The Night of the Mayas

The Night of the Mayas (Spanish:La noche de los mayas) is a 1939 Mexican film. It was directed by Chano Urueta. The film, which is called a "Mexican tragedy" set in the times of the Mayas, is remembered today for its musical score by the Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas.

The Night of the Mayas
Directed byChano Urueta
Produced byFrancisco Cabrera
Mauricio de la Serna
Written byArchibaldo Burns
Alfredo B. Crevenna
Antonio Mediz Bolio
Chano Urueta
StarringArturo de Córdova
Stella Inda
Isabela Corona
Music bySilvestre Revueltas, with Mayan tunes contributed by Cornelio Cárdenas Samada
CinematographyGabriel Figueroa
Edited byEmilio Gómez Muriel
Distributed byFama Films
Release date
1939
Running time
101 min
CountryMexico
LanguageSpanish

Cast

Music
Further information: La noche de los mayas (suite)

The music is best known in arrangements for the concert hall, although the composer did not live to make such an arrangement himself.

Concert suites

In 1946 the German composer Paul Hindemith made a visit to Mexico where he met Rosaura Revueltas, sister of Silvestre. This led to his concert arrangement in two movements.[1]

There is a later arrangement by José Limantour (1919–1976) in four movements. It is scored for larger forces than Hindemith's version and includes a large percussion section.[2][3]

Recordings

The version by Hindemith was recorded by the Tempus Fugit Orquesta conducted by Christian Gohmer, and released by Quindecim Records in 2014.[4]

Limantour was recorded conducting the Orquesta Sinfónica de Guadalajara.[5] Later recordings include one by the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, which was released on Deutsche Grammophon in 2010.[6]

gollark: Yes. North America isn't real.
gollark: Suuuuuure he did.
gollark: I thought it'd be something like a fraction of a second for all of human history.
gollark: Wait, only a billion?
gollark: It had the opposite effect for me.

References
  1. Talavera, Juan Carlos (24 March 2014). "Graban y publican la versión sinfónica de La noche de los mayas". excelsior.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. Hall, Alexander (16 December 2018). "Women in the driving seat at the Elbphilharmonie". Bachtrack. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  3. Kolb Neuhaus, Roberto. "La noche de los mayas: crónica de una performance de otredad exótica". Trans (Revista Transcultural de Música), no. 18 (October 2014) ISSN 1697-0101 (accessed 16 July 2017).
  4. Silvestre Revueltas: La noche de los Mayas: versión de Paul Hindemith; Juan Trigos: Concierto no. 2 (Hispano): para guitarra y orquesta, Raúl Zambrano (guitar), Tempus Fugit Orquesta, Christian Gohmer (cond.); recorded at Sony Music, Mexico City 10–12 June 2013. CD recording. Quindecim CDQP239. Mexico: Quindecim Recordings, 2014.
  5. Silvestre Revueltas, Musica para charlar; La noche de los Mayas. Orquesta Sinfónica de Guadalajara; José Yves Limantour (cond.). Musart MCD 3022 (LP). Mexico City: Discos Musart.
  6. Rite: Stravinsky/Revueltas. Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, Gustavo Dudamel (cond.) CD recording. Deutsche Grammophon 0289 477 8775 4.

Further reading
  • Lienhard, Martin. "La Noche de Los Mayas: Indigenous Mesoamericans in Cinema and Literature, 1917–1943", translated by Peter Cooke and Philip Derbyshire. Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies 13, no. 1 (2004): 35–96.


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