Sinfonía india

Sinfonía india, symphony by Carlos Chávez that is strongly flavoured by the musical spirit of Mexico. It was written during the Mexican-born composer’s lengthy visit to the U.S., and it was first performed in a broadcast concert in New York City on January 23, 1936, with the composer conducting. Sinfonía india is the most frequently performed of Chávez’s compositions

Chávez, whose maternal grandfather was a northern Mexican Indian, spent many family holidays near Tlaxcala as a boy. There he was first exposed to indigenous music of several cultures, particularly those rooted in Aztec heritage.

Sinfonía india is the second of Chávez’s six symphonies. Its title pays tribute to the native music echoed throughout the score. The first of its two main themes, strongly rhythmic in nature, is borrowed from the Huichol people, the more lyrical second theme from the Yaqui of the Sonora region. Although it is written as a single movement, Sinfonía india follows the spirit of the Classical three-part sonata form in which a pair of melodies are stated at the beginning, toyed with and varied through the middle, and then restated at the end. Two additional indigenous themes appear: a secondary one from Sonora and one from the Seri people of Tiburón Island (in the Gulf of California) and the Sonora coast. Sinfonía india, freer in structure than most earlier sonata-form pieces, is a lively and engaging hybrid of European form and New World imagination.