Alvarado

December 4, 1935

The second version is dedicated to Dr. Manuel Guevara Oropeza (front cover) and “To the memory of Natalia” (at the end). The first version, Fish, also includes a dedication to Natalia, the composer’s daughter who died as a young child.

May 12, 1936, Palace of Fine Arts, Cond. Silvestre Revueltas (concert version, taken from the second version of the film score, 1935).

15’ (suite by E. Kleiber). The duration of Revueltas’ concert version is similar. The score of Fish remains unpublished, so it is difficult to determine its duration.

Fl, ob, cl, bn / 2cor, 2tpt, tbn, tba / timp, perc / strings

Autographs of both versions have been preserved.

There are two versions of the work. The first, entitled Fish, was written in 1934 for the first edition of the film of the same name (now lost). A new edition of the film entitled Nets was done in 1935, and Revueltas did a complete rewrite of the music for it. This is the score that presumably contains the material that Revueltas chose to compose the concert version of Nets which he conducted in 1936 and 1937, in Mexico and Spain, respectively. The program for the concert where Nets was premiered includes three movements: “Introduction,” “Funeral,” and “Labor Day.” This structure coincides with the one he conducted on October 7, 1937 in Barcelona. The program includes a detailed description of the music as it relates to the film’s storyline. According to this review, the concert version of Nets corresponds to the opening scenes of the 1935 score (up to page 85).
The complete film score of 1935 was the basis for the compliation of the suite of the same name, done by Erich Kleiber in 1943 and published by Peer & Southern Music Co. in 1971. In his suite, Kleiber compresses the opening scenes and compiles a second movement from fragments of the remaining scenes.

There are numerous references to this composition in Carmona, Gloria, ed. Epistolario selecto de Carlos Chávez (Mexico City: FCE, 1989). The archive contains two original letters that Paul Strand addressed to Revueltas from Alvarado, Veracruz, the filming location of Fish. The first is unpublished, and dates from May 14, 1934. The second is published in Revueltas, Rosaura and Phillipe Cheron, eds. Revueltas por él mismo (Mexico City: Era, 1989), 231–232.
Anonymous. “El primer concierto de la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional.” El Universal (May 17, 1936).
Barajas, Manuel. “Orientación musical: Inauguró su segunda temporada la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional.” El Nacional (May 16, 1936).
Copland, Aaron. “Compositor mexicano.” Cultura Musical 8 (June 1937).
Elorduy, Aquiles. “Mi cuarto a espadas: Muy Silvestre y muy Revueltas.” Excélsior (April 4, 1936).
Kahan, Salomón. “Música: Concierto bien, público mal.” El Universal Gráfico (May 15, 1936).
Mayer Serra, Otto. “Una nueva partitura para film de Revueltas.” Romance: Revista Popular Hispanoamericana 3 (March 1, 1940).

Southern Music Publishing Co. (suite done by Erich Kleiber).
UNAM Critical Edition (reconstruction of Silvestre Revueltas’s original concert version).