Miguel Bernal Jiménez
Encyclopedia
Miguel Bernal Jiménez was a Mexican composer
, organist
, pedagogist and musicologist.
He is widely regarded as the best representative of 20th century Mexican religious music
, in addition to his important contributions to the Mexican
nationalist music movement. He is considered by some to be the mainstay of the nacionalismo sacro (sacred nationalism) movement.
in the Mexican state of Michoacán
. He began his musical career at the age of seven as choir
-boy in the Orfeón Pío X, studying in the Colegio de Infantes de la Catedral. His talent was discovered by his teachers Felipe Aguilera Ruiz and Ignacio Mier y Arriaga, who succeeded in getting him recommended and admitted in 1928 to the Instituto Pontificio de Música Sagrada (Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music
) of Rome by the Canónigo José María Villaseñor. In this institution he was instructed in organ
, counterpoint
, fugue
, paleographic musicology, composition
, instrumentation
, harmony and Gregorian chant
, by his teachers Cesare Dobici, Raffaele Manari, Raffaele Casimiri, Paolo M. Ferretti, and Licinio Refice. He graduated two years later with the titles of Doctor in Gregorian chant, Master in composition, and organ concert performer.
In 1933, he returned to Mexico to be director of the Escuela Superior de Música Sagrada (Sacred Music High School) of Morelia, a position he held for twenty years. In Morelia he fought restlessly to create schools, give concerts, courses and congresses. He published many books, sheet music, and specialized magazines, giving foremost importance to sacred music. In 1939, he founded the Schola Cantorum magazine, the first periodical to publish musicological, musical, and pedagogic material. It was one of the most important means of musical diffusion in his time.
In his time, Miguel Bernal made himself an important spot in multiple social circles in Mexico, and made friends with other great musicians of his time, including Manuel M. Ponce and Silvestre Revueltas
. He was recognized internationally and many of his works were premiered in Spain
.
He created the Amigos de la Música (Music Friends) society in 1938. In 1944 he organized and directed the Coro de los Niños Cantores de Morelia (Morelia Singing Boys Choir). In 1945 he became director of the Conservatorio de las Rosas, where he worked to bring the institution up to date and gave its current image. Between 1945 and 1946 he toured the United States and Canada giving organ concerts. He was dean of the College of Music of the Loyola University New Orleans
until his death in 1956 due to a heart attack
.
Miguel Bernal also regularly published in his periodical publication
Schola Cantorum.
His large musical repertoire includes diverse works. One of the most noteworthy is Tata Vasco (1941), symphonic drama which speaks of Vasco de Quiroga
, called Tata Vasco by the native Tarascan indigenous peoples. It premiered in Pátzcuaro
, Mexico in 1941 and was later performed in Madrid
in 1948 with costumes and scenery by Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo
. This work combines indigenous peoples’ chants, gregorian chants and romantic melodies to represent each part of the story.
Bernal composed many of his works at the request of other parties. “Noche de Morelia” (1941) was made by request of the local Red Cross, and premiered by the Matinal Symphony Orchestra under the direction of its header and founder Carlos Chávez
. This work is representative of many of the customs of the people of Morelia at the time. His Symphony-Poem "Mexico" (1946), one of his most representative nationalist works, gave him the acknowledgment of the Spanish composer Joaquin Turina
.
In his "Concertino para Órgano y Orquesta" (1949) he manifests his own admiration for great composers of the European Baroque
and Classical
periods, the influence of which is not as noticeable in his other, earlier works. Bernal Jiménez demonstrates his harmonious dexterity by arranging the identity of the organ as a solo instrument and accompanies it grandiloquently with an orchestra. The medieval altarpiece that designs this work is characterized in its two first parts; "Mester de Juglares" and "Mester de Clerecia".
"El Chueco" (1951) is considered as one the most representative works of Mexican ballet
of the 20th century. The work shows a nationalist sonority characterized by popular themes, in a background that seems inherently religious. The work was released in 1951 by the National Symphony Orchestra
in the Palacio de Bellas Artes
and was directed by Bernal Jiménez himself.
His "Sinfonia Hidalgo" (1953) was requested by the "Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo" and was released by the National Symphony Orchestra by its author in the "Teatro Ocampo" of Morelia.
, the works of Miguel Bernal Jiménez are found to be defined by a marked nationalism
. His religious education and devotion to Catholicism
, combined with his nationalism, made him become the head of the movement known as "Nacionalismo sacro", the product of the "motu proprio
", published by the Pope Pius X in 1903. This document promoted the reintroduction of sacred music by medium of blending it with regional elements. This, along with the religious tolerance which was the product of the arrangements between the church and the Mexican state after the "Guerra Cristera", defined the style of one of the musicians with most influence in contemporary Mexican music.
Miguel Bernal Jiménez defended the application of innovative tendencies in religious music to vindicate its supremacy as a holy art over the profane. His style of music is eclectic
, music that intends to encompass all the elements of Mexico and to expose all the elements of its reality.
Miguel Bernal Jiménez also shows common elements of Manuel M. Ponce and other nationalist composers of this era. He also seems to mix his music with themes obtained from popular traditions, like work chants, religious mottoes and melodies of political context.
Harmonically, however, his music is of a markedly conservative strain. It bears the influences of the pan-modal style offered up by the Catholic Church style of the twentieth century Schola Cantorum, along with elements of Debussy and other composers thrown in to good effect. "Tres Cartas de Mexico", for example, practically quotes Debussy's Nocturnes for orchestra. This in and of itself is fine, but Bernal is somewhat over-rated by his fans.
.
Miguel Bernal was a prolific academic and his bibliographic archive consists of 11 books and 173 articles, many of which were used in the teachings of sacred music in varied locations throughout the country, and in seminaries in Mexico and abroad. In what are commonly regarded as his most important works, he elaborated on methods of music theory in Gregorian Chant
. Included in this category are "La Disciplina Coral", "Las tres etapas de la ejecucion gregoriana", "teoria del canto gregoriano", “El acompañamiento gregoriano” and “La dirección gregoriana”.
" (1941), the "Premio Nacional" (1943) for the music used in the movie "La Virgen que forjó una Patria", The "Condecoracion Generalisimo Morelos" (1945) and the "Primer Premio del Concurso Chopin" (1949). In 1956, he was declared "favorite child" of the state of Michoacán.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
, pedagogist and musicologist.
He is widely regarded as the best representative of 20th century Mexican religious music
Religious music
Religious music is music performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence.A lot of music has been composed to complement religion, and many composers have derived inspiration from their own religion. Many forms of traditional music have been adapted to fit religions'...
, in addition to his important contributions to the Mexican
Music of Mexico
The music of Mexico is very diverse and features a wide range of different musical styles. It has been influenced by a variety of cultures, most notably indigenous Mexican and European, since the Late Middle Ages...
nationalist music movement. He is considered by some to be the mainstay of the nacionalismo sacro (sacred nationalism) movement.
Biography
He was born in the city of MoreliaMorelia
Morelia is a city and municipality in the north central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital of the state. The main pre-Hispanic cultures here were the P'urhépecha and the Matlatzinca, but no major cities were founded in the...
in the Mexican state of Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
. He began his musical career at the age of seven as choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
-boy in the Orfeón Pío X, studying in the Colegio de Infantes de la Catedral. His talent was discovered by his teachers Felipe Aguilera Ruiz and Ignacio Mier y Arriaga, who succeeded in getting him recommended and admitted in 1928 to the Instituto Pontificio de Música Sagrada (Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music
Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music
The Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music or Pontificio Instituto de Música Sagrada is an institution of higher education of the Roman Catholic Church specifically dedicated to the study of sacred music. It is based in Rome, Italy.-History:...
) of Rome by the Canónigo José María Villaseñor. In this institution he was instructed in organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
, fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
, paleographic musicology, composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
, instrumentation
Instrumentation (music)
In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually...
, harmony and Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
, by his teachers Cesare Dobici, Raffaele Manari, Raffaele Casimiri, Paolo M. Ferretti, and Licinio Refice. He graduated two years later with the titles of Doctor in Gregorian chant, Master in composition, and organ concert performer.
In 1933, he returned to Mexico to be director of the Escuela Superior de Música Sagrada (Sacred Music High School) of Morelia, a position he held for twenty years. In Morelia he fought restlessly to create schools, give concerts, courses and congresses. He published many books, sheet music, and specialized magazines, giving foremost importance to sacred music. In 1939, he founded the Schola Cantorum magazine, the first periodical to publish musicological, musical, and pedagogic material. It was one of the most important means of musical diffusion in his time.
In his time, Miguel Bernal made himself an important spot in multiple social circles in Mexico, and made friends with other great musicians of his time, including Manuel M. Ponce and Silvestre Revueltas
Silvestre Revueltas
Silvestre Revueltas Sánchez was a Mexican composer of classical music, a violinist and a conductor.-Life:...
. He was recognized internationally and many of his works were premiered in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
He created the Amigos de la Música (Music Friends) society in 1938. In 1944 he organized and directed the Coro de los Niños Cantores de Morelia (Morelia Singing Boys Choir). In 1945 he became director of the Conservatorio de las Rosas, where he worked to bring the institution up to date and gave its current image. Between 1945 and 1946 he toured the United States and Canada giving organ concerts. He was dean of the College of Music of the Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans is a private, co-educational and Jesuit university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit patron, Saint Ignatius of Loyola...
until his death in 1956 due to a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
Miguel Bernal also regularly published in his periodical publication
Periodical publication
Periodical literature is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar examples are the newspaper, often published daily, or weekly; or the magazine, typically published weekly, monthly or as a quarterly...
Schola Cantorum.
Works
His most important works include:- Ave Gratia Plena (1924)
- Cuarteto Virreinal (1937)
- Suite Sinfónica Michoacán (1940)
- Por el Valle de las Rosas (1941)
- Opera: Tata VascoTata Vasco (opera)Tata Vasco is an opera in five scenes composed by Miguel Bernal Jiménez to a Spanish libretto with nationalistic and devoutly Roman Catholic themes by the Mexican priest and poet, Manuel Muñoz. It premiered in Pátzcuaro, Mexico on 15 February 1941. The opera is based on the life of Vasco de...
(1941) - Noche en Morelia (1941)
- Misa Aeternae Trinitatis (1941)
- La Virgen que Forjó una Patria (1942)
- Tingambato (1943)
- Angelus (1943)
- Misa Guadalupana Juandieguito (1945)
- Sinfonía-Poema: México (1946)
- Retablo Medieval: Concertino para Órgano y Orquesta (1949)
- Tres Cartas de México (1949)
- El Chueco (1951)
- Carteles (1952)
- Los Tres Galanes de Juana (1952)
- Sinfonía Hidalgo (1953)
- Antífonas para México (1954)
- El Himno de los Bosques (1956)
His large musical repertoire includes diverse works. One of the most noteworthy is Tata Vasco (1941), symphonic drama which speaks of Vasco de Quiroga
Vasco de Quiroga
Vasco de Quiroga was the first bishop of Michoacán, Mexico and one of the judges in the second Audiencia that governed New Spain from January 10, 1531 to April 16, 1535....
, called Tata Vasco by the native Tarascan indigenous peoples. It premiered in Pátzcuaro
Pátzcuaro
Pátzcuaro is a large town and municipality located in the state of Michoacán. The town was founded sometime in the 1320s, at first becoming the capital of the Tarascan state and later its ceremonial center...
, Mexico in 1941 and was later performed in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 1948 with costumes and scenery by Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo
Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo
Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo was a Mexican artist, graphic designer and artisan best known for his series of Christmas cards produced for UNICEF in the 1960s, as well as known in Mexico for his furniture designs and promotion of traditional handcrafts. Rangel lived and worked during his life at his...
. This work combines indigenous peoples’ chants, gregorian chants and romantic melodies to represent each part of the story.
Bernal composed many of his works at the request of other parties. “Noche de Morelia” (1941) was made by request of the local Red Cross, and premiered by the Matinal Symphony Orchestra under the direction of its header and founder Carlos Chávez
Carlos Chávez
Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez was a Mexican composer, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influenced by native Mexican cultures. Of his six Symphonies, his Symphony No...
. This work is representative of many of the customs of the people of Morelia at the time. His Symphony-Poem "Mexico" (1946), one of his most representative nationalist works, gave him the acknowledgment of the Spanish composer Joaquin Turina
Joaquín Turina
Joaquín Turina was a Spanish composer of classical music.-Biography:Turina was born in Seville but his origins were in northern Italy . He studied in Seville as well as in Madrid...
.
In his "Concertino para Órgano y Orquesta" (1949) he manifests his own admiration for great composers of the European Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
and Classical
Classical period (music)
The dates of the Classical Period in Western music are generally accepted as being between about 1750 and 1830. However, the term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or...
periods, the influence of which is not as noticeable in his other, earlier works. Bernal Jiménez demonstrates his harmonious dexterity by arranging the identity of the organ as a solo instrument and accompanies it grandiloquently with an orchestra. The medieval altarpiece that designs this work is characterized in its two first parts; "Mester de Juglares" and "Mester de Clerecia".
"El Chueco" (1951) is considered as one the most representative works of Mexican ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
of the 20th century. The work shows a nationalist sonority characterized by popular themes, in a background that seems inherently religious. The work was released in 1951 by the National Symphony Orchestra
National Symphony Orchestra (Mexico)
The National Symphony Orchestra is the most important classical music and symphonic ensemble in Mexico. With its origins traced back as 1881, it is the second oldest symphony orchestra in the American continent along with the Boston Symphony Orchestra...
in the Palacio de Bellas Artes
Palacio de Bellas Artes
The Palacio de Bellas Artes is the most important cultural center in Mexico City as well as the rest of the country of Mexico...
and was directed by Bernal Jiménez himself.
His "Sinfonia Hidalgo" (1953) was requested by the "Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo" and was released by the National Symphony Orchestra by its author in the "Teatro Ocampo" of Morelia.
Style and influences
Because of his birth at the start of the Mexican RevolutionMexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
, the works of Miguel Bernal Jiménez are found to be defined by a marked nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
. His religious education and devotion to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, combined with his nationalism, made him become the head of the movement known as "Nacionalismo sacro", the product of the "motu proprio
Motu proprio
A motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him....
", published by the Pope Pius X in 1903. This document promoted the reintroduction of sacred music by medium of blending it with regional elements. This, along with the religious tolerance which was the product of the arrangements between the church and the Mexican state after the "Guerra Cristera", defined the style of one of the musicians with most influence in contemporary Mexican music.
Miguel Bernal Jiménez defended the application of innovative tendencies in religious music to vindicate its supremacy as a holy art over the profane. His style of music is eclectic
Eclecticism in music
Eclecticism is used to describe a composer's conscious use of styles alien to his nature, or from one or more historical styles. The term is also used pejoratively to describe music whose composer, thought to be lacking originality, appears to have freely drawn on other models .-Sources:* Kennedy,...
, music that intends to encompass all the elements of Mexico and to expose all the elements of its reality.
Miguel Bernal Jiménez also shows common elements of Manuel M. Ponce and other nationalist composers of this era. He also seems to mix his music with themes obtained from popular traditions, like work chants, religious mottoes and melodies of political context.
Harmonically, however, his music is of a markedly conservative strain. It bears the influences of the pan-modal style offered up by the Catholic Church style of the twentieth century Schola Cantorum, along with elements of Debussy and other composers thrown in to good effect. "Tres Cartas de Mexico", for example, practically quotes Debussy's Nocturnes for orchestra. This in and of itself is fine, but Bernal is somewhat over-rated by his fans.
Musicological work
As a musicologist, he investigated the history of colonial music. After arduous and tedious searches, he discovered the first archive of Mexican colonial music, which dates from the 18th century, and comes from the "School of Santa Rosa de Virreinato", which reveals Mexico as the country with the richest and most interesting musical background of the New WorldNew World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
.
Pedagogical work
Miguel Bernal Jiménez also worked as a great pedagogist. His methods and publications were tested with success in the "Conservatorio de las Rosas" and the "Escuela Popular de Bellas Artes". In 1939 he founded the magazine "Schola Cantorum" which was, for a long time, one of the most important media of musical diffusion of the country. The magazine kept being published periodically until the year 1974, and until that year, it conserved the original format proposed by its creator. In this magazine, Bernal Jiménez constantly published musical, musicological and pedagogical material under pseudonyms such as "M.Mouse", "Q.U.D", "Primicerius", "Jaime Le Brungel" and "Fray Florindo".Miguel Bernal was a prolific academic and his bibliographic archive consists of 11 books and 173 articles, many of which were used in the teachings of sacred music in varied locations throughout the country, and in seminaries in Mexico and abroad. In what are commonly regarded as his most important works, he elaborated on methods of music theory in Gregorian Chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
. Included in this category are "La Disciplina Coral", "Las tres etapas de la ejecucion gregoriana", "teoria del canto gregoriano", “El acompañamiento gregoriano” and “La dirección gregoriana”.
Achievements
During his life he received the "Premio Pontificio" in three occasions (1930, 1931 y 1932), the "Diploma de Honor de la Federación Teatral Mexicana" (1941), the "Medalla al Mérito Civil", given by the newspaper "El UniversalEl Universal (Mexico City)
El Universal is a major Mexican newspaper.El Universal was founded by Félix Palavicini and Emilio Rabasa in October 1916, in the city of Santiago de Queretaro to cover the end of the Mexican Revolution and the creation of the new Mexican Constitution...
" (1941), the "Premio Nacional" (1943) for the music used in the movie "La Virgen que forjó una Patria", The "Condecoracion Generalisimo Morelos" (1945) and the "Primer Premio del Concurso Chopin" (1949). In 1956, he was declared "favorite child" of the state of Michoacán.