Peru: Folklore and Mythology

There is something quite bizarre about the presentation of these field recordings, made in Lima, Puno, Cuzco, Ay a cucho and Amazonia in the 70s, which testify to the vitality of local Peruvian music. While anyone who goes to Peru today knows it is still possible to happen upon such music in the right place at the right time, the music captured here has particular beauty and presence. The recordings which frame the disc were apparently made by Serge de Bru, a 29-year-old French man who in September 1970 disappeared in the Peruvian Amazon. His body and those of his two companions have never been recovered and their disappearance while trying to find the mythical golden city of ‘El Dorado’ has never been solved.

His recordings, given to the guide who last saw him alive, are used to dramatic effect by producer François Jouffa to frame his own slightly later recordings. They are of great quality and vibrancy. Sadly, however, the documentation is woefully incomplete and romantically mythologising in its own way. As the Smithsonian Institute, among others, has brought out well-documented landmark Peruvian recordings, one measures everything against them. So yes, buy this disc if you like to listen to intriguing local music of hitherto unknown musicians and communities, but look elsewhere for background information, as the notes are self-indulgently random.