"The Massacre in the Great Temple" Symphonic Poem No.5 of "The New Spain" - Lorenzo Ferrero скачать в хорошем качестве

"The Massacre in the Great Temple" Symphonic Poem No.5 of "The New Spain" - Lorenzo Ferrero

Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Takuo Yuasa. I - Adagio (𝅘𝅥 = 60): 0:00 Ferrero's "The Massacre in the Great Temple" (La Matanza del Templo Mayor) was composed in 1999, being the fifth in a set of six symphonic poems describing events during the Spanish conquest of Hernán Cortés against the Aztec civilization. The series can be considered a symphonic study for Ferrero's 2005 opera "La Conquista", which tackles the same subject. The whole series is written in a neorromantic, tonal style. The poems can be performed individually or together. The compositional concept that underlines the cycle confirms the theatrical nature of Ferrero; each piece has its own colour, a specific character, but at the same time subtle thematic links hold the parts together, according to a well-calculated interplay of rhythmic, melodic and harmonic references. With the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the American continent from 1492 onwards, began an extraordinary event that would radically change the American and European civilizations. Mayans, Aztecs and Incas were conquered with a mixture of violence and peaceful alliances that culminated in the fusion between the Spanish and the natives as the creation of the first global empire. The conquest of Mexico and the Aztec civilization as "New Spain" (la Nueva España), proved to be the most impressive event: five hundred men, for the most part soldiers of fortune led by Hernán Cortés, conquered a large empire in just a few months. The piece describes an event that took place on May 22 of 1520, in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, in which the celebration of the Feast of Toxcatl ended in a massacre of Aztec elites. While Hernán Cortés was in Tenochtitlan, he heard about other Spaniards arriving at the coast (Pánfilo de Narváez had come from Cuba with orders to arrest him) and Cortés was forced to leave the city to fight them. During his absence, Moctezuma asked deputy governor Pedro de Alvarado for permission to celebrate Toxcatl (an Aztec festivity in honour of Tezcatlipoca, one of their main gods, which, as popular in Aztec culture, included human sacrifice, in this case of a young man). But after the festivities had started, Alvarado interrupted the celebration, killing all the warriors and noblemen who were celebrating inside the Great Temple. The Spanish version of the incident claims the conquistadors intervened to prevent a ritual of human sacrifice in the Templo Mayor; the Aztec version says the Spaniards were enticed into action by the gold the Aztecs were wearing, prompting an Aztec rebellion against the orders of Moctezuma. While differing so on Alvarado's specific motive, both accounts are in basic agreement that the celebrants were engaging in the ritual sacrifice of a human being, mostly unarmed and that the massacre occurred without warning or direct provocation. The Aztecs were already antagonistic towards the Spaniards for being inside their city and for holding Moctezuma under house arrest. When Cortés and his men, including those who had come under Narváez, returned, the Aztecs began full-scale hostilities against the Spaniards. The piece begins with a melancholic main theme on strings, percussion briefly anticipates the subsequent violent struggle as the material still unfolds. The main theme present in "Memory of Fire" (Memoria del Fuego), the second symphonic poem in the series, reappears completely transformed into a bellicose and violent theme, supported by percussion and lacerating woodwind phrases. Music grows more and more agitated until reaching an expressive climax on the main theme. After the music calms down, the theme from "Memory of Fire" re-emerges in its original form. A desolate coda, based on the main theme, ends the movement. Picture: "Storming of the Teocalli by Cortés and his Troops" (1848) by the German-American painter Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze. Musical analysis written by myself. Unfortunately, the score is not available.