Hanacpachap cussicuinin

First page of the original edition of Hanacpachap cussicuinin

Hanacpachap cussicuinin (modern orthography: Hanaq pachap kusikuynin) is an anonymous hymn to the Virgin Mary in the Quechua language but in a largely European sacred music style. Composed before 1622,[1] Franciscan friar Juan Pérez Bocanegra published it in 1631, making it the earliest work of vocal polyphony printed in the New World.[2][1]

History

Hanacpachap cussicuinin appears for the first time in the Ritual published by the Franciscan friar Juan Pérez Bocanegra in 1631 entitled Ritual, formulario e institución de curas, written in both Quechua and Spanish, though this hymn appears without translation.[1] The music is arranged in four parts.[3] When published the work was on pages 708 (tiple, tenor) and 709 (alto, baxo) with the first verse written underneath, while the remaining verses follow on pages 710–712. While Bocanegra claimed that he wrote the text, the author of the music remains anonymous; many sources presume it was Bocanegra himself,[1][4] though others believe it may have been the work of a native.[2]

The piece has been recorded extensively since the early 1990s by groups all over the world (see list below). Many modern performances perform only a few of the verses to avoid excessive repetition.[5] However, Ex Cathedra (dir. Jeffrey Skidmore) issued the first full version in 2007, divided into four sections and using varying arrangements.[6]

Description

Bocanegra identifies the poetic form as verso sáfico (Sapphic verse), although what he meant by this is unclear.[1] Each verse is made up of five eight-syllable lines and a closing four-syllable phrase, which in the original printed appeared in italics. Often an epithet, this phrase sometimes links to the next verse.[6] The twenty verses are set strophically. According to Bocanegra on p. 707 of the Ritual, the song was sung as a processional hymn on Lady Days.[2]

Musically, it is set for four voices (tiple, alto, tenor and baxo) in a homorhythmic syllabic style, with a harmonic structure characteristic of Renaissance sacred music.[4] The rhythm, dividing neatly into 3+3+4+3+3+4, with lilting syncopations in mm. 7, 11, and 14.[2] Its character is close to that of the cachua, a native dance, suggesting a slow procession.[4] In this blend, it is the musical counterpart of the paintings of the Cuzco School.[4]

The lyrics are an ode to the Virgin Mary, containing many metaphors about love and nature grounded in Quechua culture.[4] The epithets given to Mary can be interpreted syncretistically both an orthodox Catholic way and as a continuation of traditional religious practices, with neither interpretation dominant.[7] Surprisingly, two terms relating to the Pleiades are prominent, qullqa and qatachillay, while a third, unquy, is conspicuously absent. Since the Pleiades symbolized fecundity, a major theme of this song, unquy may have been deliberately avoided to distance the song from those of the Taki Unquy movement.[8]

Text (first two verses only)

Quechua

Hanacpachap cussicuinin,
Huaran cacta muchas caiqui.
Yupairuru pucocmallqui,
Runa cunap suyacuinin.
Callpannacpa quemicuinin,
Huaciascaita.

Uyarihuai muchascaita
Diospa rampan Diospamaman
Yurac tocto hamancaiman
Yupascalla, collpascaita
Huahuaiquiman suyuscaita
Ricuchillai.

English

Heaven's joy!
a thousand times shall we praise you.
O tree bearing thrice-blessed fruit,
O hope of humankind,
helper of the weak.
hear our prayer!

Attend to our pleas,
O column of ivory, Mother of God!
Beautiful iris, yellow and white,
receive this song we offer you;
come to our assistance,
show us the Fruit of your womb.

Recordings

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Bruce Mannheim, "A Nation Surrounded," in Native Traditions in the Postconquest World, ed. Elizabeth Hill Boone and Tom Cummins, 383–420 (Dumbarton Oaks, 1998), 388.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Robert M. Stevenson, Music in Aztec and Inca Territory (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1968), 280–281.
  3. ↑ Olsen, edited by Dale A.; Sheehy, Daniel E. (2008). The Garland handbook of Latin American music (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 441. ISBN 0203934547.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 José Quezada Macchiavello, "Formación de la cultura musical en la Colonia-Siglo XVI," in La Música en el Perú, 73–80 (Lima: Filarmonía, 2007), pp. 76–78.
  5. ↑ David R. M. Irving, "Latin American Baroque," Early Music Advance access, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 Jeffrey Skidmore, Fire burning in snow at Hyperion website
  7. ↑ Mannheim, 398.
  8. ↑ Mannheim, 400–401.

Edition

External links

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