Little Mexican Suite Nubia Jaime Donjuan

[EN]Ever since I was a child, I have been very interested in traditional Mexican music. It has always captured my attention. I used to really get excited to hear a danzón or a son jarocho, and, fortunately, that interest has become a fundamental part of my artistic work. Most of my works contain a national, and often regional, root. As is well known, Mexican music has many branches, ranging from danzón to mariachi.

When Dr. Messier approached me, I was immediately overcome by the urge to compose a suite for symphonic band inspired by popular Mexican genres. Almost naturally, the themes for each movement began to appear, and in a short time I had developed them all. It was clear to me that each should be different. I did not want to repeat any genre. Music chooses the composer and takes its own course, and as expected, these movements were connecting with each other, one appearing in another as reminiscences of the past, as light brushstrokes, on occasions hidden and at times very exposed.

Little Mexican Suite for Winds is based on traditional Mexican musical genres that are very popular in my country, and is inspired by species of Mexican trees that have each touched my life in some way and are embedded in my memory.

Ahuehuete: The giant. Inspired by the most emblematic tree in Santa María del Tule, in Oaxaca. Full of colors, textures and vitality, it denotes fascination with the famous Árbol del Tule.

Mezquite: From a hot and dry climate, and needing help from no one, it silently awaits the rain. One lives in the courtyard of my house, and makes my days cooler and my nights more pleasant. It provides me with bird song and comforts me after a long day. So simple and noble that it gave me a “polka sonorense.”

Ayacahuite: The Mexican pine. Large and powerfully green, full of brown cones. It came to dance a soft waltz and to sing a son jaliciense.

Sahuaro: The cactus. Very tall and full of water, with thorns and of unparalleled green. A forest of sahuaros lies midway between my city and the nearby bay and, since I was little, they have captured my attention. Without any doubt, this movement had to be a “danzón,” my favorite genre of all time.

Cacalosúchil: With elongated, large, shiny green leaves. Its flowers can be white, yellow or pink, and its fruit is a large pod that sounds like a maraca. My parents planted one when I was little, and I grew up collecting flowers and percussion instruments thanks to this generous provider of shade and color. With a tenor saxophone soloist and percussion that reminded me of this tree’s pod, I developed an ode to the huapango.

Ceiba: From a tropical climate, with a wide and rough trunk and peculiar, well-defined leaves. It totally inspired me to create a delicious cha-cha-chá, which, with time, inevitably led me to the traditional mambo.

[DE]Schon seit meiner Kindheit interessiere ich mich sehr für traditionelle mexikanische Musik. Sie hat immer meine Aufmerksamkeit geweckt. Ich war immer ganz begeistert, wenn ich einen Danzón oder einen Son Jarocho hörte, und glücklicherweise ist dieses Interesse zu einem grundlegenden Bestandteil meiner künstlerischen Arbeit geworden. Die meisten meiner Werke haben einen nationalen, oft auch regionalen Bezug. Bekanntlich hat die mexikanische Musik viele Zweige, die vom Danzón bis zum Mariachi reichen.

Als Dr. Messier an mich herantrat, überkam mich sofort der Drang, eine Suite für symphonisches Orchester zu komponieren, die von populären mexikanischen Genres inspiriert ist. Wie von selbst ergaben sich die Themen für jeden Satz, und in kurzer Zeit hatte ich sie alle entwickelt. Es war mir klar, dass jeder Satz anders sein sollte. Ich wollte kein Genre wiederholen. Die Musik sucht sich den Komponisten aus und geht ihren eigenen Weg, und wie erwartet waren diese Sätze miteinander verbunden, einer tauchte im anderen auf, wie Reminiszenzen an die Vergangenheit, wie leichte Pinselstriche, manchmal versteckt und manchmal sehr offen.

Little Mexican Suite for Winds basiert auf traditionellen mexikanischen Musikgenres, die in meinem Land sehr beliebt sind, und ist von mexikanischen Baumarten inspiriert, die alle in irgendeiner Weise mein Leben berührt haben und in meiner Erinnerung verankert sind.

Ahuehuete: Der Riese. Inspiriert von dem emblematischsten Baum in Santa María del Tule in Oaxaca. Er ist voller Farben, Texturen und Vitalität und steht für die Faszination des berühmten Árbol del Tule.

Mezquite: Aus einem heißen und trockenen Klima stammend, braucht er keine Hilfe von irgendjemandem.

Inhalt / Content:

1. Ahuehuete (Montezuma Cypress)
2. Mezquite (Mesquite); Nathaniel Chen ’25, oboe
3. Ayacahuite (Mexican White Pine)
4. Sahuaro (Cactus)
5. Cacalosúchil (Plumeria Rubra); Jacob Wesley Dell ’22, tenor saxophone
6. Ceiba (Sacred tree of the Maya)

Besetzungsliste / Instrumentation:

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II (I doubling B-flat Soprano Saxophone)
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:

Bass Drum
Claves
Congas
Guiro
Suspended Cymbal
Vibraphone