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Oscar Escalada

Editor's note: David Castleberry translated and edited this article.

the church of san pedro de andahuailillas

As one of the earliest manifestations of fusion between New World and Old World cultures, Hanaqpachaq is a source of considerable national pride in Peru. 1 It is impossible to ascertain whether Hanaqpachaq is the earliest music composed in the New World, but available documentation does suggest that this seventeenth-century work represents, at the very least, the first polyphony published in the New World. The piece appeared in Ritual formulario e institución de curas para administrar a los naturales con advertencias muy necesarias [Ritual formula and institution of priests to administer the naturals with very necessary warnings], by Juan Perez Bocanegra, a Franciscan of Andahuailillas. Published in 1631 by Geronymo de Contreras, near the Convent of Santo Domingo, it bore the description, "va compuesta en música a quatro vozes, para que la canten los cantores, al entrar a la Iglesia." [composed in four parts, so that the singers can sing it when entering the church].

Primary investigation into Hanaqpachaq was begun by Francisco Curt Lange and Robert Stevenson, who studied the original work where it was found, in Cusco, Peru. Whether unknown or simply overlooked, the musical works treasured away in churches of the Americas received little serious scholarly attention prior to the 1940s. Thus, much of the information that has surfaced in recent years is just beginning to receive scholarly attention. Most of the pieces found in such collections, like Hanaqpachaq, are sacred vocal works. Composed in European Renaissance style, Hanaqpachaq is set in the Quechua language, and raises fascinating questions regarding the blending of these widely separate cultures.

This article will consider five elements related to a contemporary understanding of Hanaqpachaq:

  • 1.The Incas

  • 2.The Conquest

  • 3.The Music of Hanaqpachaq

  • 4.The Quechua language

  • 5.The Poem

The Incas

Inca culture and its aboriginal, pre-Incaic roots date from 12,000 B.C.E. One theory suggests that the Incas arrived in Cusco as a result of a forced emigration of groups from Tiahuanacu, south of Lake Titicaca, having assimilated the best of several cultures in art, architecture, and science. Cusco (Qosqo in Quecha), according to the historian Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, means "navel." Others suggest "milestone" or "landmark, signal,...

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