Introduction
Composer Silvestre Revueltas is the unanimously recognized leader of twentieth-century Mexican music. He was also an orchestra conductor and an artist politically committed to the defense of minorities.
For his tremorous Sensemayá, Revueltas was inspired by a story by the Cuban writer Nicolas Guillén.
Guillén published in 1934 a series of 17 poems with the title West Indies Ltd. One of them, “Sensemayá” (song to kill a snake), was discovered by Revueltas when he heard it from the poet’s voice. Revueltas immediately felt the cadence and rhythm that the initial chorus possessed: Mayombe-bombe-mayombé! Mayombe-bombe-mayombé!
The poem “Sensemayá” is based on Afro-Cuban religious cults, preserved in the cabildos, self-organized social clubs for the African slaves. In this poem, an adept called the mayombero, is leading the rituals. The ritual offers the sacrifice of a snake to a god. This god is the Afro-Cuban spirit who has the power to heal or spread pestilence.
One of the main motives in Sensemayá is based on the word mayombero. The chant “mayombe, bombe mayombé” is an example of Guillén’s use of repetition, derived from an actual ceremony. And as we will see, the rhythm and repetition form the base for Revueltas’ composition.
The original version from 1937 was for chamber orchestra, and was in fact subtitled “Indigenous song for the killing of a snake“; a year later he decided to reorchestrate the work for a large orchestra.
Nicolás Guillén in 1942
There is nothing postcard-like in this piece. It’s built with refined skill exploiting the hypnotic rhythms, the asymmetries, the wild percussion of the ethnographic heritage.
The rhythms of the words in the poem are translated into the score: the opening bars, for instance, can be mapped to the word Sensemayá, with the accent on the yá emphasized by the claves.
Silvestre Revueltas: an analysis of Sensemayá
A section (first theme)
From a structure point of view, it’s an A-A1 plus a coda. Inside the A section, we find 3 different sub-sections or blocks.
The piece opens with a rhythmic base in 7/8 played by the tom-tom and the bass drum and a pedal in pianissimo of the bass clarinet
on this pedal and rhythm is grafted the ostinato of the bassoon. The off-accent on the last beat is underlined by the claves
On measure 9, the first theme – muscular and ominous – makes its appearance played by the tuba
and answered by the horn
The first theme is repeated by the English Horn, the tuba, and the trumpet. Texture and dynamics intensify progressively
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B section (second theme)
45 bars into the piece, the B section begins. To the rhythmic base, Revueltas adds the timpani, Indian drum, and the trumpets. And to add some more complexity, the strings come in in syncopation
4 bars into it, the horns bring in their answer to the 1st theme
transitioning into the second theme
This theme is counterpointed by nervous trumpets and trombones
while the texture keeps growing denser and thicker.
C Section
On bar 69 we are presented with an abrupt cut, with the rhythmic base remaining in the background. Revueltas presents us a new motivic group built on 2 distinct elements: one rhythmical, in triplets, played by the trombones and tuba
the other melodic, played by the trumpet and based on the interval of a third, just like the first theme
D section
There’s a thunderous interruption of the rhythmic base. The third motive goes to trumpets and trombones
A1 Section – Recapitulation with variations
Just like the beginning, the recapitulation starts with the rhythmic base. But right before the entrance of the tuba with the variated first theme, the woodwinds play a bar in 7/16: it’s a rhythmic formula that from now on will interrupt periodically the flux of the music
Technical tip
As you’ve undoubtedly noticed, the constant in this piece is the presence of uneven rhythms, mostly the ⅞.
The key to keeping everyone tight together relies in the height of your strokes: in the ⅞ make sure that the last beat is longer than the previous 2; in the 7/16, make sure that the first beat is longer than the second.
The only chance you have to make this works is by keeping it in the wrist and by keeping your gestures small.
For a deeper analysis of the connection between words and rhythms in this piece, tale a look at this video in the bonus material section
Flute, clarinet, horn, and xylophone repeat the theme of the C section in unison
and at bar 132 we have a tight dialogue between the 7/16 formula (in the trumpets) and the wild response of the full orchestra
The end of this section is based on the rhythmic schema of the third motive.
Coda
The piece culminates in a sonic paroxysm, with the 1st and 3rd theme in counterpoint over the rhythmical base
In conclusion
Sensemayá has its roots in an archaic nature, in primitive rituals: it’s raw in essence, but its rhythms are laid out with extreme precision. It reaches the listener on a visceral level, with those flamboyant winds, and menacing percussions, evocating an ancient ceremony – much like Stravinsky did with The Rite of Spring.
This piece is the one that got Revueltas international recognition since it was recorded by Leopold Stokowski in 1947. After Stokowski, many other conductors tackled the piece, like Eduardo Mata and Leonard Bernstein.
By the way, if you’re interested in Leonard Bernstein’s markings on the score, they are available on the Digital Archive of the New York Philharmonic.
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