music in colonial new spain

7/21/2019 Music in Colonial New Spain

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/music-in-colonial-new-spain 1/16

Music in Colonial New SpainStephanie Duong

Rough draft.INTRODUCTION

Music was the “language of cultural communication”1

between

the mission communities and the indigenous eole in New !ain"

During these colonial times# music was most re$alent in religious

worshi in an e%ort to con$ert the indigenous eole" In this research

aer# I will loo& at music in the colonial times '1(th centur)* 1+th

centur), in New !ain" -efore e.loring the transcultural music of New

!ain# indigenous music and /uroean religious music will be

discussed" Music to a great e.tent ser$ed as an area of much

hegemon) and acculturation in New !ain during the 1(th and 1+th

centuries"

Indigenous Music

1 Mann# 0ristin Dutcher" 212" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the MissionCommunities of Northern New Spain, 15901!10 " !tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 4"(5

1



Huichol Rain Songs, Melodies from Huichol Indians in Pre-Conuest !alisco,

Me"ico#

-efore Cortes had set foot on the New 6orld in 1715# music was

alread) ali$e and sound in indigenous communities"8 “Music was a sign

of ties among indigenous grous9 as a art of culture it heled to draw

boundaries between ethnic grous"”: It de;ned indigenous grou

identities and ser$ed as a wa) of communication between tribes"7

<i&ewise# indigenous grous incororated rh)thmic melodies and dance

into rituals that were erformed to communicate with the siritual

world" <)rics of the =uichol rain songs shown abo$e “in$o&e the aid of

Robert !te$enson# Music in Me"ico: # $istorica% Sur&e' 'New >or&3 Thomas >" CrowellComan)# 157,# 85"8 Robert !te$enson# Music in Me"ico: # $istorica% Sur&e' 'New >or&3 Thomas >" CrowellComan)# 157,# .i": 0ristin Mann Dutcher" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# :"7 0ristin Mann Dutcher" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# :"



gods?the dear*god in the ;rst song# and the mother*eagle goddess in

the second"”( This suggests that the indigenous eole belie$ed

siritual beings were closel) connected with nature and regarded

nature not as sub@ects to their e.loitation but as one of eAual or

higher standing# one with great ower" The indigenous eole belie$ed

that b) erforming these songs the) had access to siritual owers"+

Music erformed honored the siritual world as well as reAuest good

conditions to grow and har$est food"B This communication re$ealed

much about the grous distinct beliefs and ideals that goes along with

de;ning their grou identit)" esuit oseh Orch obser$ed and noted a

grou song and dance in !onora and stated3

Their singing, a%wa's in monotone, is &er'

disagreea(%e to the unaccustomed ear, especia%%'

(ecause the' repeat a thing twent' or thirt' times)

the words (eing ta*en up now (' the 'ouths, then

(' the maidens in soprano, then (' the o%d women,

and +na%%' (' e&er'(od', and (eing more (e%%owed

then sung9

( Robert !te$enson# Music in Me"ico: # $istorica% Sur&e' 'New >or&3 Thomas >" CrowellComan)# 157,# 85"+ 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# B"B 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# 87"5 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# 7"

8



4erformances Orch described abo$e illustrate a communit) coming

together and wor&ing# li$ing to create a close*&nit communit) built on a

set of beliefs and commitments" Imortance of e$er) member in a

grou was ac&nowledged" !ongs of grief to honor the deceased were

sung b) the masses" This was imortant in maintaining grous identit)

when !aniards came into the icture because it reinforced the ties

and relationshis between the indigenous eole"12

Religious /uroean Music

In /uroe# music was la)ed to raise Eod"11

!imilar to its role in

de;ning grou identities in indigenous communities# music

distinguished the di%erent t)es of Catholics and heled de;ne each

grous identit)"1 -esides ser$ing as a wa) of religious communication#

music before colonial times also de;ned the di%erent grous within the

realm of Christianit)" /.amles of these grous are the Roman

Catholics# the Franciscans# and the esuits" Chanting Roman Catholic

liturg) was not siml) adding a melod) to words9 it reAuired utiliGation

of music at the most signi;cant arts of ser$ice to highlight and

emhasiGe the imortance of “the actions that would transform bread

and wine into the bod) and blood of esus Christ"”18 Franciscans

12 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# 7"11 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# :8"1 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# (:"18 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# :7"

:



concentrated their e%ort more on educating eole and using music as

a tool for teaching the Christian doctrine" On the contrar)# esuits use

of music was limited# for Ignatius of <o)ola?founder of the !ociet) of

esus?belie$ed erforming Music and liturg) structured

communication with Eod through sung ra)ers# siritual songs# and

chanted masses"1: For missionaries# music also structured their li$es

and acted as a sar& in de;ning religious identit) in both the ublic

shere of e$angeliGation and teaching but also in the ri$ate shere of

dail) de$otions and ra)er"17

<i&e the indigenous# /uroean music

ser$ed as a wa) of communicating with a suernatural being and

distinguishing the di%erent religious grous identities" The similarities

in which music la)ed a role in indigenous and /uroean societies

heled the !aniards inHuence and con$ert the indigenous eole"

Transcultural Music

1: 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# :8"17 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# :7"

7



$ page from the Psalmodia Christiana%&

Music not onl) acts as a wa) of religious communication9 it is

also a wa) of cultural communication when these two worlds collide"1+

The outcome is a modi;ed t)e of religious music# transcultural music

that blends elements from both indigenous and /uroean cultures

together" This hegemonic music is then utiliGed in missionar)

communities to sread Christianit)" Music to a great e.tent ser$ed as

an area of much hegemon) and acculturation in New !ain during the

1(th and 1+th centuries"

16 !ahagn# -ernardino de" Psa%modia Christiana" Jccessed Feb 7 218 through the

Internet Jrchi$e 'Indigenous <anguages Collection", 17B8"

1+ 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# (5"

(



Eoing bac& to the earliest forms of music in New !ain# we must

tal& about Friar -ernardino de !ahagn" J Franciscan# !ahagn arri$ed

in New !ain in 175 determined to sread the Christian doctrine"1B =e

learned Nahuatl and areciated Indian music# and his fascination led

him to write Psa%modia Christiana, a collection of Christian salms

relacing melodies of Nahua songs with catechism and raises of Eod"

This is a sign of transculturation for man) reasons" First# when Friar

!ahagn ;rst encountered the indigenous world and cultures# he

immediatel) started learning Nahuatl to communicate with them#

showing a sign on acculturation" The Psa%modia Christiana is a h)sical

b)roduct of transculturation# for !ahagn blended /uroean beliefs of

Christianit) and the language and music of the indigenous to create a

set of songs that is uniAue in its own wa)" This boo& was regarded as

the most imortant te.tboo& in teaching the Christian doctrine to the

indigenous eole"

=owe$er# meanings acAuired b) nati$e con$erts are diKcult to

ascertain" !etting doctrine to melodies added another la)er of

meaning" 6ords reaching Christian beliefs were shaed b) the

searate meanings and emotions connected to the indigenous

melodies# rh)thms# seech and cadence"15 !o# the indigenous eoles

understanding and accetance of the Christian doctrine can $ar) from

1B !te$enson# Robert# Music in Me"ico: # $istorica% Sur&e' 'New >or&3 Thomas >" CrowellComan)# 157,# 8"15 Mann# 0ristin Dutcher" 212" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the MissionCommunities of Northern New Spain, 15901!10 " !tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress

+



$er) little understanding to total accetance or to create a new set of

beliefs with a mi. of Christian and indigenous beliefs"

One thing we &now for

certain was that

imlementing music in

missionar) life

structured time"2 The

structuring of time is

recogniGable in the

4salmodia Christianas

table of contents"

Jlthough written in some form of language erhas Nahuatl with

another /uroean language# sections are di$ided u b) months" !o# for

each month# there was a set of salms and Christian &nowledge to

learn and reeat" In missionaries# ringing of bells mar&ed certain hours

of the da) and acted as a manager in &eeing eole on a routine"

“/.osure to music a%ects humans in two distinct wa)s3 directl) as the

e%ect of sound b) a%ecting the emotions# which in turn inHuence

bodil) functions"”1

2 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# chater ("1 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# "1B1"

B

'a(le of Contents of the Psalmodia Christiana



-) setting a schedule for the indigenous to follow# from when to ra)#

when to eat# when to slee# the !aniards were able to manage and

somewhat control the indigenous eole"

The hegemonic owers of music in New !ain come from its reetition

of ideas and tas&s" 6ith indigenous eole set to follow the same dail)

routines and chanting of liturg)# the Christian doctrine is basicall)

engrained in the indigenous eoles minds conscientiousl) and

subconsciousl)" J form of music missionaries used was the call*and*

resonse form" Chants called b) one erson and the rest would reeat

after him" This method of teaching in missionaries was the

breadwinner model in con$erting Indians# and the hegemonic

reetition became the &e) comonent of dail) music liturg) and

routines"

There was some resistance in the short term# but in the long run large

number of the indigenous eole were con$erted" 4ressure of disease#

dislocation# and economic and olitical

conditions dro$e indigenous eole to

acculturate the new wa)s and cultures of

the !aniards# undermining the indigenous

communities ties and grou identities"

Fra) 4edro de Eante shown on the

right is holding a boo& with an arm

0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# chater ("

5

)ra* Pedro de +ante, )irst 'eacher

of uropean Music in Me"ico



wraed around a dar& s&inned Indian child" This ortrait ortra)ed

se$eral asects to the relationshi between missionaries and

indigenous eole" First# indigenous eole were often ortra)ed as

children because the !aniards ercei$ed them as barbaric# childish

and unenlightened# so missionaries were the ones to guide and

enlighten the Indians" Missionaries concentrated their ChristianiGing

e%orts on indigenous children because the) were more suscetible and

easier to Christian inHuence# and once the children were con$erted#

the) acted as agents to further sread Christianit) within their $illages

and indigenous communities b) teaching the adults who were reluctant

to change their ideals and $alues"

To con$ert the indigenous eole# the missionaries had to learn

to sea& their language" Fra)s including Eante started b) learning

Nahuatl" Eante founded the ;rst schola cantorum 'singing school, and

taught music in Me.ico Cit)" The interesting art about this is that he

taught Indians onl) and not the children of “!anish in$aders”8 This

shows that ChristianiGing the indigenous was the missionaries riorit)"

Missionaries e%ort did not go to waste" The indigenous were

mesmeriGed b) the /uroean music and culture" <i&e Friar !ahagns

infatuation with the indigenous language and culture# the Indians were

8 !te$enson# Robert# Music in Me"ico: # $istorica% Sur&e' 'New >or&3 Thomas >" CrowellComan)# 157,# 7:"

12



eager to learn about the /uroean culture" In a e.cert from one of the

original members of the band that came o$er in 17: stated#

The' -the .ndians/ were so eager to %earn, and there

were so man' of them, that the' fair%' pi%ed up in the

court'ards of the churched and shrines and in their own

sections of the town, singing and %earning pra'ers for

three or four hours on end and their haste was so great

that where&er the' went, (' da' or (' night, one cou%d

hear them on a%% sides singing and reciting the who%e

catechism The Spaniards were amaed23

Indians en@o)ed restige as a musician because the) earned a salar)

and had the ri$ilege of ta. e.emtion"7 The numbers of Indian

musicians were so abnormall) big that later the First Me.ican Council

tried to set a limit to number of musicians"

Portrait of Sor !uana Ins de la Cruin a nun/s ha(it

: !te$enson# Robert# Music in Me"ico: # $istorica% Sur&e' 'New >or&3 Thomas >" CrowellComan)# 157,# 77"7 !te$enson# Robert# Music in Me"ico: # $istorica% Sur&e' 'New >or&3 Thomas >" CrowellComan)# 157,"

11



Jlthough notorious for her wor&s in writing and oetr)# !or uana#

also &nown as “The Tenth Muse”# was gifted in music as well"( !or

uana comosed man) $illancicos 'l)rical songs with a set structure of

short stanGas# li&e a oem, for the court and the Church" !he was aid

for her wor& and li&e the indigenous musicians had the restige and

ower from writing the $illancicos for the Church"+ In the ortrait

abo$e# !or uana is in the center with a Auill and boo& in hand" In the

ortrait instruments such as the har# lute# and $iolin are below#

illustrating her musical caabilities" 6hat is more interesting are the

two men standing on each side# one in armor and another in what I

resume to be an indigenous costume" The armored reresents the

!aniards and /uroean culture while the other reresents the

indigenous eole and culture" The ortrait is created to illustrate the

encounter of these two cultures" !or uana is ortra)ed as a

transcultural erson"

!or uanas wor& shows this transculturation" In a $illancico she

comosed she comoses a tocot4n# an Indian dance containing l)rics of

Nahuatl# comletel) in Nahuatl and still maintained the structure and

set numbers of s)llables reAuired for a

$illancico"

T%a 'a timohuica,Tot%ao uapi%%i,

Maca ammo, Tonant4n,

( 4aG"+ 4aG"

1

If )ou go now#Our belo$ed <ad)#

Do not# ourMother#

Forget us"



Titechmoi%cahu4%i2!

The tocot4n mentions Tonant4n# the /arth Mother goddess of the

indigenous eole" =ere was a creole that stood for the creole culture

and societ) of New !ain that comosed a $illancico in the indigenous

tongue" This musical wor& is an e.amle of transcultural music" =ere is

another iece !or uana comosed3

el cual en una guitarra#

con ecos desentonados#cantL un Tocot4 n/saol ) Me@icano"

TOCOTIN<os 4adres benidito

tiene on sic Redentor9amo nic ne%toca6uimati no Dios

!olo Dios Pi%tint%idel Cielo ba@o#

) nuestro t%at%aco%

nos lo erdono

Its li&e !anglish or Jsian Jmerican or a mestiGo" This $illancico is the

artistic form of transculturation of the two cultures" !or uana infused

Nahuatl hrases and words into a !anish $illancico"

Conclusion

“Music is a cultural s)stem that de;nes# orders# and maintains the

structure of societies"”5 Music ser$ed as an area of much hegemon)

and acculturation in New !ain during the 1(th and 1+th centuries"

B 4aG"5 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# "1B2"

18

who on a guitar#with discordant echoes#

sang a h)brid mestiGo Tocotinof !anaish and Mecian"

TOCOTIN The hol) 4riests Fathers

=a$e a Redeemer9amo nic ne%toca6uimati no 7od

Onl) Eod Pi%tint%iCame down from =ea$en#

Jnd our t%at%aco%Forga$e us it



“Music had intrinsic connections with time3 meter# rh)thm# reetition#

and resolution are all elements of musical comosition and

erformance"”82

Of course# there were resistance to the !aniards and wa)s of

missionar) life# but this was short term" In the long run# the !aniards

utiliGed music to con$ert Indians to Christianit)"

-ibliograh)• Mann# 0ristin Dutcher" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the

Mission Communities of Northern New Spain, 15901!10" !tanford#

Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress# 212"

• <ama)# Thomasin" Musica% 8oices of ar%' Modern omen ng%and9

Jshgate 4ublishing <imited# 227"

• <ong# 4amela =" Sor ;uana<Musica: how the Decima musa

composed, practiced, and imagined music" New >or&3 4eter <ang

4ublishing# Inc" 225"

• 4aG# Octa$io" Sor ;uana =r, the Traps of >aith" Cambridge# Mass"9

-el&na 4ress of =ar$ard Uni$# 15BB"

•

!ahagn# -ernardino de" Psa%modia Christiana" Jccessed Feb 7

218 through the Internet Jrchi$e 'Indigenous <anguages

Collection", 17B8"

82 0ristin Dutcher Mann" The Power of Song: Music and Dance in the Mission Communities ofNorthern New Spain, 15901!10 '!tanford# Calif3 !tanford Uni$ersit) 4ress" 212,# chater ("

1:



http011ia&22324.us.archi5e.org1#%1items1psalmodiachristi22s

aha1psalmodiachristi22saha.pdf

•

!te$enson# Robert" Music in Me"ico: # $istorica% Sur&e' New >or&3

Thomas >" Crowell Coman)# 157"

• Jnderson# Jrthur "O" The “!an -ernardino” of !ahagns Psa%modia"

htt3PPwww"iai"s&*

berlin"deP;leadminPdo&umentenbibliothe&PIndianaPIndianaQ5PINDQ25

QJnderson"df • Candelaria# <orenGo" “-ernardina de !ahagns 4salmodia Christiana

'17B8,3 J Christian !ongboo& from !i.teenth Centur) New !ain"” J

handout accessed Feb 7 218 through the #merican Musico%ogica%

Societ' # 211"htt3PPwww"ams*

net"orgPsanfranciscoPhandoutsPCandelaria"df • Catal)ne# Jlice Ra)" “Music of the !i.teenth to /ighteenth Centuries

in the Cathedral of 4uebla# Me.ico"” #nuario# ol" # " +7*52"

Uni$ersit) of Te.as 4ress# 15((" htt3PPwww"@stor"orgPstableP++5+(+• De Cou$e# Jlicia C"# Claudia Dal 4ino# and Jna <ucia Frega" “Jn

Jroach to the =istor) of Music /ducation in <atin Jmerica 4art II3

Music /ducation 1(th*1Bth Centuries"” ;ourna% of $istorica% ?esearch

in Music ducation# ol" 7# No" # 22:# Jril"

htt3PPwww"@stor"orgPstableP:217B8 • !te$enson# Robert" “Me.ico Cit) Cathedral Music3 1(22*1+72” The

#mericas # ol" 1# No" # " 111*187" Jcadem) of Jmerican

Franciscan =istor)# 15(:" htt3PPwww"@stor"orgPstableP5+527(

17

http://ia600807.us.archive.org/21/items/psalmodiachristi00saha/psalmodiachristi00saha.pdf


http://www.iai.spk-berlin.de/fileadmin/dokumentenbibliothek/Indiana/Indiana_9/IND_09_Anderson.pdf



http://www.ams-net.org/sanfrancisco/handouts/Candelaria.pdf


http://www.jstor.org/stable/779767















• !or uana Ines de la CruG hoto" C- Jrchi$e of /arl) Jmerican

Images# Image ublished in Madrid# 1+22" Jccessed Jril 1# 218"

htt3PPdigro@"libraries"uc"edu3B1B2PlunaPser$letPdetailPC-S1S1S7

51S:222273Relig*io*sa*gero*ni*ma*!or*uana*In

• Celebremos el Nio3 Christmas Delights from the Me.ican -aroAue"

http011www.roseensem(le.org1music1cele(remos-el-ni

6C768%o-christmas-delights-me"ican-(aroue

• Truitt# onathan" “Jdoted 4edegogies3 Nahua Incororation of

/uroean Music and Theater in Colonial Me.ico Cit)"” The Jcadem)

of Jmerican Franciscan =istor)# The #mericas# ol" ((# No" 8#

anuar) 212# "811*882"

htt3PPmuse"@hu"eduP@ournalsPtamPsummar)P$2((P(("8"truitt"html • Underberg# Natalie" “!or uanas illancicos3 Conte.t# Eender# and

Eenre"

6estern !tates Fol&lore !ociet)3 estern >o%*%ore# ol" (2# No" :

'Jutumn 221,# " 5+*81(" htt3PPwww"@stor"orgPstableP1722:12

originV!TOR*df

1(

http://digproj.libraries.uc.edu:8180/luna/servlet/detail/JCB~1~1~2591~4200005:Relig-io-sa-gero-ni-ma-Sor-Juana-In#


http://www.roseensemble.org/music/celebremos-el-ni%C3%B1o-christmas-delights-mexican-baroque


http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/tam/summary/v066/66.3.truitt.html

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1500410?origin=JSTOR-pdf






http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/tam/summary/v066/66.3.truitt.html



music in colonial new spain

Documents