It is a great chance that we have this week to discover an extraordinary Venezuelan work: The cantata criolla, by Antonio Estévez. Little story of the one who sang with the devil…
On the morning of January 4, 1995, a twin engine crashed near Cuernavaca, Mexico. It is led by the emblematic musical director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (1977-1993), the Mexican conductor Eduardo Mata. This pupil in composition of Carlos Chávez, and in direction of Max Rudolf and Erich Leinsdorf, died prematurely in this accident at the age of 52.
A promoter
Eduardo Mata is somewhat forgotten 28 years later, but it was he who largely contributed to making known, at the time of the development of the compact disc, whole sections of the South American musical repertoire. Even better, Eduardo Mata has been very involved in the qualitative development of El Sistema in Venezuela. In this capacity, he conducted the first “international” recordings of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra.
When he entered the José Félix Ribas hall in Caracas in February 1990 to engrave The cantata criollasubtitled Florentino, el que canto con el diablo (Florentino, the one who sings with the devil), by Antonio Estévez (1916-1988), Rafael Payare is just 10 years old, and has not yet touched an instrument. Gustavo Dudamel is 9 years old.
It is the Dorian label that Eduardo Mata convinces to welcome this exalted score, above all not to be confused with the gnangnan folklorism and postcard, like Tintin and The temple of the sunincluding llama, of The misa criolla, by Argentinian Ramírez. The publication of the disc in 1992 will be a shock, as Estévez’s score is unlike any other.
The song of the earth
The cantata criolla d’Estévez is in Venezuela what the Glagolitic Mass de Janáček (which will open the 2023-2024 season) is to Moravia: a “song of the earth”, in the literal sense.
The work, which brings together a choir, a tenor (Florentino) and a baritone (the devil), takes the form of a singing contest between Florentino, a proud man from the Venezuelan plains (or llanero), and the devil. The contest culminates in an irresistible final allegro vivo, where the Dies Irae diabolical, mixed with South American rhythms and maracas, is defeated by the proud Venezuelan.
Yuli Turovsky presented The cantata criolla in 1996 in Orford and in 2008 in Montreal, but we obviously expect many more mysterious climates (the 1er movement depicts the levelthe plain, the Venezuelan earth), more sonic debauchery and exaltation in this week’s experience at the OSM.
Estévez is very clever in handling the themes in this 1954 composition since the llanero is represented by the Gregorian motif of theHail husband Stellawhich faces the Dies Irae in a melting pot mixing scholarly music, ostinatos, rhythms and folk themes.
The orchestras of San Diego and Montreal have joined forces to produce a video in the plains of Venezuela that will support the presentation of this cantata criolla.
Five highlights of the 2023-2024 season