Ayala Pérez, Daniel

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Ayala Pérez, Daniel

Ayala Pérez, Daniel, Mexican conductor and composer; b. Abalá, Yucatán, July 21, 1906; d. Veracruz, June 20, 1975. He went to Mérida, Yucatán, to study music, and then entered the National Cons, in Mexico City in 1927, where he studied violin with Ezequiel Sierra and Revueltas, and composition with Ponce, Huízar, and Carrillo. He played in nightclubs in Mexico City. In 1931 he became a violinist with the Orquesta Sinfónica de México. In 1934, together with Moncayo, Contreras, and Galindo, formed the Grupo de los Cuatro. He became conductor of the Banda de Policía in Mérida in 1940 and in 1942 founded the Mérida Sym. Orch. He was director of the Yucatán Cons, (from 1944) and the Veracruz School of Music (from 1955). His music, inspired by ancestral melos of the Mayan civilization and legends, is cast in pentatonic modes and possesses a vigorous rhythmic pulse.

Works

DRAMATIC: Ballet: El Hombré Maya (symphonic suite, Mexico City, Nov. 21, 1940); La gruta diabolicá (1940). ORCH.: Tribù (Mexico City, Oct. 18, 1935); Paisaje (Landscape; 1935; Mexico City, June 2, 1936); Panoramas de México (1936; Dallas, Dec. 1, 1940); Sinfonía de las Americas (1946); Mi viaje a Norte America (1947); Acuarela nocturna (1949); Yaax u ha (Leyanda Maya) (1954); Suite veracruzana (1957); Concertino for Piano and Chamber Orch. (1970). Piano: Radiograma (1931). VOCAL: 4 Canciones for Voice and Piano (1932); Uchben X’Coholte (Ancient Cemetery) for Soprano and Chamber Orch. (Mexico City, Oct. 13, 1933; ballet ver., 1936; Mexico City, March 6, 1936); El grillo (Cricket) for Soprano, Clarinet, Violin, Timbrel, and Piano (1933); U Kayil Chaac, an incantation for rain, for Soprano, Mexican Percussion Instruments, and Chamber Orch. (1934); Brigadier de Choque for Chorus and Percussion (1935); Suite infantil for Soprano and Chamber Orch. (1937); Los Yaquis y los Seris, 2 suites for Voice, Chamber Ensemble, and Mexican Percussion Instruments (1938; Mérida, July 31, 1942); Música instrumental para espe-ctácula de luz y sonido de Uxmal for 2 Choruses and Orch. (1971).