Mexico City

March 6, 1938

No dedication

Probable premiere: December 15, 1938, Palace of Fine Arts, Symphony Orchestra of Mexicans, Cond. Silvestre Revueltas.

6’

2picc, 2fl, 2ob, eh, cl[E♭], 2cl[B♭], bcl, 3bn, cbn / 4crs, 4tpt, 3tbn, tba / timp, perc / pf / strings

Two sets of photostats are preserved. One is of the complete original manuscript, and the other is a copyist’s version (missing the final page). A version of the latter shown in the SRDL is a reconstruction based on the autograph which is preserved on microfilm.

This is the orchestration that the composer did based on the chamber version for 16 instruments, completed on May 15, 1937.
The work appears in a program announcing the beginning of the series, “Music for the Symphony Orchestra of Mexicans,” conducted by Revueltas and cosponsored by the Secretariat of Public Education and the Department of Fine Arts. The program also included Chit-Chat Music, Roads, and Janitzio, all by Revueltas; Merlin, a symphonic suite of the work of Albéniz, done by Manuel M. Ponce; and Zapotlán, by José Rolón. A review of the concert makes no mention of this work, so it is possible it wasn’t premiered that day.

Kahan, José. “Música: Música sinfónica de mexicanos.” El Universal Gráfico (December 20, 1938).

G. Schirmer, Inc.