Sensemayá
Encyclopedia
Sensemayá is a poem by the Cuba
n poet Nicolás Guillén
, adapted as an orchestra
l work by the Mexican
composer Silvestre Revueltas
. It is one of Revueltas's most famous compositions.
Guillén's poem evokes a ritual Afro-Caribbean chant performed while killing a snake:
Revueltas first set the poem to music in Mexico City
in 1937, originally setting it for small orchestra. In 1938, he expanded it into a full-scale orchestral setting for 27 wind instruments, fourteen percussion instruments and strings. As one reviewer describes it:
"Sensemayá" is based on Afro-Cuban
religious cults, preserved in the cabildo
s, self-organized social clubs for the African slaves. African religions were transmitted from generation to generation. These religions, which had a similar but not identical structure, were known as Lucumi or Regla de Ocha if they derived from the Yoruba, Palo
from Central Africa
, Vodú from Haiti
, and so on. In this poem we meet an adept known as the mayombero. He is knowledgeable in the area of herbal medicine, as well as being the leader of rituals. In Sensemayá the mayombero leads a ritual which offers the sacrifice of a snake to a god, perhaps Babalu Aye
. This god, popularized as Babalu
in the United States by Desi Arnaz
, is the Afro-Cuban spirit who has the power to heal, or spread pestilence. One of the main motives in Sensemayá is based on this word ¨mayombero¨. This chant "mayombe, bombe mayombé", is an example of Guillén's use of repetition, derived from an actual ceremony.
The piece has gained new popularity in recent years as Revueltas's work has been 'rediscovered'. Notably, Sensemayá was used in Robert Rodríguez' film Sin City
. The director/composer describes it as having been a major influence on the rest of the film score.
The score and parts for Revueltas's setting of Sensemayá are available to rent from the music publisher G. Schirmer.
"Sensemayá" was again set by Chilean Nueva Canción
group Inti-Illimani
. It was released in 1979 on their album "Canción para matar una culebra". The song in places borrows its 7 meter from Revueltas' work.
A choral setting of "Sensemayá" was written by Canadian composer Sid Robinovitch in 2000. The work was part of his three-part set of songs Canciones por las Americas. Robinovitch's choral setting includes rhythmic chanting, dissonant and occasionally chaotic harmonies, and spoken verse.
In addition, the work was adapted for the field by the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps in 1994 (opener), Revolution Drum and Bugle Corps
in 2007 (closer), and Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps
in 2009 (in the middle of the program).
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n poet Nicolás Guillén
Nicolás Guillén
Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista was a Cuban poet, journalist, political activist, and writer. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba.Guillén was born in Camagüey, Cuba...
, adapted as an orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l work by the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
composer Silvestre Revueltas
Silvestre Revueltas
Silvestre Revueltas Sánchez was a Mexican composer of classical music, a violinist and a conductor.-Life:...
. It is one of Revueltas's most famous compositions.
Guillén's poem evokes a ritual Afro-Caribbean chant performed while killing a snake:
- Canto para matar una culebra
- ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombé!
- ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombé!
- ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombé!
- La culebra tiene los ojos de vidrio
- la culebra viene y se enreda en un palo
- Con sus ojos de vidrio, en un palo
- Con sus ojos do vidrio
- La culebra camina sin patas
- La culebra se esconde en la yerba
- Caminando se esconde en la yerba
- Caminando sin patas
- ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombe!
- ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombé!
- ¡Mayombe-bombe-mayombé!
- (and so on)
Revueltas first set the poem to music in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
in 1937, originally setting it for small orchestra. In 1938, he expanded it into a full-scale orchestral setting for 27 wind instruments, fourteen percussion instruments and strings. As one reviewer describes it:
- The work begins with a slow trill in the bass clarinet as the percussion plays the sinuous, syncopated rhythm that drives the work. Soon a solo bassoon enters playing an eerie but rhythmic ostinato bassline. The tuba then enters playing the first of this work's two major themes, a muscular, ominous motif. Other brass join in to play the theme, growing louder and more emphatic, but rigorously yoked to the underlying rhythm. Eventually the horns blast as loudly as they can, with obsessive trills on the low clarinets far underneath, and the strings enter with the slashing second theme. The brass take up this new theme and bring it to a climax, after which the music returns to its opening texture. This recapitulation brings with it a mood of foreboding. The rhythm becomes even more obsessive, and finally the music reaches a massive climax during which both themes are played, overlapping, sometimes in part and sometimes in whole, by the entire orchestra in what sounds like a musical riot. The coda feels like the final dropping of a knife. http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/051201/details.html
"Sensemayá" is based on Afro-Cuban
Afro-Cuban
The term Afro-Cuban refers to Cubans of Sub Saharan African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community...
religious cults, preserved in the cabildo
Cabildo
Cabildo can refer to:* Cabildo , a former Spanish municipal administrative unit governed by a council* Cabildo , African ethnic associations in colonial Cuba* Cabildo , an Argentine nationalist Catholic magazine...
s, self-organized social clubs for the African slaves. African religions were transmitted from generation to generation. These religions, which had a similar but not identical structure, were known as Lucumi or Regla de Ocha if they derived from the Yoruba, Palo
Palo (religion)
Palo, or Las Reglas de Congo are a group of closely related religions or denominations, which developed in the Spanish colonies of the Caribbean amongst Central African slaves of mostly Bantu ancestry...
from Central Africa
Central Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
, Vodú from Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, and so on. In this poem we meet an adept known as the mayombero. He is knowledgeable in the area of herbal medicine, as well as being the leader of rituals. In Sensemayá the mayombero leads a ritual which offers the sacrifice of a snake to a god, perhaps Babalu Aye
Babalu Aye
In the religious system of Orisha worship, Babalú-Ayé is the praise name of the spirit of the Earth and strongly associated with infectious disease, and healing. He is an Orisha, representing the deity Olorun on Earth...
. This god, popularized as Babalu
Babalu (song)
Babalu is the title of a Cuban song, written by Margarita Lecuona, the cousin of composers Ernestina and Ernesto Lecuona. The song title is either a reference to the Santería deity Babalu Aye or to Babalawo, the title of a Santería priest and diviner....
in the United States by Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...
, is the Afro-Cuban spirit who has the power to heal, or spread pestilence. One of the main motives in Sensemayá is based on this word ¨mayombero¨. This chant "mayombe, bombe mayombé", is an example of Guillén's use of repetition, derived from an actual ceremony.
The piece has gained new popularity in recent years as Revueltas's work has been 'rediscovered'. Notably, Sensemayá was used in Robert Rodríguez' film Sin City
Sin City (film)
Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
. The director/composer describes it as having been a major influence on the rest of the film score.
The score and parts for Revueltas's setting of Sensemayá are available to rent from the music publisher G. Schirmer.
"Sensemayá" was again set by Chilean Nueva Canción
Nueva canción
Nueva canción is a movement and genre within Latin American and Iberian music of folk music, folk-inspired music and socially committed music...
group Inti-Illimani
Inti-Illimani
Inti-Illimani is an instrumental and vocal Latin American folk music ensemble from Chile. The group was formed in 1967 by a group of university students and it acquired widespread popularity in Chile for their song Venceremos which became the anthem of the Popular Unity government of Salvador...
. It was released in 1979 on their album "Canción para matar una culebra". The song in places borrows its 7 meter from Revueltas' work.
A choral setting of "Sensemayá" was written by Canadian composer Sid Robinovitch in 2000. The work was part of his three-part set of songs Canciones por las Americas. Robinovitch's choral setting includes rhythmic chanting, dissonant and occasionally chaotic harmonies, and spoken verse.
In addition, the work was adapted for the field by the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps in 1994 (opener), Revolution Drum and Bugle Corps
Revolution Drum and Bugle Corps
The Revolution Drum and Bugle Corps is an Open Class DCI drum and bugle corps from San Antonio, TX that won the Drum Corps International Division III World Championship in 2002...
in 2007 (closer), and Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps
Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps
Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps is a Drum Corps International World Class drum and bugle corps, based in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The corps organization was founded in 1988 as the Charlotte Drum Corps Association, but the corps did not enter competition as Carolina Crown until the 1990 season...
in 2009 (in the middle of the program).
Sources
- Dean, Jack Lee. 1992. "Silvestre Revueltas: A Discussion of the Background and Influences Affecting His Compositional Style". Ph.D. thesis. Austin: University of Texas at Austin.
- Hoag, Charles K. 1987. "Sensemayá: A Chant for Killing a Snake." Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana 8, no. 2 (Autumn): 172–84.
- Jacobs, Glenn. Cuba's Bola de Nieve: A Creative Looking Glass for Culture and the Artistic Self. Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana 9, no. 1 (Spring-Summer): 18–49.
- Kaufman, Christopher. 1991. "Sensemayá: The Layer Procedures of Silvestre Revueltas". DMA thesis. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University.
- Mayer-Serra, Otto. 1941. "Silvestre Revueltas and Musical Nationalism in Mexico." Musical Quarterly 27:123–45.
- Zohn-Muldoon, Ricardo. 1998. "The Song of the Snake: Silvestre Revueltas' Sensemayá." Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana 19, no. 2 (Autumn): 133–59.
External links
- Text of the poem (English and Spanish)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZO2VkKKR7o