Daniel Alomía Robles
Encyclopedia
Daniel Alomía Robles was a Peru
vian composer and ethnomusicologist. He is best known for composing the song El Cóndor Pasa
in 1913 as part of a zarzuela
, a musical play that alternates between spoken and sung parts, by the same name. This song was based on Andean folk songs
and is possibly the best known Peruvian song because the melody was used by Simon and Garfunkel
as their melody for "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)", though the song has different lyrics.
on January 3, 1871. His father, a French immigrant, was Marcial Alomía and his mother was Micaela Robles.
Alomía Robles said in an interview in 1942 that his first exposure to music was when he was six years old and his mother took him to hear mass in Huánuco and he began to sing along with the chorus. Alomía Robles said that he had a good ear and could reproduce any sound that he heard and that he took special pleasure as a child in singing the indigenous songs of Peru.
In Lima Alomía Robles studied at the college Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Alomía Robles' early interest in music was encouraged there by his teachers Manuel De la Cruz Panizo and Claudio Rebagliatti. Alomía Robles says that Claudio Rebagliatti took him under his wing and offered to teach him music if Alomía Robles would help Rebagliatti in his concerts.
In 1892, Alomía Robles decided to study medicine at University of San Marcos. In Alomía Robles's third year studying medicine, he traveled with other students the jungle where he met catholic missionary Gabriel Sala, who came to have a decisive influence on Alomía Robles's life in music. Sala had created a city in the jungle with 400 men and women who he taught to work in the fields and build their houses. Sala said to his people that it was not good to work without resting so every Sunday at 2 pm he brought the people together to sing and dance.
Alomía Robles decided to leave the university in 1894 and dedicate his life to music. Alomía Robles' family, who had encouraged him to study medicine, were against his trying to make a life in music.
and later mayor of Huacho
. Marcela Robles, granddaughter of Alomía Robles, writes that in a time when the musical folklore of Peru was ignored or looked down on, Alomía Robles was a pioneer in collecting the music that otherwise would have disappeared.
In February 1897 Alomía Robles' married Sebastiana Godoy Agostini, a Cuban pianist known as "Chana" whom he had met while he was living in Jauja. His wife supported him during his travels in South America. In an interview in 1942 with Esteban Pavletich Trujillo, Alomía Robles credited his wife with the impetus for creating his first musical works.
In 1910 Alomía Robles published his discovery that the musical structure of Andean music was a Pentatonic scale
. In 1911 Alomía Robles traveled to Argentina for the performance of his first opera Illa Cori that told the story of the Inca ruler Huayna Cápac
and his conquest of Quito.
In 1913 Alomía Robles composed "El cóndor pasa", and the song was first performed publicly at the Teatro Mazzi in Lima. The song was composed as part of a zarzuela (Spanish operetta) of strong social content about Peruvian miners in Cerro de Pasco
and their relations with the foreign mining company. Marcela Robles writes that the zarzuela contained eight parts and was performed over 3,000 times in Lima at the Teatro Mazzi.
In the 1960s the musical group, "Los Incas
" performed the song in Paris where it was heard by Paul Simon
of Simon and Garfunkel
. "Los Incas" told Simon, perhaps through ignorance, that the song was a 18th century musical composition by an anonymous composer. Simon became interested in the song and composed new lyrics for the melody. The song appeared on Simon and Garfunkel's 1970 album Bridge over Troubled Water
.
In 1970 Alomía Robles' son, Armando Robles Godoy, filed a copyright lawsuit against Simon and demonstrated that song had been composed by his father and that his father had copyrighted the song in the United States in 1933. Robles Godoy said that the lawsuit was almost friendly and that he bears no ill will towards Simon for what he considers a misunderstanding.
Sebastiana Godoy Agostini traveled to New York with her husband, but died of cancer the year after her arrival. Her sister, Carmela Godoy Agostini, had accompanied the couple to New York to take care of Sebastiana Godoy Agostini during her long illness. In 1922, two years after Sebastiana Godoy Agostini died, Alomía Robles wed Carmela Godoy Agostini, going on to sire two more children, Armando and Mario, bringing his total to twelve. Marcela Robles writes that her grandmother Carmela Godoy Agostini supported the family during the depression in New York City by selling paper flowers while Alomía Robles sat in front of his piano pursuing his music indifferent to his surroundings.
Alomía Robles' second youngest child, Armando Robles Godoy, who became a well known Peruvian film director, says that in his fourteen years in New York City, his father never learned to speak English. He also said his father had a beautiful baritone voice and was obsessed with the number "seven", only one of the mysteries that surrounded the magical world that his father lived in.
The New York Times reported on July 25, 1930 that the Goldman Band led by conductor Edwin Frank Goldman had played a program of Peruvian music composed by Alomía Robles on the campus of New York University. At the conclusion of the first half of the program Alomía Robles presented a bust of Mr. Goldman to the conductor. Alomía Robles pointed out in a brief address that Mr. Goldman was the only American conductor who had made extensive use of Peruvian music. The program included five compositions by Alomía Robles, "March Peru", "En Los Andes", "Hymn to the Sun", "Cashua" and "Fondero". According to The New York Times, "[s]everal of his compositions were based on ancient Inca melodies, and the music from which "Hymn to the Sun" was arranged is estimated to be about 3,000 years old."
Alomía Robles returned to Peru in 1933 after fourteen years in the United States and took up the post of the head of the Section of Fine Arts at the Ministry of Education in Lima, Peru. His son Sebastian Tomas Robles remained in the United States and in 1933 became a staff cartoonist for the Editors Press Service in New York and was selected by the Washington Post to sketch government personalities for the National Gallery.
Alomía Robles died in Chosica, about thirty miles from Lima, of septicemia on June 18, 1942.
On August 14, 1996 Alomía Robles' remains were returned to his hometown of Huánuco where they were received by thousands of people.
On December 1, 2006 the family of Alomía Robles, represented by his son Armando Robles Godoy, donated the original manuscripts of all Alomía Robles' compositions to the Catholic University of Peru. The manuscripts included the originals of “El cóndor pasa” and “Himno al sol”, and all of the “Colección Folklórica”.
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian composer and ethnomusicologist. He is best known for composing the song El Cóndor Pasa
El Cóndor Pasa (song)
El Cóndor Pasa is a song from the zarzuela El Cóndor Pasa by the Peruvian composer Daniel Alomía Robles, written in 1913 and based on traditional Andean folk tunes....
in 1913 as part of a zarzuela
Zarzuela
Zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance...
, a musical play that alternates between spoken and sung parts, by the same name. This song was based on Andean folk songs
Andean music
Andean music comes from the general area inhabited by Quechuas, Aymaras and other peoples that lived roughly in the area of the Inca Empire prior to European contact. It includes folklore music of parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela...
and is possibly the best known Peruvian song because the melody was used by Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the...
as their melody for "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)", though the song has different lyrics.
Early life
Daniel Alomía Robles was born in Peru in the city of HuánucoHuánuco
-Famous Natives:* Daniel Alomía Robles - Musical composer and ethnologist born in 1871, famous for El Cóndor Pasa* Johan Fano- Professional football player-External links:*** - Catholic Encyclopedia article...
on January 3, 1871. His father, a French immigrant, was Marcial Alomía and his mother was Micaela Robles.
Alomía Robles said in an interview in 1942 that his first exposure to music was when he was six years old and his mother took him to hear mass in Huánuco and he began to sing along with the chorus. Alomía Robles said that he had a good ear and could reproduce any sound that he heard and that he took special pleasure as a child in singing the indigenous songs of Peru.
Musical education
Alomía Robles attended primary school at La Mineria in Huánuco and moved with his family to Lima, Peru in 1882. It was while living with an uncle in Lima at the age of 12 that Alomía Robles first heard musical theatre. Lima in the early twentieth century was filled with musical theatre and many well known musicians made their home in Lima. Alomía Robles discovered that the theatre needed extras in the chorus line and offered himself so he could hear the music for free and learn the operettas of that period.In Lima Alomía Robles studied at the college Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Alomía Robles' early interest in music was encouraged there by his teachers Manuel De la Cruz Panizo and Claudio Rebagliatti. Alomía Robles says that Claudio Rebagliatti took him under his wing and offered to teach him music if Alomía Robles would help Rebagliatti in his concerts.
In 1892, Alomía Robles decided to study medicine at University of San Marcos. In Alomía Robles's third year studying medicine, he traveled with other students the jungle where he met catholic missionary Gabriel Sala, who came to have a decisive influence on Alomía Robles's life in music. Sala had created a city in the jungle with 400 men and women who he taught to work in the fields and build their houses. Sala said to his people that it was not good to work without resting so every Sunday at 2 pm he brought the people together to sing and dance.
Alomía Robles decided to leave the university in 1894 and dedicate his life to music. Alomía Robles' family, who had encouraged him to study medicine, were against his trying to make a life in music.
Musical travels in South America
Alomía Robles began traveling throughout Peru compiling the stories and myths of the folk music of the jungles of the amazon and the mountains of the Andes and collecting versions of the songs from the most remote villages of Peru. Alomía Robles also traveled to Bolivia and Ecuador during this period. During this period Alomía Robles was appointed to the posts of Subperfecto and Justice of the Peace in JaujaJauja
Jauja is a city and capital of Jauja Province in Peru. It is situated in the fertile Mantaro Valley, to the northwest of Huancayo , at an altitude of . Its population according to the 2007 census was 16,424....
and later mayor of Huacho
Huacho
Huacho is a city in Peru, capital of the Huaura Province and capital of the Lima Region. It is located 223 feet above sea level and 148 km north of the city of Lima...
. Marcela Robles, granddaughter of Alomía Robles, writes that in a time when the musical folklore of Peru was ignored or looked down on, Alomía Robles was a pioneer in collecting the music that otherwise would have disappeared.
In February 1897 Alomía Robles' married Sebastiana Godoy Agostini, a Cuban pianist known as "Chana" whom he had met while he was living in Jauja. His wife supported him during his travels in South America. In an interview in 1942 with Esteban Pavletich Trujillo, Alomía Robles credited his wife with the impetus for creating his first musical works.
In 1910 Alomía Robles published his discovery that the musical structure of Andean music was a Pentatonic scale
Pentatonic scale
A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave in contrast to a heptatonic scale such as the major scale and minor scale...
. In 1911 Alomía Robles traveled to Argentina for the performance of his first opera Illa Cori that told the story of the Inca ruler Huayna Cápac
Huayna Capac
Huayna Capac was the eleventh Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire and sixth of the Hanan dynasty. He was the successor to Tupac Inca Yupanqui.-Name:In Quechua, his name is spelled Wayna Qhapaq, and in Southern Quechua, it is Vaina Ghapakh...
and his conquest of Quito.
"El Cóndor Pasa"
Cerro de Pasco
Cerro de Pasco is a city in central Peru. It is the capital of the Pasco region, and an important mining center. It is connected by road and by rail to the city of Lima.- Overview :...
and their relations with the foreign mining company. Marcela Robles writes that the zarzuela contained eight parts and was performed over 3,000 times in Lima at the Teatro Mazzi.
In the 1960s the musical group, "Los Incas
Los Incas
Los Incas is a group known for Andean music. They are best known in North America for accompanying Simon and Garfunkel on the song "El Condor Pasa " included on the duo's fifth album, Bridge Over Troubled Water...
" performed the song in Paris where it was heard by Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
of Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the...
. "Los Incas" told Simon, perhaps through ignorance, that the song was a 18th century musical composition by an anonymous composer. Simon became interested in the song and composed new lyrics for the melody. The song appeared on Simon and Garfunkel's 1970 album Bridge over Troubled Water
Bridge over Troubled Water
Bridge Over Troubled Water is the fifth and final studio album by Simon & Garfunkel. Released on January 26, 1970 on both Quadraphonic and Stereo formats, it reached No. 1 on Billboard Music Charts pop albums list...
.
In 1970 Alomía Robles' son, Armando Robles Godoy, filed a copyright lawsuit against Simon and demonstrated that song had been composed by his father and that his father had copyrighted the song in the United States in 1933. Robles Godoy said that the lawsuit was almost friendly and that he bears no ill will towards Simon for what he considers a misunderstanding.
Life in the United States
In 1919 Alomía Robles traveled to the United States, living in New York City for fourteen years until his return to Peru in 1933. Alomía Robles found life in the United State hard and a constant series of ups and downs even after he won third prize in a musical contest with 3,000 competitors. During his time in the United States, Alomía Robles performed in concerts, recorded music, and offered talks about Peruvian music.Sebastiana Godoy Agostini traveled to New York with her husband, but died of cancer the year after her arrival. Her sister, Carmela Godoy Agostini, had accompanied the couple to New York to take care of Sebastiana Godoy Agostini during her long illness. In 1922, two years after Sebastiana Godoy Agostini died, Alomía Robles wed Carmela Godoy Agostini, going on to sire two more children, Armando and Mario, bringing his total to twelve. Marcela Robles writes that her grandmother Carmela Godoy Agostini supported the family during the depression in New York City by selling paper flowers while Alomía Robles sat in front of his piano pursuing his music indifferent to his surroundings.
Alomía Robles' second youngest child, Armando Robles Godoy, who became a well known Peruvian film director, says that in his fourteen years in New York City, his father never learned to speak English. He also said his father had a beautiful baritone voice and was obsessed with the number "seven", only one of the mysteries that surrounded the magical world that his father lived in.
The New York Times reported on July 25, 1930 that the Goldman Band led by conductor Edwin Frank Goldman had played a program of Peruvian music composed by Alomía Robles on the campus of New York University. At the conclusion of the first half of the program Alomía Robles presented a bust of Mr. Goldman to the conductor. Alomía Robles pointed out in a brief address that Mr. Goldman was the only American conductor who had made extensive use of Peruvian music. The program included five compositions by Alomía Robles, "March Peru", "En Los Andes", "Hymn to the Sun", "Cashua" and "Fondero". According to The New York Times, "[s]everal of his compositions were based on ancient Inca melodies, and the music from which "Hymn to the Sun" was arranged is estimated to be about 3,000 years old."
Alomía Robles returned to Peru in 1933 after fourteen years in the United States and took up the post of the head of the Section of Fine Arts at the Ministry of Education in Lima, Peru. His son Sebastian Tomas Robles remained in the United States and in 1933 became a staff cartoonist for the Editors Press Service in New York and was selected by the Washington Post to sketch government personalities for the National Gallery.
Musical legacy
Alomía Robles compiled over 700 compositions of popular music of Peru and according to the catalog compiled by Rodolfo Holzmann en 1943, Alomía Robles composed more than 238 songs including "El indio", "Resurgimiento de los Andes", "Amanecer andino", "Danza huanca" and "Alcedo y su ballet". In 1990, Armando Robles Godoy published a folio of his father's compositions, Himno al Sol: la obra folclórica y musical de Daniel Alomía Robles. Robles Godoy said this was a labor of love and that it that took him two years of research to collect the pieces with the help of Enrique Pinilla y Édgar Valcárcel. In a 1940 article on the state of music in Peru, The New York Times praised Alomía Robles as having "a considerable natural talent" and for "bettering the knowledge of the folklore of his country."Personal life
Alomía Robles was married to Sebastiana Godoy Agostini with whom he had ten children including four sons: Jack, Felix, Ernest, and Carlos. After Alomía Robles' wife died of cancer, he married his wife's sister, Carmela Godoy Agostini, with whom he had two more children: Mario and Armando.Alomía Robles died in Chosica, about thirty miles from Lima, of septicemia on June 18, 1942.
On August 14, 1996 Alomía Robles' remains were returned to his hometown of Huánuco where they were received by thousands of people.
On December 1, 2006 the family of Alomía Robles, represented by his son Armando Robles Godoy, donated the original manuscripts of all Alomía Robles' compositions to the Catholic University of Peru. The manuscripts included the originals of “El cóndor pasa” and “Himno al sol”, and all of the “Colección Folklórica”.