Sanjuán is a type of music that has been a part of Ecuadorian culture for hundreds of years. When the term sanjuán was first coined it referred to either a song or dance performed at the festival of St. John. In modern times sanjuán is considered more of a genre closely associated with specific rhythms and the instrument which the Cotacachi Quichua call the Imbabura harp or the harp without pedals. This is a diatonic instrument meaning it is typically tuned to one particular scale and is not easily changed to another.
The harp has been present in the highlands of Ecuador for hundreds of years, originally brought over from spain by some of the first conquistadors, and then from Europe by missionaries as well. The Imbabura harp descends from 16th and 17th century Spanish harps and has remained unchanged for nearly 200 years and maybe longer.The Imbabura harp is common only to the Imbabura Province and would not be found in other parts of Ecuador where a larger type of harp is more common. The Imbabura harp is made of materials that are provided by their environment and readily available to the makers. It is common practice to play the treble part of the harp with the dominant hand and the bass part with the non-dominant hand.
A type of music closely associated, and often confused with sanjuán is the sanjuanito. Both are believed to have been danced at the winter solstice celebrations Inti Raymi of the Incas which happened to line up on the calendar with the Spanish festival known as St. John. The sanjuán is more traditional and is usually only heard in native Quechua communities. The sanjuanito on the other hand has become more main stream and can be heard all over Ecuador with a vast array of different instrumentations.
Pictures where gathered from the following sites
The harp has been present in the highlands of Ecuador for hundreds of years, originally brought over from spain by some of the first conquistadors, and then from Europe by missionaries as well. The Imbabura harp descends from 16th and 17th century Spanish harps and has remained unchanged for nearly 200 years and maybe longer.The Imbabura harp is common only to the Imbabura Province and would not be found in other parts of Ecuador where a larger type of harp is more common. The Imbabura harp is made of materials that are provided by their environment and readily available to the makers. It is common practice to play the treble part of the harp with the dominant hand and the bass part with the non-dominant hand.
A type of music closely associated, and often confused with sanjuán is the sanjuanito. Both are believed to have been danced at the winter solstice celebrations Inti Raymi of the Incas which happened to line up on the calendar with the Spanish festival known as St. John. The sanjuán is more traditional and is usually only heard in native Quechua communities. The sanjuanito on the other hand has become more main stream and can be heard all over Ecuador with a vast array of different instrumentations.
Pictures where gathered from the following sites
http://www.visitotavalo.com/?page_id=150&lang=en
http://old.musikochteatermuseet.se/samlingar/detalj.php?l=en&iid=1857&v=2008-06-17%2021:39:05&str=
Information gathered from our text Worlds of Music by Jeff Todd Titon as well as Wikipedia
http://old.musikochteatermuseet.se/samlingar/detalj.php?l=en&iid=1857&v=2008-06-17%2021:39:05&str=
Information gathered from our text Worlds of Music by Jeff Todd Titon as well as Wikipedia
Hi Miles, I'm looking for information on ways in which harps like these were of may have been used in court/chamber and church music in Latin America from the 16th through the 18th centuries (that is, as part of the basso-continuo section, or otherwise). I am a baroque harpsichordist researching a collaborative project with local Peruvian/Andean musicians in my area.
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