CHAPTER 60 Also American: Revueltas and Mexican Musical
Modernism
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The music scene in early twentieth-century Mexico was strongly influenced by
a. Spanish music. c. Amerindian culture.
b. Hispanic culture. d. All answers shown here.
2. During the “Aztec Renaissance,” composers sought to
a. quote authentic Aztec melodies. c. suggest the character of native music.
b. discard Western forms and genres. d. All answers shown here.
3. Carlos Chávez was a noted
a. mariachi band leader. c. Mexican art-music composer.
b. singer of cowboy songs. d. folk song collector.
4. Silvestre Revueltas’s compositional style is considered representative of
a. atonal Expressionism. c. dissonant counterpoint.
b. neo-Classicism. d. mestizo realism.
5. Silvestre Revueltas was a composer born in
a. the United States. c. Spain.
b. Brazil. d. Mexico.
6. Revueltas’s mature compositional style features
a. complex rhythms, including polyrhythms and ostinatos.
b. twelve-tone harmonies.
c. actual Mexican folk melodies.
d. Impressionist harmonies.
7. Which of the following are works by Silvestre Revueltas?
a. El Salón México, Homenaje a Federico García Lorca, Canciones
b. Homenaje a Federico García Lorca, Sensemayá, La noche de los mayas
c. Sensemayá, Rite of Spring, La noche de los mayas
d. La noche de los mayas, El Salón México, Sensemayá
8. La noche de los mayas is a(n)
a. opera. c. song.
b. film. d. symphonic poem.
9. Who directed La noche de los mayas?
a. Chano Urueta c. Carlos Chávez
b. Silvestre Revueltas d. None of the answers shown here.
10. Son is a Spanish-language term that refers to
a. sound. c. song.
b. a traditional song/dance of Mexico. d. a familial relationship.
11. What makes Revueltas’s “Noche de Jaranas” from La noche de los mayas different than a traditional son?
a. It shifts between 3/4 and 6/8. c. It includes an SATB chorus.
b. It shifts between 6/8 and 5/8. d. It shifts between 4/4 and 3/4.
12. The mariachi tradition originated in
a. Cuba. c. Mexico.
b. Brazil. d. Argentina.
13. Which of the following instruments would you find in a standard mariachi band?
a. violin, guitar, bass c. trumpet, tuba, violin
b. violin, guitar, trumpet d. violin, viola, cello
14. The “Aztec Renaissance” took place
a. in 1821. c. in 1519.
b. after the Mexican Revolution in 1910. d. after the end of the First World War.
15. When did composers try to suggest the character of Amerindian and mestizo cultures?
a. during the “Aztec Renaissance”
b. before the Mexican Revolution
c. when Mexico achieved independence in 1821
d. about a decade after the Mexican Revolution
16. Who were two of the MOST decisive influences on Mexican musical culture?
a. Carlos Chávez and Silvestre Revueltas c. Silvestre Revueltas and Chano Urueta
b. Carlos Chávez and Aaron Copland d. Chano Urueta and Carlos Chávez
17. ________ was a nationalist modernist movement that drew on elements of Mexico’s traditional culture.
a. Expressionism c. Mariachi music
b. Neo-Classicism d. Mestizo realism
18. Mestizo realism was a nationalist modernist movement that drew on elements of which traditional culture?
a. Mexico c. Cuba
b. Spain d. Puerto Rico
19. Revueltas originally composed La noche de los mayas as a(n)
a. film score. c. ballet.
b. orchestral suite. d. opera.
20. The violins and trumpets performing in parallel thirds during Revueltas’s “Noche de Jaranas” from La noche de los mayas evoke
a. a jazz band. c. an orchestra.
b. a mariachi ensemble. d. Spanish folk music.
21. What is the form of Revueltas’s “Noche de Jaranas” from La noche de los mayas?
a. similar to rondo c. theme and variation
b. similar to sonata-allegro d. concerto
22. Which artist helped develop a Mexican nationalist school of painting?
a. Chano Urueta c. Carlos Chávez
b. Silvestre Revueltas d. Diego Rivera
23. Which Mexican composer’s works first caught the attention of Aaron Copland?
a. Chano Urueta c. Carlos Chávez
b. Silvestre Revueltas d. Diego Rivera
24. Copland’s visit to Mexico and friendship with Carlos Chávez resulted in the American composing
a. El Salón México. c. Sensemayá.
b. Homenaje a Federico García Lorca. d. La noche de los mayas.
25. Mexican cowboys that wear wide-brimmed sombreros are called
a. charros. c. hombre.
b. mariachi. d. mestizos.
1. The modern music of Mexico is based on the music of indigenous Amerindian cultures and of Spain.
2. The Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas lived a long and productive artistic life.
3. Like Copland, Revueltas wrote music for films.
4. The emotional quality in works of Revueltas tend to be objective and reserved.
5. La noche de los mayas is a film directed by Silvestre Revueltas.
6. A harp is sometimes included in a mariachi ensemble.
7. Mariachi performers often wear the costumes of Mexican cowboys, known as charros.
8. The “Aztec Renaissance” took place after the 1910 Mexican Revolution.
9. Aaron Copland and Silvestre Revueltas were two of the most decisive influences on Mexican musical culture.
10. “Mestizo realism” was a nationalist modernist movement that drew on elements of Spain’s and Mexico’s traditional cultures.
11. Revueltas went to Spain at the outset of the Spanish Civil War.
12. Revueltas originally wrote the music for the film La noche de los mayas, which was later arranged into a suite.
13. La noche de los mayas celebrates the heritage of the Mayan empire.
14. The suite for La noche de los mayas includes limited use of percussion.
15. “Noche de Jaranas” from La noche de los mayas is an example of a typical son.
16. A mariachi ensemble is an example of Mexican nationalism.
17. By the late nineteenth century, Mexican musicians looked toward Amerindian and mestizo cultures for inspiration.
1. Discuss the nationalist and modernist aspects of the music of Silvestre Revueltas.
2. Describe the Mexican mariachi tradition.
3. Discuss how the music of Silvestre Revueltas is political.
