Evening star., 1932-10-30
ITO the Pan American Union

| for its efforts to make
known the, as yet, seldom
heard music of Latin America
Under the comprehending direc-
ton of Mr.. Franklin Adams. coun-
Selor of the Union, opportunity
has been given through organ
lied concerts to become acquaint-
ed not only with composers ano
artists of note, but with the age
old music that is truly the life
blood of our sister republics. Art
lists Of each country receive the
encouragement of this recogni-
ton of the honor they have
brought their land. 1t has been
the practice of most of the Latin
American countries to assist the
development of special talent by
providing the funds necessary for
study and it is a fitting gesture
that the Pan-American Union
provides an occasion for them to
be heard in Washington.
On December 27 there will be a
very special concert in the Hall
of the Americas in honor OF the
delegates to the Music Teachers
National Association convention
at which will be heard the
"Danses Africaines" of Heitor
Villa-LoboS and the much talked
of tires Tonadas" of Humberto
Allende of Chile. These two COM
poSerS have been able to fit into
the precise forms of modern har-
1nony the wild and free rhythms
of their native lands. Villa-Lobos,
cellist of note at a very early
age, spent four years in ostenSible
concertizing in Brazil, but, in
reality, taking every opportunity
to study the popular songs of his
country, penetrating even its most
distant corners in his search. AS
the African rhythms are distinct
part Of the indigenous melodies,
he has taken special note of them
and reproduced them in his in
spired 'DanSes Africaines.' The
celebrated French modernist, Flor
Florent Schmitt. who will visit
this country in November, wrote
an article especially of Allende,
in which he spoke of the "iri-
descent harmonieS" of the tires
TonadaS."
There will also be given La Isla
de los Ceibos" of F. Eduardo
Fabini of Uruguay and works of
Justin Ellie of Haiti, who, like
Villa-LoboS, spent 10 years of his
life in roaming the wilds of his
country and absorbing its exotic
music. The United Service Or
chestra, which is composed of 40
musicians from the Army, Navy
and Marine Bands, has been
formed for the exclusive use of
these American programs.
Special arrangements have been
made for them of two songs of
the Cuban composer, Eduardo
Sanchez de Fuentes, "Yo Sc de
un beso" and "Navidad," which
will be sung by the we'll known
Cuban soprano, Emma Otero.
DEEP rooted and unquenchable
love of music is the uniform
heritage of all the Latin Ameri-
can countries. Back in the days
before the coming of the con-
quering Spaniard, this music was
a dominating factor in the lives
of the people, q very part of the
air they breathed. No seed time
or harvesting but was made
easier through song and no birth
or death or religious ceremonial
but had its expression in music.
Conceived as they were under the
inspiration of deep feeling, they
have the vitality and originality
that has preserved them through
deadening influences. The dlSap-
proving eye of the inquisition and
the restrictions imposed by the
mother country gradually curbed
this too great eXuberance and
limited the subjects to be told mu-
Sically to harmless love songs and
dance tunes. The basic themes
were handed down orally from
generation to generation. cultivat-
ing a musical memory that is to-
day one of the astounding talents
Of Latin American peoples
Through the sufferingS and
hardships caused by the Spanish
domination, the native music be-
came tinged with melancholy and
it Is the task of the modern COM
poser to vary the monOtony with
out changing its peculiar charac-
/. teriSticS.
The Mavans Of Central Amer
ica. the Incas Of South America
and the AztecS of Mexico are the
great civilizations that gave birth
to Latin American music. The
antiquity of these peoples, which
some claim extends back to Egypt,
has been acknowledge, but recent
discoveries have brought to light
the superior quality Of its artls-
tic cultivation. Recent COMPOSE
tions have also drawn the world S
attention to the superiority OF Its
music.
In Peru. Daniel Robles has e%-
haustivcly studied the folk lore
and made its first official com
pilation. From one of the most
beautiful and most ancient OF
these melodies, Eel Condor PaSa,
he has made a modern adapta-
ton that has been heard here
often in concert and over the
radio. This melody is believed to
be the oldest composition in the
world of which there is any rec
ord and it is heard throughout
the land from the simple shep-
herds pipings on the mountain
side to the city's concert halls
The themes of the ancient Inca
civilization have been put in dra-
matte form in the opera "Ollanta,
by j. Vale Hiesta, the grand ole
man of Peruvian music.
x
RRAzIL is the only Latin Amer
lean country that has haC
European influences at work di-
Frl