Track Listing

1. Taita Inty [Virgin of the Sun God]
2. Ataypura [High Andes]
3. Accla Taqui [Chant of the Chosen Maidens]
4. Tumpa [Earthquake Mix]
5. Choladas [Dance of the Moon Festival]
6. Wayra [Dance of the Winds]
7. Monos [Monkeys in the Jungle Mix]
8. Xtabay [Lure of the Unknown Love]
9. K'arawi [Planting Song]
10. Cumbe-Maita [Calls of the Andes]
11. Wak'al [Cry for You]
12. Incacho [Royal Anthem]
13. Chuncho [The Forest Creatures]
14. Llulla Mak'ta [Andean Don Juan]
15. Malaya! [My DeStiny]
16. Ripui [Farewell]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6726 in Music
• Released on: 1996-03-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered

Customer Reviews

One of the finest albums EVER!!!
I love this album. Not a bad track on it! This cd contains 2 complete 10" original lps from 1950 and 1953 respectively, Voice of the Xtabay and Inca Taqui. The highest note from a human voice can be heard on Chuncho (The Forest Creatures). High Andes! is a magnificent majestic piece of music so far ahead of it's time it's not true! The songs on this album are like cinema music for the mind...you hear the most spiritual profound sounds that have such incredible vibrancy and color...the range of the voice is unheard of, the music itself is masterful (from Moises Vivanco), and there is a reason why this album has never gone out of print in over 50 years! Buy it and hear for yourself what makes Yma so special!It's truly one of the best albums -ever-!!

A 50's cult hit lives on...and on.. because it's cool!
How ever did this exciting and exotic album see the light of day during the 50's? (You know, the era of Perry Como, Patty Paige, Dean Martin...all the sloopy, stringy-swoopy sounds of big orchestral pop hits with smooth crooning vocalists.) But this recording somehow caught the imagination of the times, perhaps as a crossover during a Latin music fad. However it came about, this CD has some of the most unusual and enjoyable songs. It's still in print--so it's gone from hit to cult.

Supposedly Yma Sumac is the daughter of the last remaining Inca King and was abducted by anthropologists, seduced by her five-octave range and incredible bird-like trills. As they fled down the mountains of the Andes with their prize, they were pursued by wildly angry natives, distraught over the loss of their Princess-Songbird (picture all this in black and white, like a B-grade movie.) Or, as some would have it, she's really Amy Camus, (Yma Sumac spelled backwards) a Jewish gal from Brooklyn with a fantastic schtick and a great voice. She is supposed to have written 5,000 songs and can sing coloratura opera. Her concerts still were selling out in the 80's, though she really was a 50's phenomenon.

What to believe? Is she Amy Camus of Brooklyn, or Yma Sumac, neé Zoila Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo of Peru? Well, I like fairy stories, so Yma Sumac is an Inca princess, and these are genuine songs of the lost people of the high Andes. Whatever...

Very Unusual And Incredible
This album is incredible. I am 15 years old, and a massive fan of hip-hop, RnB and pop, and yet this unusual indescribable album is incredible and I love it! The music and that stunning voice is completely in a league of its own. The songs are incredible; a heady mix of mambos, salsas and sambas along with steady and engaging beats. The voice itself has the 'stop you in your tracks to listen' effect as it is mesmerising and incredible; it truly has to be heard to be believed. The best song, by far in my opinion, is the incredible 'Chuncho'. The range, technique and beat in this song is unique; out-standing. This album is a musical and vocal masterpiece.