Jesus Castillo

Jesus Castillo (1877-1946)

Jesus was a Guatemalan composer and ethnomusicologist who studied piano with Miguel Espinoza and composition with Rafael Guzman in Quetzaltenango. As a composer he is regarded as the initiator and with his younger brother Ricardo Castillo as one of the masters of Guatemalan musical nationalism. At an early age he showed a special interest in Guatemalan indigenous and folk music. In 1897 he began using this in his own compositions such as the Cinco oberturas indigenas.

He taught music for 30 years in the city of Quetzaltenango and at the same time he collected folk music in various regions of Guatemala.  These collections of folk music influenced his own compositions which featured indigenous melodies and rhythms. This is especially evident in his opera Quiché Vinak. The research he conducted on Guatemalan folk and indigenous music was published in 1941 in his book, La musica maya-quiche: region de Guatemala. His compositions constituted an important part of the repertory of the most outstanding marimba bands in Quetzaltenango.

Bibliography:

Lehnhoff, D. (n.d.). Jesus Castillo. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Retrieved March 4, 2012 from:

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.lib.umb.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/05139?q=Jesus+Castillo&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit

Discography:

• Cinco oberturas indigenas (1897) Guatemalan indigenous and folk music, features autochthonous melodies and rhythms.
  • Fiesta de pajaros:
  Period: 20th century
  Catalogue No: CAP21598
  Catalogue name: Music from Guatemala, Vol 1.
  Track: 19
  Label: Caprice
  Oberturas indígenas Guatemalan indigenous and folk music, features autochthonous melodies and rhythms.
  Quiche Vinak (1917-1925) opera, parts were first performed in 1924 at the Teatro Abril.