Huayno (wuayno, huaino)Link to Compositions >>
While on a trip to Cuzco, Peru in 1997, I had the privilege of meeting Pablo Ojeda Vizcarra, a renowned local composer who published a book in 1989 called The Andean Guitar of Peru (30 Compositions for Solo Guitar). The collection includes numerous Wuaynos (among other dances) with titles like Sumaq Sonqo, Qantutita, and Urpilla. All of these pieces are deeply Andean, imbued with the suffering, solitude and mystery that is so common to music from this region of the world.
The aforementioned volume and others like it are a necessary effort on the part of South American artists to safeguard a tradition that must remain alive, even in the face of today’s pop culture domination.
Another superb example of this endeavor is the “Guitarra Ayacuchana”. This name has been given to a specific style of Andean guitar performance and is synonymous with its principal advocate, the legendary Raul García Zarate. This music and its champions are a model of how South American folklore and its culture are being kept alive for new generations through that most authentic of Latin American instruments, the guitar.
Guitarra Andina Peruana (The Andean Guitar of Perú)
by Pablo Ojeda V.
Raúl García Zárate
Listen “Adiós pueblo de Ayacucho” (Raúl García Zárate)
The Huayno is the most authentic form of Peruvian folklore that exists today (the word Huayno comes from the ancient Indian language of Quechua, wuaiñu). It represents a popular appreciation of shared ethnic cultures and has provided inspiration for composers of classical, popular and folkloric music alike for generations.
One may to ask why such a fundamentally Peruvian rhythm is being used in a project to showcase the music of Chile! Geographically, this dance comes from the Altiplano (“high plains”), a part of the Andean mountain chain that encompasses what is now the east of Bolivia, the center and south of Peru, the northeast of Argentina and the north of Chile.
Let’s not forget that Chile, Peru and Bolivia fought the Pacific War between 1879 and 1884 in which the latter two lost a large amount of territory. This newly annexed Chilean soil was exactly where the huayno was born and is still practiced today under the name trote. (This land is now referred to as the first and second region of Chile.) If we were to forget about the barriers imposed by these past conflicts, it could easily be argued that the huayno does not belong to any single nation, but rather to a geographic zone shared by several countries.
Instrumentation
The instruments most commonly used to perform the huayno are the guitar, quena, zampoña, and charango. It is written in 2/4 and is best suited to minor tonalities and pentatonic scales. Its basic rhythmic pattern is made up of an eighth note followed by two sixteenth notes.
Quenas, Charango, Zampoña
Basic rhythmic pattern of the Huayno
Listen to “Huallpa Changa” (Bolivia manta)
Comments about the Compositions (Huayno)
General Guideline
To be able to play these pieces correctly, one must understand the technique of the “apagado” used during the execution of the “rasgueo” or strum.
(See Sergio Sauvalle, técnicas de la guitarra chilena- page 4 and 5).
| Huayno I | “Lejana” | Audio |
| Huayno II | “Desde todo el silencio” | Audio |
| Huayno III | “Canta el huayno” | Audio |
“Lejana” (Huayno I)
The first of these three Huaynos was composed in the mode of E Dorian (E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D-E). The main theme appears after a short introduction in measure 5 and should be played strongly, using the vibrato indicated to help bring out the character and the required style.
The texture found at the beginning remains constant throughout the entire piece. It consists of a melody accompanied by the basic rhythmic pattern of the huayno (eighth and two sixteenths). The mood remains withdrawn throughout with the exception of a restrained climax in bar 17 when the melody reaches a C#.
The rasgueos that appear in this piece are better performed subtly, but with enough energy to give the piece the requisite style (Note the written apagados). At the end there is a “fade out”, a gradual diminution in the intensity and volume that should seem natural to the listener and should not include any variation in tempo. (No ritardando or rallentando).
Duration: 3.12
Guitarist: Eugenio González.
“Desde todo el silencio” (Huayno II)
This work is written in C minor and uses the sixth string tuned down to D to gain a deeper more profound resonance in relation to the key. This sound first appears in measure 36 (note the D) and becomes more apparent later in measures 39 through 42. The introduction to this piece is similar to the previous one in that there is a rhythmic obstinato laid out with a free floating melody entering at bar 5 that will remain throughout the rest of the work.
The bass line used here is very common in popular music (it is important to sustain it well to provide harmonic stability) and is used in this case to bring us to the piece’s climax in measure 73. In the following bar, a sweet and richly melodic section begins. Here, the phrase will be “deconstructed” by using a denser harmony starting in measure 95, which will lead to this section’s climax in measure 103. From here, the intensity begins to decline until a mood similar to that of the introduction reemerges in measure 111. The second theme is repeated in measures 118 through 139, and the piece finishes with a repeat of the first theme, gradually dying out until the end.
Duration: 6.53
Guitarist: Eugenio González.
“El huayno canta” (Huayno III)
In contrast to its folkloric roots, the mixolydian mode, a major tonality more typical to jazz and popular music was used to compose this work. As in the previous two pieces, this huayno begins with its basic rhythm and is then joined by a melody.
The first theme is based on the pentatonic scale (C#-E-F#-G#-B-C#) and begins in measure 8 with a pickup note. The performer will note that in measures 13 and 14, an exaggerated vibrato is recommended and that there are some odd ornaments located in measures 24 and 26. While these effects may be somewhat out of the ordinary in classical guitar performance, they are absolutely essential if one is trying to replicate the style of the Andean guitar.
In measure 51, an expressive and almost “transparent” theme appears in the key of E major. This section should be played very clearly and should be thought of as having an entirely new character. The end of this section (measures 61 through 74) continues with the previous rhythmical pattern and features some modulations between modes that give the piece a feeling of deep melancholy.
The following segment, starting at measure 75, contrasts greatly with the previous section although it starts off equally as melodious. The disparity begins with a strummed, augmented chord found in measure 85, followed by a sequence of arpeggios leading to a climax in measure 104. When this theme is repeated between measures 110 to 115, there are some rather arduous passages and it is recommended that the performer vary the tempo to help surmount their difficulties. From here, there is a small bridging section between measures 118 to 121 that acts almost as a cadenza and leads us to an intense climactic section (measures 122 to 133) where a strong rasgueo is used. The piece ends with a “fade out” in exactly the same manner that the first Huayno did.
Duration: 5.39
Guitarist: Eugenio González.