Rodrigo Mata: Danzas de Xibalbá for flute, viola and double bass

About the Composition

A work inspired by "Xibalbá," a place that, according to Mayan-Quiché mythology and the "Popol Vuh" book, is the underground world ruled by the deities of death. More specifically, the work focuses on a fragment of the "Popol Vuh" that recounts the passage of Hunahpú and Ixbalanqué (Mayan gods) through Xibalbá and how they performed the dances of the Puhuy (owl), the Cux (weasel), the Iboy (armadillo), the Ixtzul (centipede), and the Chitic (the one who walks on stilts).

The "Dances of Xibalbá" are precisely a sonic recreation of each of these dances narrated in the text, from the imagination of composer Rodrigo Mata, through the use of his own musical language in combination with some elements of traditional Mexican music.

The instrumentation, although unconventional, brings together an interesting combination of textures, timbres, and perfectly balanced sound registers, from the deep low sound of the double bass, through the noble color of the viola, to the splendor of the flute.

This work is made up of 5 movements:

I. Puhuy
II. Cux
III. Iboy
IV. Ixtzul
V. Chitic

Premiered in September 2025 in Guanajuato, Mexico by Laura Gracia (flute), Lydia Bunn (viola) and Rodrigo Mata (double bass).

About the Composer

Bassist and composer born in 1985 in Guanajuato, Mexico, he graduated in double bass at the University of Guanajuato. Concurrently, he studied with Valeria Thierry (Mexico) in Mexico City and in 2010 completed an academic stay at Mount Royal University in the city of Calgary, Canada with Sheila Garrett (Canada), John Hyde (Canada) and Rubim de Toledo (Brazil). From 2019 to 2021 he studied a Master's Degree in Music Performance at the Norwegian Academy of Music with Dan Styffe (Sweden) and Håkon Thelin (Norway). He has received master classes from renowned musicians such as Stefano Scodanibbio (Italy), Bertram Turetzky (United States), Frank Proto (United States), Markus Stockhausen (Germany), Dominic Seldis (United Kingdom), Thierry Barbe (France), Jeff Bradetich (United States), among others.

As a soloist he has premiered works by contemporary composers in Mexico, United States and Norway. He has performed with Calgary Youth Orchestra in Canada, Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM, Orquesta de Cámara de Leon, the Norwegian Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonietta, Ensemble 3030 and the Bergen Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. He is currently bassist in Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de Guanajuato, as well as several chamber music and jazz projects. He is conductor and founder of the double bass ensemble "Mushamukas" with which he has premiered works by avant-garde composers and with which in 2022 he was a beneficiary of FONCA's Programa de Fomento a Proyectos y Coinversiones Culturales. In 2021 and 2023 he was a beneficiary of Programa de Estímulos a la Creación y Desarrollo Artístico (PECDA), as a creator with trajectory.

As a composer, he has won first prize in the 2020 and 2022 ISB (International Society of Bassist) Composition Contest and honorable mention in 2024, first prize in the 2021 FICI (Festival Internacional de Contrabajo Infantil) Composition Contest and has been resident composer of the Latin Orchestra of Europe in 2021, his works have been performed in Norway, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Spain, the Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, Venezuela, Paraguay, Peru and the United States.

Both as a performer, as a composer and as a director, he has participated in numerous international events such as the International Cervantino Festival, the Fjord Classics Festival, the International Festival of Contemporary Art, the Callejón del Ruido International Festival, the International Jazz Festival in Irapuato, the Convention of the International Society of Bassists and the Baja California Latin American Double Bass Festival, to name a few, and has made album recordings with the Tagma Records, Quindecim Recordings and Evidence Classics record labels.

Additionally, he has served as a teacher in the Community Orchestras of the Sistema Nacional de Fomento Musical, Trinitate Philharmonia and continues as a double bass professor at the University of Guanajuato.

Learn more about Rodrigo on his website.