Carlos Chavezs Sinfona India - Assignment Example

Carlos worked with all of the leading symphony orchestras in the United States, Latin America, and Europe and had an active conducting career. He founded the country’s first permanent orchestra the Orquesta Sinfónica de Mexico (1928) and the National Symphonic Orchestra (1947) (Parker 115). As the director of Mexico's National Conservatory of Music, Carlos headed projects for assembling aboriginal folk music. He wrote a book about electronic music “Toward a New Music,” (1937) and conducted a series of concerts with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in 1939 (Parker 9).

He composed six symphonies out of which symphony no. 2 Sinfonía India (1939) is amongst his best and most frequently performed works. Hearing the symphony is an exotic experience. It turns out that Carlos was an expert in blending folk with contemporary because this symphony offers a variety of flavors. Usually, symphonies involve pauses or breaks because these are layered according to the composition of instruments but Sinfonia India is different. Upon hearing this symphony it becomes obvious that there are no breaks despite that it is a three-movement composition. This informs about Carlos’s intention of breaking the norms and moving beyond the conventional style of composing and conducting for forming his trademark style.

This symphony has a Mexican feel probably due to the very empowering use of conventional Mexican instruments like drums and strings. A striking feature of Sinfonia India is the clarity of sounds and rhythmic attributes but the most enjoyable aspect is the folk element because it gives the symphony a nationalist aura for which Carlos is noted. The symphony’s mood is pleasant and uplifting. It begins vibrantly but the meters change rapidly encouraging a soft and soothing somewhat melancholic melody by the middle and again mood becomes cheerful when the entire piece from the opening gets repeated. The last part is quite an accelerated one and this is the most exciting part because a variety of instruments are introduced. Repetition turns out to be a much-preferred style of Carlos in symphonies after hearing Sinfonia India. Read More