Dios itlaçonantzine

The authorship of “Dios itlaçonantzine” is disputed. This is one of only two polyphonic choral works in the Nahuatl language that remain today, preserved in the Valdés Codex. For a long time, it was attributed to Spanish composer Hernando Franco. The researcher Robert Stevenson proposed an alternate theory that became widely accepted: he attributes these two works to Hernando Don Franco, who would have been an indigenous individual of noble descent who took on the name of the Spanish composer when baptized, a practice that was not uncommon at the time. A more recent theory and reevaluation of the codex manuscript by researcher Eloy Cruz attributes this work to an indigenous individual named Hernando Francisco.

This is a work that would have been meant for ritual use in Church liturgy, specifically by an indigenous community in Central Mexico, and an ideal performance will connect to the serious nature of the ritual and spiritual faith at its core. In addition to Dios itlaçonantzine, the Valdes Codex contains works by European Renaissance composers Palestrina and Lobo and is meant to be performed following the same guidelines in style that one would use to perform their works. Apart from the use of the Nahuatl language, there are certain rhythmic devices and instances of voice leading that are distinct from what one would find in European contemporaries. The vocal tone should be light, with very little vibrato, and quite legato. The solo sections should be performed in the style of Gregorian chant and can be performed by a soloist, a small group, or the entire ensemble. The original manuscript is notated without barlines, and these have been added to this edition to facilitate reading and performance, but are not meant to indicate metric stress, which should be based entirely on the direction of each musical line and the natural accents in the text. All dynamics and phrasing marks are editorial, based on the way in which Border CrosSing often performs this work.
– Ahmed Anzaldúa