Michael Mehl - Tlacaelel Music Video

in 1993, based on the historical novel "Tlacaelel, Aztec Among The Aztecs" by Mexican author Antonio Velasco Piña, I composed this symphonic poem about the life and influence of Tlacaelel –thinker, mystic, warrior, visionary, religious reformer, creator of an empire.

The symphonic poem starts with somber martial overtones, reflecting Tlacaelel's original vision of the Aztecs as a predestined nation of mystic warriors –responsible for staving off the forces of darkness and safeguarding the eternal light, maintaining a critical balance in the universe. The different structures and moods that develop throughout the composition illustrate Tlacaelel's visionary insights and the seminal stages of his enlightenment.

During the latter part, the symphonic poem becomes less martial and more lyrical –reflecting a crucial change in Tlacaelel's cosmogonic vision and his revised perception of the Aztecs' role in a new universal order– ending on an almost melancholy note that is not so much a sad remembrance, but a realization and acceptance of the end of a cycle, followed by a profound yearning to start anew in a next life.

The orchestration is simple and clean, reflecting Tlacaelel's vision, and the basic assignment of strings, horns, flute and percussion parallels the essential qualities of the musical instruments used by the Aztecs.

The entire symphonic poem was composed, sequenced and mixed on a Korg O1W-FD MIDI keyboard.

In 1994, I published a CD with "Tlacaelel" as the title piece.

The Tlacaelel CD was featured and reviewed in the August 1995 issue of Electronic Musician Magazine.

In 1995, I created the music video for an art installation –which I designed and built– in Terminal 1 of the San Antonio Airport.

The installation included three monitors running the video on a loop, and digital prints made from video stills.