A short composition for piccolo, flute, E-flat clarinet, trombone and six percussionists by the Mexican composer Carlos Chavez, written in 1940 and originally titled "Xochipilli-Macuilxochitl," the double name of the Aztec god of flowers, music, art and dance in two of his aspects. Commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York for its 1940 exhibition "Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art," under a programme the museum titled "Panorama of Mexican Music." Chavez described the piece in his own words as arising from his thoughts on Mexican antiquity and his admiration for pre-Cortesian sculpture and painting, using percussion and flutes he intended to suggest the sacred festivities of the teocalli.
Facts
Production
Release Year Primary Artist / Composer Subject Matter
Religious Subject MatterXochipilli, the Aztec god of flowers, music, art and dance: named outright in the work's own title in both of his aspects, Xochipilli and Macuilxochitl. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Macuilxochitl directly: "1940 and originally titled "Xochipilli-Macuilxochitl," the double name of the Aztec god of flowers, music, art and dance in two of his aspects."
Belongs to Tradition
The composer's own note frames the piece as drawn from Mexican antiquity and his admiration for pre-Cortesian religious sculpture and painting in general terms, so the work is associated with Aztec religion rather than a direct liturgical record of it.
Depicts
The work's own title, carried by the publisher's own catalogue, names Xochipilli outright in both of his aspects, Xochipilli and Macuilxochitl.
Sources
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