Aztec
Aztec is Delia's name[1] for a suite of pieces she created for a 1969 episode of the BBC series Chronicle entitled "The Realms of Gold" about the Spanish conquest and destruction of the Aztec and Mayan civilizations, written and presented by John Julius Norwich and produced/directed by Kenneth Shepheard.[2]
It often happens that my music is used without my knowledge. [...] a few years ago I heard my music on The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy. I wrote to the Producer who said 'Yeah, it's called Dreaming'. I've never done anything called that. They had picked out a piece which I wrote for a programme about the Aztec and Mayan civilisations. They put a new title on it and used it behind Peter Jones' voice.[3]
In fact Dreaming is her music for the closing titles of Travelling in Winter so either
- Delia can be wrong about which programme she wrote what music for (which is improbable) or
- the producer was mistaken or lying about which of her music they had lifted for the Guide (after all, Dreaming was already on issue on a BBC record.) HHGTTG fans, can you spot where Dreaming or any of her Aztec music is used in the Guide?
Credits
The end credits include:
- Electronic Music by Delia Derbyshire, Radiophonic Workshop
Papers
DD120055: "Pseudo Folk", "Harm" and "Aztec"
Track list
No Seconds What -- ------- ---- 01 000.00-020.00 Chronicle Title Theme 02 141.37-240.59 Mayan architecture 03 481.62-527.42 The Aztec Empire 04 572.49-633.42 Aztec Culture at Tenochtitlan 05 674.57-718.95 Human Sacrifice and Aztec Gods 06 764.08-804.52 Portents of Doom 07 1035.50-1048.09 Running Red with Human Blood 08 1419.51-1453.33 Between Two Great Volcanoes 09 1833.28-1879.23 Five human hearts, still warm and steaming 10 1901.82-1925.64 Skull racks 11 2010.00-2050.15 Exquisite featherwork 12 2083.33-2117.78 The Smoking Mirror 13 2330.48-2359.48 La Noche Triste 14 2580.81-2707.69 The Final Assault, Impaled heads and the Defeat of the Aztecs 15 2745.11-2782.93 The Fall of Tenochtitlan 16 2887.28-2910.12 What Remains is Regret
- 01. Chronicle Title Theme
- 02. Mayan architecture
- 03. The Aztec Empire
- 04. Aztec Culture at Tenochtitlan
- 05. Human Sacrifice and Aztec Gods
- 06. Portents of Doom
- 07. Running Red with Human Blood
- 08. Between Two Great Volcanoes
- 09. Five human hearts, still warm and steaming
- 10. Skull racks
- 11. Exquisite featherwork
- 12. The Smoking Mirror
- 13. La Noche Triste
- 14. The Final Assault, Impaled heads and the Defeat of the Aztecs
- 15. The Fall of Tenochtitlan
- 16. What Remains is Regret
Availability
- Broadcast on the 8th February 1969.[2]
- In the BBC Sound Archive on tape TRW 6955: "Cortez and the Conquest of Mexico"[4]
- On Attic Tape DD222.[5]
- The episode is included as an extra on Doctor Who: The Aztecs Special Edition DVD, available at bbcshop.com
- The episode is also available as a torrent Chronicle - The Realms of Gold, Cortez and the Conquest of Mexico (BBC, 8 Feb 1969, John Julius Norwich, electronic music by Delia Derbyshire).avi
References
- ↑ DD120055: Score fragment "Aztec"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Realms of Gold on imdb.com
- ↑ Delia in the Soundhouse interview.
- ↑ The Tape Library List's entry for TRW 6955.
- ↑ The Initial Catalogue's description of DD222.
