Lautraro Ñi Pülli ('The Ghost of Lautaro')
Flute (doubling piccolo, alto flute, and ethnic drum) and Cello (scordatura, B-G-D-A), including spoken and sung text. BSM0023.
Duration: 13:00
Mapudungún Text by Leonel Lienlaf, used by permission. Mapudungún pronunciation guide complete with IPA is available in the score.
Commissioned by the Cafe MoMus ensemble at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.
Description
Lautraro Ñi Pülli (‘The Ghost of Lautaro’) is a dramatic work for flute (doubling piccolo, alto flute, ethnic drum) and cello. It depicts the struggle for freedom of the Mapuche peoples of Chile upon the arrival of the Spanish conquest. The leader of the Mapuche resistance was named Lautaro. He had been a prisoner of the Spanish and was able to learn their war tactics. Upon his escape, he was able to rally a large force of Mapuche warriors who fought for freedom from Spanish tyranny. During the decisive Battle of Maquito, Lautaro was killed and the balance of power in the War of Arauco tipped in favor of the Spanish. This work incorporates a poem by living Mapuche poet Leonel Lienlaf that depicts the stature of this great warrior and the reverence the Chilean people have for their general 400+ years after his failed attempt at freedom. To depict this drama, the players are not only asked to perform very difficult music on their instruments, but they must also deliver a text in the original Mapudungún language by singing, sprechstimme-ing, whispering, and shouting.
