nationalistic, not by the style or content of the music. The statement by historian Hans Kohn that nationalism is "first and foremost a state of mind, an act of consciousness"³⁰ aptly characterizes musical nationalism in México. Béhague comments that ". . . Latin American musical nationalism has never been defined to the satisfaction of all; in spite of some agreement as to its fundamental characteristics in Europe, its meaning and functions varied frequently according to the personality being affected."³¹ Finally, the music of post-revolutionary México should be viewed in perspective with the government's program of cultural propaganda. Musical nationalism, especially that which was based on pre-conquest culture, was part of the government's plan to purge the remaining residue of the pre-revolutionary life-style and establish a new identity: anti-imperialist, antiforeign and pro-Mexican. Because the government existed as the only major patron of the arts, the influence of nationalism on musical life was profound. The music of the pre-revolutionary years was brushed aside as pompous and foreign, entertainment for exploitive capitalists, while the new nationalistic music, shaped by the values of the Revolution, came into prominence through nationalist fervor and government subsidy. ©Copyright 2001 by Peter Kun Frary • All Rights Reserved	.
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