Traditional Music of Peru, Vol. 7: Lima Highlands

by TRADITIONAL MUSIC OF PERU 7: LI

Overview

There are a number of striking factors about this set of field recordings. The first is the absence of pan pipes, so long associated with Andean music. The lilting melodies are there, but generally played on other instruments. Then there's the prevalence of violin, which presumably arrived with the Spanish, as brass instruments did with other peoples; the brass bands tend to be heard on the huaynos and marineras, but here are heard on "Negra," a traditional dance of a black slave. Split into three sections -- ceremonial music, dances, and music for popular theater -- there's a stunningly wide range of music, with older instruments predominating, as might be imagined, in the ceremonial music, where a cow horn and flute are as common as vocals; the ensembles come more for dances and theater music. The fact that these recordings were made during the '90s serves as a reminder that the traditions remain strong in rural Peru, a country wracked by war and civil unrest, but how long can they stand as progress casts its net wider and wider? To be fair, the prime audience for this is ethnomusicological -- not too many casual listeners will sit through 50 minutes of pieces that are often just snippets -- and the notes, though thorough, do tend to assume a certain level of knowledge. But it stands as an education and a realization that the old world hasn't quite slipped away -- yet. ~ Chris Nickson

Product Details

Release Date:	11/20/2001
Label:	Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
UPC:	0093074045022
Rank:	228007

Tracks

1. Caballero
2. Waclacha
3. La Vaquerita (The Cowgirl)
4. Herranza
5. Corrida
6. Hualina
7. Michicuykunki
8. La Paloma  - Sebastian Yradier
9. Pisqueras
10. Huari
11. Pastora
12. Curcu
13. Curcucha
14. Abuelito
15. Negro
16. Negro de Lachaqui
17. Matach¿¿n
18. Chuncha
19. Huanca
20. Contradanza
21. The Ave Mar¿¿a del Rosario: Christian
22. The Ave Mar¿¿a del Rosario: Moorish
23. Palla
24. Inga
25. La Invenci¿¿n

Album Credits

Technical Credits

Raul R. Romero   Compilation Producer
Raoul Romero   Editing,Production Supervisor
Sebastian Yradier   Composer
Jacob Love   Editorial Assistant
Carla Borden   Editing
Pete Reiniger   Mastering