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There is richness in the Peruvian musical instruments which generously accompany the singers. There are ocarinas, conch shell trumpets, gourd-rattles, Pan-pipes, Peruvian flutes (with five holes) originally made from the leg-bones of llamas, and more modern ones, with seven. Once the colonists had settled, the Incas added Spanish instruments of their own: violins, guitars, harps and others.
[The above historical details were not re-researched for this corrections page and may contain additional errors.]
It is against this colourful musical background that the multi-talented composer, arranger and bandleader and singer Moisés Vivanco (1918-98) wrote for his wife Ymma Imma [The spelling "Ymma" was used only on one obscure '60s LP from Brazil. It was "Ima" in Peru and "Imma" throughout the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries. The 1943 recordings were credited to "Imma"] (later Yma) Sumac to bring music from Peru, first to the rest of South America, then to the rest of the world. Ymma Imma was born between 1921 and 1929 (various conflicting dates have been given), but most likely on September 10 13, 1922, in Ichocán (Cajamarca, Peru) or possibly in nearby Lima, the Peruvian capital. Her family name is said to have been Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chavarri del de Castillo, but by the 1940s she had adopted the stage name of 'Imma Sumack', in its various spelling variants.
Inspired by Peruvian-Indian folklore and its musical traditions, while still in her teens Ymma Imma began to perform in public recitals and on radio, her exceptional voice vocal range of more than four octaves [Yma Sumac's vocal range was neither established nor promoted until later] adding an exoticism to Vivanco's adaptations. A transformation was about to take place in Ymma Imma, however, from being essentially a folk-singer (a capacity in which she even appeared at the Hollywood Bowl), she was about to exploit her natural beauty and exotic stage presence more fully than previously. In the late 1940s Capitol Records signed up the 'Peruvian Princess' and changed her name to Yma Sumac. Vivanco would remain very much in the picture, however, working closely with West Coast musicians, most notably Les Baxter (1922-96), a composer-arranger with a distinct penchant for the jungle-exotic.
Later, Vivanco and Sumac , accompanied by a coterie of native Peruvian musicians all based in California, were drawn towards another Capitol arranger, Billy May (1916-2004), now best remembered as a promoter of the Cuban mambo. The success of the Vivanco-Baxter-Sumac album Virgin of the Sun God Voice of the Xtabay was so immediate, that people normally incapable of listening to a recording made by an ethno-musicologist were suddenly started wearing ponchos and planning holidays in the Andes. Virgin of the Sun God Voice of the Xtabay and Legend of the Sun Virgin not only helped popularise a new record label but also raised the awareness of the entertainment-seeking public to the existence of the 10-inch long-playing record. From the 1960s to the 1980s Yma Sumac continued to give worldwide concert-tours, including regular appearances at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, [Yma Sumac performed there only once, in 1997] and in 2006 flew to Lima to receive several national awards.
Then, from 'darkest Africa', via Cuba, comes Babalú [18], by Margarita Lecuona, niece of that country's more celebrated Ernesto Lecuona (1896-1963). As well as being a composer, Margarita was also a distinguished mezzo-soprano in her own right. Hern$aacute;n Braña originally intended Calls of the Andes (Cumbe-Maita) [19] to be an instrumental, but everyone thought it suited Yma's voice so well that a lyric was found and it was incorporated into her repertoire. Andean Don Juan (Llulla Mak'ta) [20] is a remake of [4], an updating to enhance its appeal to a Hollywood audience. Royal Anthem (Incacho) [21] is steeped in Indian tradition: another instrumental original vocally adapted to suit Yma. My Destiny (Malaya!), [22] is one of the most Hispanic of all Sumac's songs, in addition to offering probably the finest illustration of her vocal prowess.
Later, Vivanco and Sumac were drawn towards another Capitol arranger, Billy May (1916-2004), now best remembered as a promoter of the Cuban mambo. The mambo began as Cuban folk music with jazz grafted or superimposed onto it: another conquistador of Latin America, this one had no armies in attendance. By the 1950s it had spread to the USA and into Europe, as for example in `Mambo Italiano.' Yma's mambo recordings with the Billy May Orchestra are commercial without the slightest trace of vulgarity, and are wonderfully danceable. The brass is well in evidence, especially in Chicken Talk [23]. What about 'Concerto for Three Octaves and Big Band' as a subtitle for Taki-Rari [24]. While Gopher Mambo [25] puts many another mambo to shame, Bo Mambo [26] allows 'contralto' Yma to seduce both brass and rhythm. Jungla [27] concludes our CD in the company of an Inca Princess. If you did not believe that myth already, you will once you've heard these 27 tracks, with Yma Sumac in total command of her assignment and Billy May of his brilliant big-band beat. A royal event indeed!
Ralph Harvey (2008)
Corrections by Don Pierson
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