March to Xibalba

Description

The March to Xibalba “March Fantasy” was composed for and is dedicated to Seguin High School Band (Seguin, Texas), Stan Mauldin conductor.

Xibalba (pronounced sh-bal-ba, stressing the last syllable) is from the Maya language and is roughly translated as “place of fear” and is the name of the Maya underworld in K’iche’ Maya mythology. Xibalba was ruled by twelve gods. The Maya traditionally believed that the entrance to Xibalba was through caves. Yucatan, Belize and Guatemala are a latticework of caves. These systems were thought to be the entrance to Xibalba, however, in some Maya areas, the Milky Way is viewed as the road to Xibalba.

The March to Xibalba “March Fantasy” is intended to be dark and mysterious like the music to a fantasy video game and to provide an alternative to the standard march. Inspired by the art in the Popol Vuh of Pakal the Great and Xibalba, the composer views this March Fantasy as a modem-day March to the Scaffold, or as a response to the more contemporary Imperial Death March.