Recital

 (2 customer reviews)

Perhaps I am not too impartial since I am the one who produced this CD but I'll try. As Yma Sumac's only commercial release of a live performance and if you've never attended an Yma Sumac concert you'll at least hear what it was like. In 1961 when this was recorded her voice was in its prime and it is also a rare recording to have the Inka Taki Trio which was comprised of Yma Sumac (soprano), Cholita Rivero (contralto, dancing) and Moises Vivanco (guitar and conductor). The recording itself was originally made for a TV broadcast and then later released onto vinyl and even on some 45 and 78 rpm singles. Unfortunately the videos could not be located (does any reader have a source?).

The original 1961 LP from Bucharest, Romania's Electrecord label was put together rather randomly to make the tracks fit on the two sides of the vinyl disk. Using knowledge of Yma Sumac's usual repertoire and a copy of the original show program, which listed some songs not performed and some on...Read more

It's fascinating to contrast the performances on this live recording with those of some of the same songs on the Capitol records. Of particular interest is the extended (as was common in her performances) version of her signature piece CHUNCHO, here with only guitar backing. While not as slick as the better-known version on the Capitol recording, here it is if anything even more haunting, and gives the listener a much better feel for what it must have been like to hear her in concert. Play it at night, in the dark, and be transported to the depths of the Amazon.