Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León

Aknowledgements

I greatly appreciate the reviews that my two friends and colleagues, Leopoldo Treviño and my dearest Luisa Fernanda Patron, wrote on the pieces of the Eastern and Norteno music repertoire to be performed. Luisa Fernanda Patron is a singer, cultural promoter, and diffuser of traditional Northeastern music. She is the co-founder and lead singer of Grupo Tayer. With a background of 30 years, she has rescued the oral tradition of Northeastern music. She is also a producer and host of Nuevo Leon’s public radio station.

Maestro Leopoldo Treviño has a music degree; he is an instrumentalist and guitar teacher in the UANL School of Music. He has performed in several festivals, such as Festival Cultural de la India, in Saltillo, Coahuila (Mexico) from about 1996 to 2006; Festival de Musica Nueva and Festival de Musica Microtonal, both organized by CONARTE in Monterrey (Mexico).

I would also like to express my gratitude to the performers who have made this project possible; I will be playing the bajo quinto.

  • Leopoldo Treviño. Biwa, sitar, bağlama (professor at the School of Music-UANL)
  • Daniel Niño Sanchez. Snare drum (mid-level music student, School of Music-UANL)
  • Angel Daniel Peña Tovar. Accordion (mid-level music student, School of Music-UANL)
  • Rolando Avila Muñoz. Electric bass (mid-level music student, School of Music-UANL)

These tracks were recorded in the multimedia studio of the School of Music-UANL, thanks to the support of maestro German Roberto Gonzalez Diaz, professor at the university.

I hope you enjoy this collective goodwill.

M.A. Ramiro Godina Valerio

Eastern music

Ekadasi (Sitar)
A piece by maestro Leopoldo Treviño, inspired by the Bhimpalasi raga.

Sakura (Biwa)
From Japanese musical tradition. It is a poem about the cherry tree, which is a highly appreciated tree in Japanese culture. Theme, variations, and end.

Collage (Bağlama)
A collage of themes of the Otoman and Anatolian cultures. Performer: Leopoldo Treviño.

Norteno Music

El Naranjo
Redova. Up to the ‘60s, this genre was very popular in the region, as was the schottis. For this reason, there is a myriad of musical pieces of this genre. Recorded in the ‘50s.

Evangelina
Original polka of two melodic forms, showcasing the style of the region’s composers. Recorded in the ‘50s.
Antonia Tanguma “El Rey del Acordeon” authored both pieces (China, Nuevo Leon (Mexico) 1903; Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, (Mexico) 1989.

La Chicharronera
Quick polka, potentially inspired by Narciso Martinez "El Huracan del Valle" (Reynosa, Tamaulipas (Mexico) 1911; San Benito, (Texas) 1992.) Recorded in the late ‘30s.
We have chosen pieces from two performers, accordionists-composers, who are representatives of the first foundational period of the conjunto music (musical ensemble): Narciso Martinez and Antonio Tanguma, who made their debuts in the 20th Century, in the ‘30s and ‘40s, respectively. Martinez’s professional career was developed in the Valley (Texas) and Tanguma’s in Nuevo Leon (Mexico).
These musicians, both from a modest background, accomplished a long and renowned career, making their mark through phonograms from different record labels. Their musical beginnings had a direct influence from Central European performances and music genres; later in their careers, they developed an individual, signature style.