This week on “The Lost Chord,” it’s all Mexican music on the eve of Cinco de Mayo. We’ll hear a fun solfeggio piece (“Sol-fa de Pedro”) by the baroque composer Manuel de Zumaya. Zumaya, born in Mexico around 1678, is believed to have written the first opera in the western hemisphere. He became chapel master of Mexico City Cathedral in 1715.
Blas Galindo is best known in the United States for the evocative “Sones de Mariachi.” But he composed over 150 works, including seven ballets. One of these was “La Manda,” or “The Vow,” written in 1951. The scenario is a bit of downer, about an ailing wife on a pilgrimage who believes she is losing her husband to another woman, but the music is full of distinct nationalist character.
Manuel Ponce is one of Mexico’s most famous composers. He’s probably best recognized for his guitar music, thanks to his association with Andrés Segovia. Less frequently heard is his Violin Concerto of 1942. We’ll have the soloist who gave the work its premiere, Henryk Szeryng, in a recording made some forty years later.
Pour yourself a Corona, mix up some guacamole, and enjoy “Mayo My,” Mexican music for Cinco de Mayo, on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!
Remember, KWAX is on the West Coast, so there’s a three-hour difference for those of you listening in the East. Here are the respective air-times for all three of my recorded shows (with East Coast conversions in parentheses):
PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday on KWAX at 5:00 PM PACIFIC TIME (8:00 PM EASTERN)
SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – ALL NEW! – Saturday on KWAX at 8:00 AM PACIFIC TIME (11:00 AM EASTERN)
THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday on KWAX at 4:00 PM PACIFIC TIME (7:00 PM EASTERN)
Stream all three, at the times indicated, by following the link!
