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| Inca Music: El Condor Pasa, Flight of the Condor
The music that you are listening now is
"El Condor Pasa" (see an example of
sheet music).
It is a typical Inca dance, based on authentic Incan folk
melodies. Around 1916, Peruvian composer Daniel Alomia Robles
notated this popular traditional melody and used it as the basis
for an instrumental suite. The English Lyrics, 'If I could, I
surely would' words, are by Paul Simon (Simon & Garfunkel)!
The Andean Condor is the world's largest bird
of prey that lives in the mountains, The adult height of
this enormous bird is four feet, and it has a wing span of 10
feet. It usually weighs between 20 to 25 pounds. The Andean
Condor’s cousin is the California Condor.
"Inca music often accompanied
ritualized religious dancing. Musicians used repetitive rhythms
and dissonant tones to induce an almost hypnotic state in the
dancers. Inca instruments were made of wood, reeds, pottery,
bone, shell, and metal. The Incas played two basic kinds of
instruments: wind and percussion. Wind instruments, such as
horns and flutes, produce a sound when a musician blows into a
tube or hollow chamber. Percussion instruments, such as bells or
drums, produce a sound when a musician strikes the instrument.
Drums and flutes were the most common instruments used by the
Incas. Flutes came in many varieties. The panpipe—a series of
cane or pottery flutes tuned to different notes and tied
together in a row—are still common in the Andes today." MSN
Encarta.
From the writings of Inca Garcilaso
de la Vega (1609)
"The Colla Indians and all those in
their district had a certain knowledge of music. They played
reed or cane instruments, made by joining four or five tubes
together, each one of which furnished a higher or lower note
than the preceding one, as in the case of organ pipes. There
existed four such instruments, each keyed to a higher or lower
scale, in the same way as the four human voices: soprano, tenor,
contralto, and bass.
When one Indian played, a second
answered him, shall we say, in fifths, then a third on another
harmony, and the fourth on still another, each one in time.
These were professional musicians, who practiced in order to
give concerts for the king and nobles of the Empire.
They also had flutes with four or
five holes, like those played by shepherds. But since these were
never played on in concerts, each player carved his own in his
own manner, according to what suited him best. With this flute
he accompanied his love songs, which recounted, in even meters,
the favors or disfavors of his ladylove.
In the year 1560, when I left Peru,
there were five Indians in Cuzco who played the flute so well
that they could interpret any piece of organ music you put
before them; and today, in 1562, I am told there still exists a
considerable number of excellent musicians." The Royal
Commentaries of the Inca, Garcilaso de la Vega, 1609. Book II.
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega
(1539-1616) Peruvian-born Spanish soldier, historian, and
translator. The son of an Inca princess, he vividly retold
Peruvian history and folklore in his Comentarios Reales
(1609).
El Condor Pasa A folk lyrics version from the
Quechua, the official language of the Inca Empire:
Oh mighty Condor owner of the
skies
take me home, up into the Andes,
Oh mighty Condor.
I want go back to my native place to be
with
my Inca brothers,
that is what I miss the most, Oh mighty
Condor.
Wait for me in Cuzco, in the main plaza,
so we can take a walk
in Machu Picchu and Huayna-Picchu
El Condor Pasa (If I Could) Lyrics by Simon
& Garfunkel
I'd rather be a
sparrow than a snail.
Yes, I would.
If I could,
I surely would.
I'd rather be a hammer than a nail.
Yes, I would.
If I only could,
I surely would.
Away, I'd rather sail away
Like a swan that's here and gone.
A man gets tied up to the ground.
He gives the world
Its saddest sound,
Its saddest sound.
I'd rather be a forest than a street.
Yes, I would.
If I could,
I surely would.
I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet.
Yes, I would.
If I only could,
I surely would.
El Condor Pasa (Si pudiera) Letra de Simon &
Garfunkel
Spanish version
Preferiría ser un
gorrión que un caracol.
Sí, lo haría.
Si pudiera,
Seguramente lo haría.
Preferiría ser un martillo que un clavo.
Sí, lo haría.
Si tan sólo pudiera,
Seguramente lo haría.
Lejos, preferiría navegar lejos
Como un cisne que está aquí y se fue.
Un hombre está amarrado a la tierra.
Le da al mundo
Su sonido más triste,
Su sonido más triste.
Preferiría ser un bosque que una calle.
Sí, lo haría.
Si pudiera,
Seguramente lo haría.
Preferiría sentir la tierra bajo mis pies.
Sí, lo haría.
Si tan sólo pudiera,
Seguramente lo haría.
The lyrics are copyright by
their respective owners. They are used here for educational
purposes only.
Example of Sheet Music
El Condor Pasa
by
Daniel Alomia Robles
"The Colla Indians and all those in
their district had a certain knowledge of music. They played
reed or cane instruments, made by joining four or five tubes
together, each one of which furnished a higher or lower note
than the preceding one, as in the case of organ pipes. There
existed four such instruments, each keyed to a higher or lower
scale, in the same way as the four human voices: soprano, tenor,
contralto, and bass.
