The Night of the Mayas
The Night of the Mayas | |
---|---|
Directed by | Chano Urueta |
Written by | Archibaldo Burns Alfredo B. Crevenna Antonio Mediz Bolio Chano Urueta |
Produced by | Francisco Cabrera Mauricio de la Serna |
Starring | Arturo de Córdova Stella Inda Isabela Corona |
Cinematography | Gabriel Figueroa |
Edited by | Emilio Gómez Muriel |
Music by | Silvestre Revueltas, with Mayan tunes contributed by Cornelio Cárdenas Samada |
Distributed by | Fama Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | Mexico |
Language | Spanish |
The Night of the Mayas (Spanish: La noche de los mayas) is a 1939 Mexican film 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.
Cast
[edit]- Arturo de Córdova as Uz
- Stella Inda as Lol
- Isabela Corona as Zev
- Luis Aldás as Miguel
- Miguel Ángel Ferriz Sr. as Yum Balam
- Rodolfo Landa as Taz
- Daniel (Chino) Herrera as Apolonio
- Rosita Gasque as Pil
- Max Langler as H‐Men, hombre sabio
- Jacoba Herrera as Nuc, anciana
- Ch. Sánchez as Chumín
Music
[edit]Revueltas' music is best known in arrangements for the concert hall, although the composer did not live to make such an arrangement himself.
Concert suites
[edit]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
[edit]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]
References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ Hall, Alexander (16 December 2018). "Women in the driving seat at the Elbphilharmonie". Bachtrack. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ 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).
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Rite: Stravinsky/Revueltas. Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, Gustavo Dudamel (cond.) CD recording. Deutsche Grammophon 0289 477 8775 4.
Further reading
[edit]- 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.
External links
[edit]- La noche de los mayas at IMDb
- La noche de los mayas at Hoycinema.com (in Spanish)