David Lasserson reviews the latest in Schott Music’s series on world music styles, compiled by Julia Chardavoine, Diego Brossollet Hernández and César Iván Juárez-Joyner 

Mexican Folk Fiddle Tunes

Mexican Folk Fiddle Tunes

Julia Chardavoine, Diego Brossollet Hernández, César Iván Juárez-Joyner

96PP ISMN 9790220139512

Schott Music £19.99 

‘Try to picture a traditional Mexican village celebration, with everyone dancing on a huge wooden platform… in the background lies a breathtaking landscape of green mountains, the Sierra Huasteca.’

The evocative introduction to Schott’s guide to the Mexican folk violin tradition conjures vivid scenes of the huapango, a celebration where the son huasteco will be played and sung, with a string trio at its heart: violin and two guitars. Tunes in this genre stretch out, alternating between singing and instrumental rounds. During the singing the dancers are simply swaying gently, but as soon as the violin comes in they launch into the zapateado, stamping out all the quavers in the Mexican footwork that creates an instant percussion orchestra.

There are also ritual applications for the Mexican son, including ceremonies like the Day of the Dead. The book opens with a selection of these, starting with Xochipitzahuatl, played before religious ceremonies like funerals and marriages.

Seeing the tunes transcribed for violinists in this guide shows how deceptively complex they are. The son is built on the hemiola, and each bar can be played in 3/4 or 6/8, so both time signatures are written at the top of each score. As in much Latin music, the down-beat is deferred by the musicians so that it can be laid down by the dancers. Here, in a tune like Las Canastas, the violinist emphasises beat 6 which is then tied over the bar-line, while the guitarist changes chord on beat 2. Your feet will have to tell you where 1 is.

The complexity comes from a deep layering of history, not all of it noble. Pre-Hispanic percussion and wind music absorbed some of the Western sacred music brought by Franciscan missionaries. Soldiers brought romances, lullabies, sarabands and tangos. African slaves shipped to the Americas brought new rhythms.

The Mexican son carries a potent mix of influences, and we can learn from this collection how it is still very much alive. It also has regional varieties and traditions. The son calentano is described as ‘the music of the hot lands, or tierra caliente, on the edge of the Balsas river’. The string groups for dances are bigger, often featuring more than one violin, and percussion, and the sones are fast and furious. You can see some of the invention and humour of fiddlers past in tunes like son de burro, which tells you to bow behind the bridge to get a donkey sound.

Helpfully, alongside the violin transcriptions there is also guidance for guitarists. All tracks are recorded both with fiddle and guitar, and as playalong tracks just featuring guitar.

Also helpful is a map of Mexico, showing the regions of the son huasteco and the son caliente. The violin still plays a key role in Mexican life, driving the action in ceremonies and celebration, and serenading lovers in romantic ballads.

DAVID LASSERSON