Imma Sumac / Yma Sumac -a radioshow-

YMA SUMAC

how Imma Sumac as "The voice of the Incas"

becomes "The diva & queen of exotica"

2006-10-28 -a 3 hour radioshow-

Yma Sumac with no doubt is one of the most remarkable voices of our time, with a vocal range which is rarely found once in a century. Her use of voice is also completely her own style, which she developed in a rather autodidactic or at least very individual way. For most of the time she tried to promote legends and folk songs from Peruvian origin, but she also sang mambo amongst other things. Her folk related intentions are remarkable, but never the less she managed to show her own voice in a few other areas as well. Because she stayed in America most of the time, apart from a short while in Russia, in the fifties they preferred to present her music with a big orchestra, where she was presented to the world as an exotica queen, or as a diva with a remarkable voice. This other focus made a second chapter in her career, which made use of a further exploitation of her vocal abilities, without really losing much of the integrity of her inner intentions, and adaptations. Never the less this new compromising creativity did make her Inca association disappear on the second plane and made it so that people still tend to remember her as also as the "queen of exotica", a title which does not entirely represents all the music, and the creative genius behind it.

THE STORY :

based now mostly upon

http://divalegacy.com/

Sunvirgin.com and

of Miguel A.Delgado (Peru)

(yellow remarks) ;

photos were delivered /

chosen / provided mostly

by Yma-Sumac.com.

The autodidact musician Moises Vivanco (°1918) had formed a folk music group called the "Compania Perruana de Arte." His group became an important authentic folk related music group which included 46 musicians and dancers, including Moises' sister, Rosita, as a lead vocalist, reciting also poetry. When he saw Yma in Lima I think during the 1941 festival, he decided that her voice would be the perfect addition to his band. Her training wasn't finished yet, but Moises tried to convince her parents, that he would finish her training, because he sensed it would need a personalised education training program to develop the range of possibilities of expressions. Her mother was not convinced. In Lima they wanted her to study bel canto and opera, but instead Yma secretly joined Moises band saying there was going to be an extra evening class, which the mother accepted, if her older sister in Limo would accompany her on the late evenings. Moises found out that with some training she reached 5 octaves and further stimulated Yma's own instincts.

In 1942, the music group was going to perform on the radio. To hide her own name, she chose the name Imma Sumack (= "how beautiful"), a named borrowed from her mother, Imma Sumack Emilia Atahualpa, which is also referring to an old Peruvian Inca drama called "Ollantay". But she didn't expect massive success and publicity, so her mother found out, and was furious. She could not easily forgive the fact, despite all the success. On June 6, 1942, Moises an Yma married. They established a 25 minute show with a few less musicians. The participants had ethnic costuming and toured around Latin America (see first picture). Reviewers did not know how to categorize them. In 1943 it led to a series of '78 records printed in Argentine. 18 tracks in total were recorded on the Argentine label Odeon. (Unfortunately not many of them made it to re-releases of compilations. A Columbian compilation called "la voz" had about 14 or 15 of these tracks, but the cd hardly made it to foreign countries ; -2 tracks were released lately on the "Sun Virgin" compilation-).

1. "The Argentine sessions" (1943) ***°'

"Virgines del Sol" 4 min

"Melgar" 4 min

"La Benita" 3 min 11

-(thanks to Alex Steben & Miguel Delgado)- °

too late the CD 'Sun Virgin' arrived. This great compilation contained "Amor Indio" and "A Ti Solita te quiero" from these sessions, of which I would have played"Amor Indio" at least.

The tours continued in Latin America until 1945.

Grace Moore had heard Yma singing and promised support when she would come to the US, but was tragically killed in a plane crash before that happened. Never the less the duo wanted to go to the US, and for this reason reformed themselves as a trio, called the 'Inca Taky Trio', together with a cousin of Yma's, Cholita Rivero, a gifted interpreter of traditional Peruvian dances. The band lasted for some years, but the basic foundation form of arrangements can still be heard in some later recordings where Moises leads. New York didn't accept them easily, so they soon had to live a more simple live and accept almost any occasion for performance, although they had their own proud and creative demands to keep their fundament intact. By mid 1948 Yma was pregnant and the trio began to give up their musical career. Yma even wanted to return to Peru, but when her boy Papuchka was born more chances arose and they decided to stay longer.

Early 1949, the Trio had the chance to fill in for a group in the Blue Angel, which in that time was considered one of the finest nightclub spots in the city for promising new acts and fashionable artists. A guy from Capitol Records was present and immediately offered them a possibility to make demo recordings for the label, even though also he didn't know where it would eventually lead to. They suggested Hernan Braña, a Cuban born flutist, percussionist and composer-arranger to produce the recordings. Recorded were "Zana" (Hernan's arrangement), "Taita Inty" (Virgin of the Sun God), "Babalu" (Hernan's arrangement), and "Repica Timpal". It led to a contract, and the talented Hernan was asked to join in for performances. The quartet now was called "Imma Sumack and the Inca Taky Trio". Hernan also introduced them to Afro-Cuban music traditions, an influence that would last longer. Also the vocal arrangements were developped to new heights. The group was offered television appearances twice (in which they did "Taita Inty"). Then they were introduced to work with Les Baxter. Les Baxter had already produced and composed many popular scores for radio, film and television, and had his own lush orchestrated sound and style, and had the best people around to create a strong varied, often rather exotic sound. The name of Immac was now also Americanised to Yma Sumac. Together they would work on their first US release, "Voice of Xtabay" (1950).

2. "Voice of Xtabay" (1950)*****

This album was an even bigger change compared to her previous career. The simple folk music and its authentic presentation in native costumes disappeared, while the Inca theme remained, but now was mystified, and brought to a theatre stage with a Broadway kind of appearance. The innocence and simplicity of the folk songs was replaced by the further development of the abilities in complex vocal arrangements. Some of the references from her childhood were exploited and also put into the lime light. The label found these ideas the most attractive way to sell the music. Even when these elements were now exploited, there are some underlying origins :

Wether true or not, it was Moises and Yma's deepest wish to present the Inca heritage in all its glory. All the listed songs refer to Inca folk performances and legends, and some other tracks were worked out ideas from Yma's childhood which she spent in the Andes, recalling the sounds in nature, like earthquakes and winds and animals with her voice.

PS. "Xtabay" is a fictional name, which vaguely refers to the Mayan names.

remark : "Xtabay" is apparently based on an Aztec legend rather than Incan (The Aztecs were from Mexico-). am not sure how Capitol Records came up with that title. sunvirgin.com

Tr.1, "Taita Inty" (Virgin of the Sun God) 4 min

Tr.2, "Ataypura" (high Andes) 4 min

Tr.5, "Choladas" (dance of the moon festival) 4 min

Tr.8, "Xtabay" (Lure of the unknown love) 4 min 16 -27

"Xtabay" a song about a princess, unable to fulfil her prohibited love, sings her grieves to the mountains, which reaches the prince on the other side, and which kills him.

While originally not entirely happy with the stage-like presentation they were moving heading into, it was this kind of stage that provided the American public with a more accessible vision. For the American it presented them a theatre-like stage full of exotic escapism, presenting them also a new world of a different origin tickling renewed imagination. To launch her career, new clothes, make-up techniques, and jewellery were carefully selected to accompany photographs, and a diet was intensified to present her with a Hollywood glamour-look like presence, something in this case worked also, as a confirmation of an unreachable underlying originating tale of mysticism.

The publicity campaign started to invent many more new names to give the idea more image, of which the name "Virgin Of The Sun" still is remembered best, with all kinds of fantasy stories that sound as if taken from Hollywood movies with the theme of exotism. It worked. The original trio let all the myths play their own games, which was a kind of self-protection. No doubt it was of course also the huge combined talent in the album which made it to the big market. And it was all packaged well, in a very structured and conceptual way.

While Les Baxter surely gave them a structure they could use, and they surely needed him, the unease I think is there because the true underlying musical creative process is hidden a bit by the orchestral result and by focusing more on the performance itself. Never the less later they would have the chance to make it up a bit with a recordings like "Chants of the Indians" (1953) an album which was later reissued together with "Voice of Xtabay", which shows them like two equally interesting sides of a medallion, both with different results and perspectives.

What the trio had done before often was before labelled perhaps as an ethnic oddity from a too removed world, with a voice, now showed the traditions in a recognisable well worked out acceptible form for the modern world of America. While some sceptics could have missed original folk, others might not understand the lyricism, the album showed many more doors at once, than ever before.

With a further exploitation of the strange vocal capacities Yma was capable of, this gave the advantage that Yma could further develop the rather intuitive aspects in her singing style. In some way she had no other choice any more than just BE THE Yma Sumac with her own improvisational techniques. This style is in fact a mixture of all the earlier influences, showing a proof and interest for opera (Puccini), all the Inca folk origins, the original ideas from childhood (fictive, exaggerated or not), mixed with ideas from all the other people that wished to make the best out of her (Les Baxter, Moises Vivanco but also Hernan Braña with his Cuban ideas), and of course also her own stubbornness to sing what is possible in each moment, which is understandable, considering a vulnerability in a voice when using such techniques of a high range of possibilities. It is this instinctive adaptive use of her voice that makes her also capable of keeping performing, even when she passed 70. While both Moises and Yma Sumac depended on their intuitive side, and deeper creative roots, Les Baxter, very rooted in a high range of technical perfectionism, was the person who would organise the music into a very structural and perfect studio form. When they now wanted to perform the recorded songs live they had to change certain things. The new structures were also forcing Yma into improvising more with her voice, with even more spontaneity than ever before, something which turned out successfully, when other participating musicians also agreed to a more intuitive aspect that was needed in a performance (to feel each moment the right feeling to do so, rather than just strictly follow the written down notes and rhythms). In that way their ideal deal was in some way, almost a Cuban way of performing. Not really wanting the Les Baxter emphasis, the quartet performed still in a more folky way, something they had to warn the public about sometimes. If they asked the public beforehand to play the original versions, then this worked well.

Although little publicity was made (it was her live performances that were talked about) the record sold 5,000 copies in one day and the first pressing was completely sold-out within one week. Three more pressings had to be done. In total it sold over half a million copies.

3. "Flahooley" (1951) ?

In 1951 she appeared in a Broadway musical called 'Flahooley', where she played the role of an Ariabian princess-seductress, Najala. (This must have been remembered somewhere later in 1957 because then she appeared as a singing harem maiden in a movie called "Omar Khayyam"). The play was also a contemporary social and political satire, so was stopped prematurely. It was because it occurred during the Mc Carthy period. McCarthy, who was a senator from Wisconsin, acted as a paranoid communist witch-hunter, suspecting any celebrity with individualistic views, which led many artists to lose their jobs, often for their lifetime. He continued this this until he even accused the United States Army, something which highlighted his paranoia. Never the less many lives were destroyed. There exist a recording of highlights from the show for Capital Records. It must contain some of Yma's most operatic performances.

"Birds" 3 min

(a different version from the later recorded"Chuncho!" (Forest Creatures).

"Najala's Song of Joy" 2 min 5 -32 (These two tracks made it to a single in 1951)

Review and Analysis of Birds by Nicholas E. Limansky From Yma Sumac The Art Behind the Legend

".......Birds, however, remains the showpiece of the album and is a startling departure from the other exotica. Whereas the others are lushly orchestrated, "Birds" is oddly stark with only guitar, flute, native drums, rattles and other percussive instruments. "Birds" was the embryonic "Chuncho!" (Forest Creatures). Because of the extraordinary popularity of "Birds" with audiences in 1951 and 1952, a gradual expansion of the piece took place and around 1953, "Chuncho!" sprang into being. By the time Inca Taqui was recorded, the expansion had been completed.

Blues and jazz effects are more prominant in "Birds" than in "Chuncho!" This is program music of an unsettling nature. There is no melody to speak of but rather a sequence of loosely connected phrases.

Superbly sung, Yma provides myriad sounds, many of which were new to record groves at the time: whispers, 1/4 tones, growls, emphatic register breaks, birdcalls, insect sounds, as well as sudden changes in vocal placement, and variations of resonance and vibrato. Listeners of the day must have been amazed at such sounds coming from their record players. Although short, the piece is extremely well-judged and builds to a fine climax. For this Yma chromatically rises to a pure, flute-like, F above high C and then descends with a glistening glissando to the contralto region. (Later, when "Chuncho!" was recorded, this would be discarded for more outrè singing.) The piece ends with Yma providing lip-flutters and whispers..."

After that she sang "Tumpa!" (Earthquake!) on television.

4. "Legend of the Sun Virgin" (1951)****°

In september 1951, Yma recorded her second solo album for Capitol Records, "Legend of the Sun Virgin" with 12 recordings of which first only 8 at first were published. Also here Les Baxter started to contribute, but he left, as was wished by the Vivancos.

When Hernan saw the lights "Yma Sumac" flashing one of the band members made a joke saying, "hey, isn't that the Camus Amy from Brooklyn ?", a joke which they thought was funny and even helped in repeating it, but it very soon turned into a rumour and that became a threat to Yma's credibility. And when the label for her next record came with the conceptual story as if she was herself 'the Sun Virgin' many people wondered if all what has been said wasn't much more than a glamorous fantasy, and the portion of glamour added now worked also somewhat against them, and the album sold less than the previous one.

Tr.4, "Kon Tiki" 4 min -36

Unfortunately the ordered cd-version of the album arrived too late for my radioshow. While an original LP in bad shape gave me the impression of an album in a slightly more exotic style, the cd album, with the 12 tracks complete, are a very consistent listen, showing a well thought over musical concept with lots of ideas coming from different places and styles, into an new original form, a very nice album to listen to.

extra : (single) :

"Wimoweh!" 3 min -38

(This was the B-side of the single "Babalu")(1952)

5. "Inca Taqui" (meaning "Chants of the Incas") (1953)****°

The next album "Inca Taqui, Chants of the Incas" I think came closest to the ideas Yma and Moises had closely developed together, based upon Inca folk and the core of live performances as a trio. Musically several tracks are at their most most pure and essential and closest to all first folk intentions, without anybody else interferring, as on the first track. I chose especially these tracks.

Tr.1, "K'Arawi" (plating song)4 min

Tr.3, "Wak'ai" (cry) 4 min

Tr.5, "Chuncho" (the forest creatures) 4 min

Tr.7, "Malaya!" (my destiny) 4 min 16 -54

"Chuncho" is really incredible for its idea of animal sounds into voice. "Malaya!" is flamenco styled.

In 1954 she appeared in a Hollywood movie called 'Secret of the Incas'.

Info : http://www.theraider.net/information/influences/secret_of_incas.php

She became an American citizen in July 1955, but not without any struggle.

"Mambo" (1956)****°

(Tr.1, "Bo Mambo" 4 min)

Tr.2, "Taki Rari" 2 min

Tr.5, "Goomba Boomba" 5 min

Tr.8, "Indian Carnaval" 3 min

Tr.9, "Chacha Gitano" 4 min 18 -72

Capitol got on top of two '50s fads at once by issuing an album of Sumac tackling mambo. Yma (characteristically) held nothing back, and the result was one of her more enjoyable LPs, with respectably swinging mambo grooves crafted by Billy May*. "Five Bottles Mambo" is one of her most astonishing vocal workouts, dropping into guttural growls that are downright bestial, and making one wonder how exactly they got away with that in the conservative milieu of the 1950s. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

* famous arranger with jazz leanings like for Frank Sinatra

Here Yma sang mambo in an extremely successful way. The vocal fantasies are hot and fit well with the heavy and shrill jazzy brass band orchestra.

* "Legend of the Jivaro" (1957)****°

"According to the liner notes, Sumac and her composer-husband, Moises Vivanco, went into the headhunting territory of the Jivaros, tape recorder in hand, to accumulate source material for this album. Whether you believe that or not, what they came up with once it had been run through the studio was one of her chintzier products. If it's folk music, it's been heavily modified for North American audiences, with period '50s pop production, mainstream Latin pop influences, and occasional spurts of quasi-rock'n'roll guitar. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

From this point on it seems that truth did not seem to matter any more. Anyway, another concept has been imagined. No "voice of Inca" any more, but even more a kind of Hollywood movie fabric concept of exotic music, with an interesting and individual expression.

But as a musical concept it surely was successful. If they are traditionals or not, I don't know. It surely shows the controlled talented aspect of Yma Sumac. She is credited for all the tracks. I like also very much the calmness in the album, the bass male choir on the background, the exotic percussion and fine arrangements.

Tr.1, "Jivaro" 3 min

Tr.3, "Yawar" (Blood Festival) 4 min

Tr.4, "Sauma" (Magic) 4 min

Tr.7, "Sansa" (Victory Song) 3 min 15 -87

In 1957 she appeared as a singing maiden in a Paramount movie called "Omar Khayyam", located in an Arabian harem. There she played a small part as a harem girl singing a small passage. Watch here. Info LP on http://filmmuziek.xs4all.nl/lp/m-t.htm

(The vocal improvisation is not added in the soundtrack)

(The exotism movie is far away from the real story from the famous poet and mathematician).

Also in 1957, Yma and Vivanco divorced. Moises wanted all composer credits everywhere and it was one of the reasons I think of some dispute.

Moises and Yma remarried that same year before divorcing again in 1965."

* Fuego Del Ande (1959)

This record goes back even more to the original folk roots. It is her least successful album in the US. I haven't heard it yet, but if I read reviews it seems like there's less balance between invention, content, structure and honest inspiration, but I have to check that out myself. The few tracks which I heard sound ok, but are not so ambitious compared to all earlier work.

Fuego del Andes (Fire of the Andes) was her last LP on Capitol and the only other released in stereo. It features some Latin-twist numbers.

Yma Sumac met Walt Disney in 1959 and they became friends. Later in 1987 she recorded "I Wonder" from the Sleeping Beauty film for 'Stay Awake', an album of songs from Disney movies.

* Recital (1961)**°°'

When her success in the early 60's faded a bit she was invited to Russia in 1961. She didn't plan to stay there long, but they treated her as a queen, so she stayed there for 6 months.

Wikipedia : "Apparently due to financial difficulties, Yma Sumac and the original Inca Taky Trio went on a world tour in 1961, which lasted for five years.* They performed in 40 cities in the Soviet Union, and afterwards all over Europe, Asia and Latin America. Their performance in Bucharest, Romania was recorded as the album Recital, her only 'live in concert' record. Yma Sumac spent the rest of the 1960s performing sporadically." * not true : She was there for a total of only six months.

"She sang with the famous Bolshoi Orchestra (in those days considerred by some as he best symphony orchestra of the world). Nikita Kruschev the president of the Soviet Union of that time (1961) gave to Yma the queen treatment or a treatment reserved for troyalty. He provided to her two jets to travel in the Soviet Union, one for Yma and her staff and one with a team of doctors and nurses. The first debut was in the Moscow Opera Theater, but later they had to take the singer to a larger stadium, because thousands of people were crowded around the theatre wanting to see the diva. She was the first western star that crossed the "iron" curtain of that time. Yma Sumac sang for 60 million Russians during six months (Tass A. News)"

'Recital' was produced in 1961 from the show in Bucharest, Romania and was recently reissued on Compact Disc in the U.S. under the same name but with an additional song from the same show. It was her only 'live in concert' record ever issued and featured the original "Inca Taki Trio", which was comprised of Yma Sumac, Cholita Rivero (who provided backup vocals and dancing) and Moisés Vivanco on guitar.

audio : Amor Indio (Indian Love) from her Moscow live presentation at the Opera Theater. 5 min

"Chucho live" (Forest Creatures) Live in Concert 1961: The Russian Tour 7 min 13 99

"In this song, like Cueca Chilena Live and Ccori Casnastitay Live she is accompanied only by a guitar played by the composer Moises Vivanco. It's amazing what Yma can do with her voice or her voices in Chuncho. This live recording, (Bucharest - Romania)) give a vertiginous, ghostly voice, sometimes it sounds like a powerful terrorific voice. Yma made the sounds of the forest or of the jungle. At the end of the song you can hear the triple trill. Then she stops the trills suddenly as if somebody had lowered with a weapon the birds. It's amazing."

It led to a recording called 'Recital', which was produced in Romania of the show in Bucharest. The first bootleg CD of it was called Live in Concert 1961 - The Russian Tour -which was made from a cassette copy of the LP. The official CD which came later was made from the original master tapes, and has the songs rearranged into the order in which they were likely performed. The original LP and the bootleg CD had them in a haphazard order just to make them fit.

Featured in the tour were the original "Inca Taki Trio" : Yma Sumac (voice), Cholita Rivero (backing vocals and dancing) and Moisés Vivanco on guitar.

During her Russian Tour she had also sung, with her own impeccable technique Beethoven, Puccini, Tachaicovsky, Mozart, and other classical composers’ arias (Tass Agency). -(Yma had sung opera before like Zarzuelas in her early years, but there aren't recordings. There are only some recorded arias : O Mio Babbino Caro, and Clarie d' Lune. She also was The Queen of The Night / The Magical Flute Opera in Italy 195?)-.

PS. About Yma Sumac and opera :

Yma Sumac was in concert in Italy several times. Yma S. sang The Magical Flute and she got 25 minutes standing ovation. It's known that the most difficult opera is a simple vocal exercise for her, and she can sing all the rolls. She was in the Scala of Milan. Some peruvians tenors have appeared there, Alexander Granda a great tenor who was Mussolini's favourite, he from Italy where he lived traveled to the United States to be member Yma Sumac's staf, he also sang with the soprano of coloratura Lucrecia Sarria (peruvian). In the present time Luiggi Alva a tenor liggero and Juan Diego Flores of whom Pavarotti has said that he is his successor are singing in The Scala of Milán.

See also interview on http://www.yma-sumac.com/photo_album2.0.html3.0.html about opera and Yma Sumac.

* "Miracles"

LP cover

Her next complete album, 'Miracles', associated with 'rock', was recorded in 1971 and released in the U.S in 1972 on London Records. It was a reunion of sorts, with Les Baxter leading a funky, four-piece rock band. After that, she spent many years living in Peru composing more songs, which she sings in concerts.

Info : http://javasbachelorpad.com/miracles.html

The original intended cover was different.

Read the story : http://www.sunvirgin.com/?RecordID=220472247

It must have been released by an eager Les Baxter, to have another project, because the glory days of gifted orchestras to work with were over, and he must have had to struggle to get commissions.

"Magenta Mountain" 4 min

"Remember" 5 min 9 -108

The combination with the rock band sounds at times a bit exploitative, and not always completely directly cooperative. But there's a certain power underneath. Times did change. Pop and rock were now the popular game. It is as if with such tracks Yma, (like Tina Turner on her '50s/'60s) shows she has balls/power. I can imagine that it must have been hard to make, because the hard rock element tends to overpower a bit, and secondly it is harder mainstream rock, and not a progressive attempt.

She performed in concert from time to time during the '70s in Peru and later in New York.

In the '80s, she had a number of concerts in the U.S. and abroad.

She is long time friend with Walt Disney. In 1987 she recorded a song, "I Wonder", for 'Stay Awake', a compilation of Disney songs interpreted by various new artists (produced by Hal Willner). See video here

March of 1990 found her playing the role of Heidi in Stephen Sondheim's Follies, in Long Beach, California a theatre role. The same year she performed in Brussels, a concert which I unfortunately missed.

She did several concerts in the summer of 1996 in San Francisco and Hollywood and two more in Montreal, Canada in July 1997 as part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

In The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Dean Martin is singing in the choir (choeur).

* extra : (1998)

"Ataypura", Yma Sumac's live version from David Letterman Show 4 min

(This was broadcasted during Yma Sumac's second set of Ballroom shows)

compared to Russion Tour version : "Ataypura" 3 min 7 -115

"There are two more Ataypuras, one from her Voice of Xtabay and the beautiful and hallucinant Ataipura live version from Rumanía, with her son (in his teens) playing the bongos with the symphony orchestra (french video). This David Letterman Ataypura is from the 90's (I think), sung with full orchestra is more operatic...specially the end." M.A.Delgado

" Of the songs recorded at this time (voice of the Andes, 1956), "Ataypura" was the only one to remain (on and off) in Yma's repertoire for over 47 years." "It is easy to see why Moisés [Vivanco] selected this particular number for Yma's first selection on concerts since the opening measures allow Yma the opportunity to warm up her voice." "In two sections, "Ataypura" is typical of Yma's Incan chants in that it has a simple A-B structure (cousin to, even if far-removed, to the operatic A-B form of Cavatina and Cabaletta). In Yma's case, section A is usually lyrical while section B shows Afro-Cuban influence and is most often a vocal free-for-all. Although there was a definite guideline for both sections, what occurred during them was Yma's choice. More often than not B sections boasted fantastic rhythmical or vocal counterpoint. Section A shows Yma's dusky contralto and excellent use of the chest register as Yma sings an introductory call. Despite the fragmented phrases, Yma's singing is smooth and lyrical. Yma begins section B by belting a B flat in an open, raw chest voice pitched at B flat. She then skats up two-octaves and repeats the main theme of the song. This is a stunning effect not only for the beauty and nonchalance of Yma's singing but also for the rhythmical emphasis she gives to single notes within phrases. She follows this with bird-like high staccati of pecked-at high Fs and F#s different in execution (more marcato) from the staccati of the previous band, "Taita Inty." Rhythmical accents abound and grace note attacks serve as excellent bird effects and emphasize Yma's rhythmical pointing. There is also a fascinating use of quarter-tone for subtle colorations. There is an unusual form of jazz scatting as Yma ascends, with obvious relish to play among high Ds and E flats. This playing with notes is an instrumental concept that Yma was enamored with, a type of altitudinous dancing with high notes. She frequently used it in concert and on recordings throughout her career. As late as 1997, Yma danced among high Cs and Ds as she had for over forty years during her performances of La Molina at the Montreal Jazz Festival. In each instance her joy communicates itself through the record groves. This communication of pleasure was one of Yma's outstanding musical traits. Because of this, there is a riveting attraction to her singing that lasts through infinite repetitions. The song ends as Yma offers quarter-tones and textural accents two-octaves "lower and fades away into non-sensical whispers. "

About Tayta Inti, Yma´s live version from her Russian Tour concerts (Live....1961 Bucharest - Romania).

On six songs from that recorded concert she was accompanied by the great Bolshoi symphony orchestra of The Soviet Union of that time: Montana (very operatic), the incredible song Supay Taki, Goomba Boomba, Marinera, Amor Indio, Ataypura, on the rest of the songs like Tayta Inti, Ccori Canastitay, Cueca Chilena and Chuncho (Forest Creatures, the diva is accompanied by the composer Moisés Vivanco playing majestically the guitar. On the song Chuncho Yma Sumac plays with her five octaves and she does her triple trill.....it's amazing!" Mike Delgado

The second live version is from Rumanía, with her son (in his teens) playing the bongos with the symphony orchestra

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Yma Sumac in 2006 :

She's currently living in Hollywood and had a wonderful homecoming in Lima, Peru last May, where she was awarded her country's highest honours, like the "Orden del Sol" award.

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"Yma Sumac as you know is precursory of many musical sorts-styles (New Age for example) and she was pioneer mixing musical styles including lyrical music or operatic music. She is also the greater exponent of the Lírica Andina (Andean Lyric) operatical music that belongs to Peru founded by her and by the composers: Moisés Vivanco, Carlos Valderrama (La Pampa y la Puna), Melgar (B. Ballón Farfán - Dunker La Valle Farfán), Vírgenes del Sol - Sun Virgins (Jorge Bravo de la Rueda) and others.

The Peruvian Culture is very rich, within its musical aspect includes the Lírica Andina. "Montana", "Suray Surita", "The Pampa and the Puna", "When the Indian Crys", "Andean Dawn", "Kuntur Kuntur", "Amor Indio", "Vírgenes del Sol" (Virgins of the Sun), and many mélodies belong to the Andean Liric (Lyrique Andine). And of course most of the songs are in quechua, the language of the Empire of the Incas. Quechua is a sweet language, very expressive, excellent to dramatize. There are operas in Quechua. The drama Ollantay comes from the time of the Incas and has been taken to opera. The name Yma Sumac comes from Ollantay, a name of one princess.

The sopranos of pyrotechnics and beautiful voices of high coloratura, and ample vocal rank like Siwar Q'ente (Ana Condori), Sipas T'icka, Wara Wara (Judith Acuña), etc., are or were Yma Sumac's impersonators and her followers. They are also Andean Liric exponents.

* Soprano Siwar Q'ente (Ana Condori) one of the colloratura soprano of the Lyrique Andine (Andena Liric).

Siwar Q'ente : "Kuntur kuntur" (Cóndor, cóndor) 4 min

It's a song of her Millenarian Relics (Reliques Millénaires) recording.

* Wara Wara was a soprano of high coloratura, one of the first impersonator and followers of Yma Sumac. The same Moisés Vivanco did arrangements - adjustments to her songs and the company of Yma Sumac took her to Europe, Russia and to Greece in order to sing individually like soloist in her own presentations/concerts. Without having the wide vocal rank of Yma Sumac, this soprano makes high excellent vowels."

Wara Wara : "Cuando el Indio LLora" (When the Indian Cries) 3 min 122

"As in all the Andean Lyric songs she is accompanied by an orchestra with classic and native Peruvian instruments. You have to imagine the Peruvian Andes, with so high snow-covered summits, the winds, the rivers, the abysses, the plains, like in The Pampa and The Puna, and the cóndor, the incan greater bird flying in the heights. That is the Andean landscape.

I try "to transate" the song....more or less:

.....the day is gone and and everything is already so dark

the sun does not illuminate, and their lights already have gone away

the silence arrived from the nights so darks.....

the Indian cries the Indian moans by his love...." Miguel A.Delgado

Video of Wara Wara's "Amor Indio" here.

Sunvirgin.com : "Wara Wara made three solo albums in the early to mid '60s singing Inca and other Peruvian songs, many of which were made popular by Yma Sumac. She was trained in technique by Moisés Vivanco and sings many of them in the same style as Yma Sumac. Wara Wara was a well-trained coloratura and, although her voice didn't quite have the low range that Yma Sumac possesses, she was able to imitate the low notes by using the growl to stretch her range. The over-all effect was quite nice and sounds quite a bit like Yma Sumac's 1943 Argentina Session tracks. "

Homepage of Wara Wara : http://www.judithacuna.com/

She still is alive and well and lives outside of Lima working as an art instructor.

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Not only in Peru Yma had her influence. Marthy Coumans recommended me a very good Dutch version of Fiet Koster : "Yma Sumac in Artis" (Imperial)

It is a great skilful satire based on Yma Sumac's singing techniques : 4 min

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To end the show I will go back to the roots of inspirations of singing. Yodeling comes forth historically from communicating with animals, as herders, as singing on a level that can be comprehended and adapted in harmony by other species. The techniques used for it later were exploited to entertain people. The evolution it took still has its charms. A very good yodel compilation has been reviewed on http://psychedelicfolk.homestead.com/folk.html#anchor_79

I will airplay some tracks

Tr.3, Christine Lautenburg : "Erika's Alptraum/Erika's nightmare/Alps-dream" 3 min

This satire song shows a funny degree of exploitation of the original sounds. Very orginal.

Also Pygmies has similar talks with animals and nature. Next track is already done for pleasure. This is followed by another satirical and extremely funny interpretation, in simple English.

Tr.18, Baka beyond "Call of the Forest" 2 min

Tr.17, Francis Bebey : "Pygmy Divorce" 6 min

other yodel-combinations

Tr.11. Carolina Cotton : "Nota" 3 min (a perfect old time yodeling)

Tr.7, The Ho'Opi Brothers : "Hawaiin Cowboy" 3 min (Hawaii yodeling)

Tr.9, Kishore Kumar : "Main Hoon Jhoom Jhoom Jhumroo" 4 min (Bollywood yodeling)

Tr.15, Kenny Roberts : "Just a yodel for me" 3 min (country yodeling)

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conclusion :

Also started as a herder, we must realize how Yma luckily evolved to something much more serious compared to the yodelling examples we've heard. When we look back on how she was called "queen of exotica" I don't think it really puts her in her right perspective. Also compared to just any of her imitators, there was also a very serious creative mind at work, a spiritual integrity factor behind anything that made it work well and that has that extra rare factor of a real content and concept, even when elements of time perspective colouring participated in the music. With the help of some other people, she delivered really something completely unique. I hope there will be released a box one day with the complete works of.. That's the least that she deserves.

outro : Yma Sumac : "Jungla" 3 min

"Negro filomono" 3 min

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