Yma Sumac pt 2
My very dear friend, Daniel, now of North Carolina, was the person who introduced me to the underestimated talents of Yma Sumac... when I shared my grief about her passing he wrote:
Alas for the passing of "The Nightingale of the Andes". There is absolutely nobody like her. She is at the pinnacle of kitsch. Those expensive Florida prints of flamingos framed in mirrored frames can't hold a candle to her.Knitted poodle bottle covers or even Kleenex dispensers are relegated to mere objects of pity in light of Yma Sumac's achievements. Sinatra elevates cheesy to sublime in his Rat Pack ring a ding ding period. Judy practically busts a gut to sell a song. But how on earth did the exquisitely absurd music of Yma Sumac come to be, let alone find an audience? Sprinkled around the world in far flung locations there are legions of Sumac fans. All of them have a wide streak of bad taste into which she snuggles sublimely. But she is so wonderfully bad that she is indeed good. I have no doubt that Bernstein and Sondheim knew/know her. Like "Rock Lobster" her music is perfect at just the right moment in any party. It can kill the party sending unwanted guests into the night in search of The Violent Femmes, or it can elevate the hilarity to the level of one of Holly Go lightly's cocktail parties. When you play Yma Sumac for someone it separates the sheep from the goats or possibly the Llamas. Those who don't get it should not be invited back. What can anyone say about her voice? Big noise from Lima. (You know Bette has all her records if not her costumes.) The only singer I know that is even remotely similar vocally is Sarah Vaughn but really to make a Sumac you would need 3 voices. Maybe Louis Armstrong at the low end, Sarah in the middle and some unknown versatile yet piercing squeeze toy at the top end (I nominate Mariah Carey). And I have said nothing about the contribution Sumac made to the field of ethnomusicology.Probably that is best. On some of her liner notes the songs are described as long lost Inca melodies. I would not have thought the Incas were so big on heavy orchestration but their empire was vast including numerous volcanoes in need of pacification. In summation, the world is a far more tasteful place with the passing of Miss Yma Sumac, but she made her mark and I personally am glad to have witnessed it.
Adios fair Nightingale!
Alas for the passing of "The Nightingale of the Andes". There is absolutely nobody like her. She is at the pinnacle of kitsch. Those expensive Florida prints of flamingos framed in mirrored frames can't hold a candle to her.Knitted poodle bottle covers or even Kleenex dispensers are relegated to mere objects of pity in light of Yma Sumac's achievements. Sinatra elevates cheesy to sublime in his Rat Pack ring a ding ding period. Judy practically busts a gut to sell a song. But how on earth did the exquisitely absurd music of Yma Sumac come to be, let alone find an audience? Sprinkled around the world in far flung locations there are legions of Sumac fans. All of them have a wide streak of bad taste into which she snuggles sublimely. But she is so wonderfully bad that she is indeed good. I have no doubt that Bernstein and Sondheim knew/know her. Like "Rock Lobster" her music is perfect at just the right moment in any party. It can kill the party sending unwanted guests into the night in search of The Violent Femmes, or it can elevate the hilarity to the level of one of Holly Go lightly's cocktail parties. When you play Yma Sumac for someone it separates the sheep from the goats or possibly the Llamas. Those who don't get it should not be invited back. What can anyone say about her voice? Big noise from Lima. (You know Bette has all her records if not her costumes.) The only singer I know that is even remotely similar vocally is Sarah Vaughn but really to make a Sumac you would need 3 voices. Maybe Louis Armstrong at the low end, Sarah in the middle and some unknown versatile yet piercing squeeze toy at the top end (I nominate Mariah Carey). And I have said nothing about the contribution Sumac made to the field of ethnomusicology.Probably that is best. On some of her liner notes the songs are described as long lost Inca melodies. I would not have thought the Incas were so big on heavy orchestration but their empire was vast including numerous volcanoes in need of pacification. In summation, the world is a far more tasteful place with the passing of Miss Yma Sumac, but she made her mark and I personally am glad to have witnessed it.
Adios fair Nightingale!
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