1940

No dedication

November 23, 1940, conducted by Eduardo Hernández Moncada, choreographed by Waldeen [Falkenstein], masks by Germán Cueto, spoken chorus directed by Seki Sano, set and costume design by Gabriel Fernández Ledesma.

19’ (Duración aproximada de los episodios compuestos por Revueltas)

Unknown, given that Revueltas likely never orchestrated this music.  

Photostats of some of the sketches for piano have been preserved, supposedly done for dance rehearsals. There is no record of any orchestration of them. The handwriting on the photostats numbered pages 10, 11, and 12 is not the composer’s. The page containing the scene entitled “Final Judgment” is in the form of a sketch, incomplete, and many of the annotations do not appear to be in the composer’s hand.

This work was commissioned by Celestino Gorostiza on behalf of the National Fine Arts Institute. It is a ballet inspired by twelve engravings by José Guadalupe Posada. The General Archive of the Nation has a copy of the storyline for La Coronela, registered before the Secretariat of Public Education on February 22, 1941, including four episodes: “Little Ladies of Those Times,” “Dance of the Disinherited,” “The Nightmare of Don Ferruco,” and “Final Judgment.” They are signed by Waldeen Falkenstein, Gabriel Fernández Ledesma, and Seki Sano.
These manuscripts served as the basis for several instrumentations. The work’s 1940 premiere used the first one, done by Candelario Huízar and Blas Galindo (these orchestrations were lost following the premiere). The ballet was performed again in 1949, and apparently Pablo Moncayo was responsible for the music’s reconstruction. In 1957, José Yves Limantour commissioned a new orchestration from Eduardo Hernández Moncada, which Limantour completed using materials deriving from the music that Revueltas composed for the films Let’s Go with Pancho Villa and Los de abajo (The Underdogs). This material has been used for later revivals and recordings.

Bal y Gay, Jesús. “Crónicas musicales.” El Universal (October 20, 1940).
_______. “Crónicas musicales.” El Universal (December 3, 1940).
_______. “Crónicas musicales.” El Universal (December 8, 1940).
Baqueiro Foster, Gerónimo. “La Coronela rescatada.” Revista Mexicana de Cultura, supplement of El Nacional (March 4, 1962).
_______. “En pos de la histórica partitura de Silvestre Revueltas.” Revista Mexicana de Cultura, supplement of El Nacional (March 11, 1962).
_______. “José Yves Limantour y La Coronela.” Revista Mexicana de Cultura, supplement of El Nacional (March 18, 1962).
Luis Bruno Ruiz. “Triunfó La Coronela de Waldeen en Bellas Artes.” Excélsior (n.d.).
Sonia Verbitzki. “La Coronela de Silvestre Revueltas.” El Universal (December 3, 1940).

Southern Music Publishing Co. The edition corresponds to the orchestration done by Hernández Moncada and Limantour in 1962.