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Chapter 78: Nationalism in the Americas: Aaron Copland and Silvestre Revueltas

Study Plan

"A nation creates music—the composer only arranges it." —MIKHAIL GLINKA

Key Points

  • American composer Aaron Copland was inspired by songs of the Old West, and by Mexican dance music; his orchestral works and ballets (Billy the Kid) established his popularity.
  • The music of Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas is expressively nationalistic, with colorful, folkloric rhythms and melodies set in a modern, dissonant idiom.
  • Revueltas' orchestral work Homenaje a Federico García Lorca pays homage to a Spanish writer who was executed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.
  • The mariachi ensemble originated in the Mexican state of Jalisco as a theatrical orchestra of violins, harps, and guitars; the group played and sang son, the popular dance songs of the day.

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