Music of Latin America

1. Music of Latin America MUSI 3721Y University of Lethbridge, Calgary Campus John Anderson

2. Socio-Cultural Heritage • Three major socio-cultural heritages have combined to different degrees in different areas to create the contemporary situation • Indigenous Amerindian traditions • Iberian traditions of Spain and Portugal • African traditions

3. Socio-Cultural Heritage • Indigenous Amerindian traditions • Differentiated according to lowland Amazonian and highland Andean groups • African traditions • Brought by slaves during the colonial era and still concentrated in coastal areas

4. Socio-Cultural Heritage • Iberian traditions of Spain and Portugal • Transplanted during the colonial era and differentiated according to social class • Criollos are New World-born Spanish or Portuguese • They form an elite social group • Mestizos are those of mixed race • They are lower class

5. Relationship between Musical and Social Values • Relatively egalitarian communities prefer music with equal participation among members • Opposed to hierarchical communities that prefer music with solo and lead parts

6. Use of Music to Construct and Express Social Identity • This is a universal phenomenon • The Suyá of the Brazilian Amazon, for example, consider akia songs basic to what it means to be Suyá • Aymara communities in the Andes use music to express village social solidarity

7. General Musical Characteristics • Interlocking Parts and Hockets • Highland Aymara panpipe music • Hemiola • 2:3 rhythms in Mexican son styles

8. Comparison of African and African American Drumming • Compare curralao or candomblé drumming with the Ewe example from Africa • On first hearing, the Latin American examples sound “African” • They display call-and-response, polyrhythms, ostinatos, etc. • But deeper listening reveals that the polyrhythms are not as complex as the African examples

9. Traditional Dance, Chunchos of Paucartambo • Dance tune • Two flutes • Loose heterophonic texture • Melody consists of two parts • ABB • The drums repeat a simple rhythmic accompaniment throughout • Dancers are mestizos from Paucartambo • The bands are hired by the dance groups • Semi-profoessional musicians from elsewhere

10. Traditional Dance and Song“Qollas Despedida” • Syncopated five-note melody • Carried by the violins, kenas, mandolin, and accordion • Produces a densely blended quality • After the upward leap in the opening phrase, it has a descending melody (moving from higher to lower pitches) • This is a common technique in both mestizo and indigenous Andean music

11. Traditional Dance and Song“Qollas Despedida” • Strophic • six lines per stanza • three short melodic sections • AA BB B' B' • The B' section serves like a chorus or refrain • The dancers sing as a unison chorus • They alternate with an instrumental rendition of the melody

12. Traditional Dance and Song“Qollas Despedida” • Songs sung to the Virgin by the Qollas and other dance groups are in Spanish, the indigenous Quechua language, or, as in this performance, both • Clear illustration of the blending of European and indigenous cultures that defines Andean mestizo identity generally

13. Popular Wayno (Huayno) Music from Peru La Pastorita Huaracina (Maria Alvarado), “Quisiera Olvidarte” • Peruvian • Popular in the 1950s and 1960s • several guitars, mandolins, violins, and an a accordion • Strophic • AA BB • An animated closing section known as fuga

14. Popular Wayno (Huayno) Music from Peru La Pastorita Huaracina (Maria Alvarado), “Quisiera Olvidarte” • Each section is comprised of two short phrases • A = a, b; B= c, d • Each phrase has its own text line • Note the quick high vocal ornaments • “he podido” and “maldito” • Very characteristic of highland women singers • Note also the humorous insults hurled at her lover in the final lines of the fuga

15. Son Huasteca: “El Gustito” • The violinist is at the center of the ensemble • Syncopated rhythmic bowing • Slides • Double stops (bowing two strings at once) • Extremely quick finger work • The vocals trade back and forth between the two lead singers • Frequently use falsetto singing • distinguishes this style from jarocho and other regional son styles

16. Panpipe Music, “Manuelita” • Even in construction, panpipes are reflective of cooperative values within Aymara society • It takes two people to play a melody because the scale is split between two panpipes • one partner has only odd numbered scale degrees, the other has even numbered scale degrees • The dislike of standing out from the crowd is reflected in the number of players in a group and in the way partners overlap their pitches, so that there is never a gap in the sound

17. Panpipe Music, “Manuelita” • Structurally, the music is comprised of three sections • repeated ad infinitum • AABBCC • These melodies all have a formulaic quality • There are only minor variations between each section • only the opening of each section changes

18. Panpipe Music, “Manuelita” • This sikuri piece is a slow piece • The long-held chords at the beginning of the piece and at section endings are typical of this genre • The accented strokes of the drumming pattern are designed to fit with the melody • The overlapping and blending of instruments creates a dense texture

19. Marimba Dance “Currulao Bambuco” • Many African musical principles are maintained in African American communities of Latin America • cyclical forms, call-and-response, interlocking melodic and percussion parts, and an appreciation of overlapping textures • Many African instruments are employed • The currulao is a popular communal dance of Ecuador and Colombia’s Pacific coast, wherein men and women court

20. Marimba Dance “Currulao Bambuco” • The marimbas play interlocking duple and triple rhythms • Vocal parts are organized in leader-chorus/call-and-response patterns • Melodies and rhythms are based on short, repetitive phrases (ostinatos) • And the vocal style features yodeling and other vocal sounds

21. Marimba Dance “Currulao Bambuco” • The primary ostinato on which this piece is grounded is supplied by the marimba • It continues, with some minor variations, throughout the performance • As the performance progresses, a female singer takes over from the male

22. Discussion Questions • How might we compare hybrid musical cultures in our country to Latin American? • Why would different types of flutes be prone for use in Peru? • How might we catalogue the guitar variants that developed throughout Latin America from colonial times? • What examples of sesquialtera might we find in classical music or the popular music of our culture?

23. Discussion Questions • In what ways might marimba playing be compared to the Shona mbira playing? • Panpipes were prevalent in ancient Greek and Roman societies as they have been in Peru. What might be the connection, if there is any? Or, are the two traditions unrelated? If so, why can’t they be related? • Why and how did West African religion and music bind with Catholicism in Brazil in the form of candomblé?