I. URQUPI  ICHU  KAÑASQAY

Urqupi ichu kañasqay 
Qasapi ichu kañasqay
Kunankamachus rawracha                      
kunankamachus rupacha               

Hinalla rawrakuptinqa                         
Hinalla rupariptinqa
Warma wiqichaykiwan
Challaykuy!
Warma wiqichaykiwan                                 Chasnuykuy!

I. THE ICHU THAT I BURNED ON THE MOUNTAIN

The ichu* that I burned on the mountain              
The ichu that I burned at the top                           
perhaps it is still in flames                                      
perhaps it is still ablaze

If it´s still in flames                                                  
If it´s still ablaze                                                      
With your child tears                                                 
(please) Smother it!
With your child tears                                         
(please) Put it out!                                

II. PATIBAMBALLAY

Patibamballay
Patisachallay
Sunqu ruruchaykiqa
qurimantas kasqa
qullqimantas kasqa

II. PATIBAMBALLAY

Oh tree
Tree of Patibamba
nobody knew
that your heart was made of gold
that you chest was made of silver

III. KACHARPARI

Kunanmi ripunay punchaw.
manam kunanqa ripusaqchu, paqarinñam.

Lluqsiptiy qawawankichik
chuspi tullu waqachichkaqta,
kusikusi llikamanta unanchantinta;
tinyaymi sisipa runtun kanqa

Muntirayqá? Muntirayqa
qintipa qisanmi kanqa!    

III. FAREWELL

This is the day of my departure.
I´m not leaving today, but tomorrow.

You will watch me depart
playing a whistle made from a fly´s bone
bearing, as a flag, a spider web

My drum will be the egg of an ant
And my headpiece? My headpiece
will be a hummingbird´s nest!

Details

Duration: 7 minutes

Movements:

• I. Urqupi ichu kañasqay

• II. Patibamballay

• III. Kacharpari

Premiere: 

• January 22nd, 2014

• Sheva Tehoval (soprano) and Edwin Reinhardt (flute)

• HfMT Cologne (Germany)

About the work

At the heart of this piece are three anonymous lyrics in Kechwa, the most widely spoken non-European language in the Americas. An ancient tongue, it became the official language of the great Inca Empire, and is still spoken by about 10 million people in present-day Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina.  Having been an important symbol of status and high culture before the European Conquest, it developed a refined literature which has continued to live and develop orally throughout the centuries.

 The specific texts I have chosen for this work reflect this sophistication of sonority and meaning. They are anonymous lyrics from the Apurímac region in central Peru, gathered by prominent Peruvian author and anthropologist José María Arguedas (1911-1969). After comparing these accounts to alternative versions by other native speakers, and relying on my own basic knowledge of the language, I made some minor modifications on the original texts and thus created my own renditions for the purpose of this work.

“Kimsa harawicha”, the work´s title, can be translated as “Three songs”.