Image courtesy of Mariana Corichi Gómez ‘21
Mariana Corichi Gómez is a junior in the Music Department. She is also pursuing a Certificate in Conducting. She grew up in Mexico City and Morelia, Mexico. This Fall, Mariana conducted two pieces for Glee Club and prepared us for Mexico as our Spanish coach. Outside of Glee, she is the student conductor of Camerata (a student orchestra) and William Trego Singers. Her directions for Besame Mucho and Franz Schubert’s Psalm 23 (Gott ist Meine Hert) have been invaluable for our performances.
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Let’s jump right in. What were some preparations that you made for conducting the Glee Club this fall?
So, as you know, I am doing the Conducting Certificate and I’ve had the great fortune of being here where there’s a very blossoming culture of student groups—which have been important for me in my development. And I’ve had great mentors. But, specifically, at the beginning of the year, Gabriel and I were talking about Mexico Tour. We had discussed the possibility of doing a Mexican Piece. I suggested a bolero and we came to this arrangement.
What do you think is the most important aspect of being a conductor and leading the choir?
Maybe it’s cliché, but I think that for rehearsals, especially, it is important to feel the music in my body. I prepare pieces which are in the Western cannon, and some are not in this cannon. Sometimes, now, I can tell when the music is not in my body and when it is there—not necessarily memorised, but that you understand how it’s supposed to flow and how to fix certain things.
And what does that “flow” feel like?
I think when conducting, you have to be very in-tune with your body. So when there’s disconnect, that’s when a lot of things could go wrong. I struggle with that as well. For example, when I was conducting both the Schubert and Besame Mucho, if I had to describe it, it’s like a circuit, the music comes into you and you have to process it in two milliseconds and react to it. It’s constantly reacting. I can’t just go in and rehearse exactly what I am going to do. It has to be a reaction to how people are singing. Then they react to me. I love how it’s very conversational. It’s not just “go” but more “sing with me: you give me more and I give you more.” That’s what I mean by “connection with the music.”
You brought up the two pieces you conducted this fall and talked about the fundamental similarities in how you approached them, are there big differences between conducting the Schubert and Besame Mucho?
Well yes and no. Yes, the Schubert and Besame are totally different but, like I said earlier, the approach to conducting them is surprisingly similar.
Can you give us an example?
Yes. So, even though the structure of the pieces, the flow, and the rhythms, are completely different, ideally the fundamentals to conducting remain constant. This is something I am also piecing together. My musical brain is sometimes separated between “Mexican-Latin American-Non-Western” and “Western”—this is Besame, this is Schubert. I’m trying to better bridge them. I think they share so much more than we are aware and add to each other: the same fundamentals of harmony, voices, polyphony, and humans. The connection of love and dance to our bodies is just as powerful as the connection of bodies to the divine.
A major point of technical difference, however, is the pieces’ the rhythmic structures: Besame has a lot of polyrhythm while the Schubert is very homophonic and homo-rhythmic. In some sense, the Schubert gives you nowhere to hide. You really have to be true to certain movements, flowing the score closely, and be really clean with your technique. We spent a lot of time on details, like cut-offs. Mistakes are obvious. Whereas with Besame, if the flow and the authenticity are not there, that’s also very obvious.
Let’s now zoom in on Besame Mucho and the bolero. How would you introduce this piece to someone who has never encountered a bolero?
First, Besame mucho is very well known in the Latin American world—it originates from Mexico—and I guess is one of country more important and influential pieces. Everyone in Mexico knows it.
And, what is the bolero?
Most simply put, the bolero is a love-song but with specific rhythmic structures that mirror Latin American dances. Salsa, bachata, merengue…Everything is a dance. It’s all connected to movement. That’s why all of these pieces are based on syncopation, inspired by the movement of the body.
Can you tell a little about the bolero’s history?
A very brief history, it originated in Cuba and Mexico. There had been a lot of musical exchange between Mexico and Cuba in the late 19th Century and the early 20th Century. Cuba’s the “birthing place” of Caribbean music. The bolero became very popular in the 40s and 50s—my grandparents’ era—which was also the golden age of cinema in Mexico. Then, it fizzled out. But in the late 80s, 90s, the “pop king” of Mexico Luis Miguel started recording a lot of the old songs. And that’s how my generation knows them again. They were reborn. And that’s what inspired other artists in Latin America. It’s a really beautiful thing.
Returning to your experience of conducting this piece, what was the greatest challenge in preparing Glee Club for Besame Mucho?
I think it is possible for everyone to feel the flow of the music, if you listen and work on it. A lot of the challenge is getting 4-beat and 3-beat patterns out of our head because in Besame, the line is not metric. In these traditions, people don’t learn the rhythmic subdivisions but are more in tune with the overall theme. That’s why it feels so free. Also, for a lot of Latin music, the common syncopation is 3 against 2, which is an effect that you lose when you subdivide into 4-beat patterns. And that a reference to Latin dances. This is something we will continue to work on as we prepare for the Mexico Tour.
And to end, what does performing Besame Mucho in Mexico mean for you?
A lot of family members who have never seen me perform are coming to our Mexico City concert. I am so excited. It’s beyond special.