AMARU

for reed quintet (2020)

About the work

The Inca Empire was the largest and most powerful civilization of pre-Hispanic South America. It possessed a rich mythological tradition, drawn from thousands of years of cultural heritage from previous civilizations of the Andes.

In the Incan worldview, the universe was comprised of three great spaces or plains. These were the hanaq pacha (upper realm, or the skies), the kay pacha (middle realm, or the ground), and the uku pacha (inner realm, or beneath the ground). Each of these worlds was connected to the others in complex ways, and each was represented by a specific animal. The latter of the three realms, and its representative creature, is what the present musical work is about.

I have long been intrigued by the concept of the three sacred animals of Ancient Peru. In 2015, I wrote “Puma”, a work for wind quintet that explores the mythological fascination with the iconic feline of the kay pacha. When the Kalliope Reed Quintet contacted me in 2019, asking me to write a new work for them, I knew that it was a good opportunity to bring a second character of the trilogy to life.

“Amaru” was the name of the serpent-like deity that inhabited the uku pacha, the realm beneath the ground. This realm was described as the place of the dead, but also of the unborn. Thus, the sacred reptile was likely viewed both as a symbol of transition into the next life (after death) and as a symbol of fertility (the potential for new life). A third attribute likely associated with the creature is suggested by serpent-like etchings in the stone walls of the Yachay Wasi (the Incan “house of wisdom”), which can still be observed today in the city of Cusco.

Guided by these three fascinatingly abstract qualities - ability of transition and transformation, fertility, and wisdom - I set out to compose a musical portrait of the mythical being. I strove to create a sense of awe in the listener, perhaps not unlike the awe experienced by ancient Andean peoples in their relationship to the deity. I imagined music that transitioned with great ease between different tonal and harmonic places; music in a constant state of transformation and renewal, leaving plenty of room for unexpected twists and turns. The great wisdom of the amaru could be conveyed through intricate contrapuntal textures and complex, interlocking rhythms. And all of this would happen in the context of a fluent, wildly unpredictable dance with an erotic tinge.

That was what I set out to do in this piece. I had a wild time writing it, and I hope that you will be seduced by its sounds. Many thanks to the Kalliope Reed Quintet for enabling the creation of this work!

Extras