Talk:Yma Súmac
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography. For more information, visit the project page. | ||
| Start | This article has been rated as start-Class on the Project's quality scale. [FAQ] (If you rated the article, please give a short summary at comments to explain the ratings and/or to identify the strengths and weaknesses.) |
||
 |
This article is supported by WikiProject Musicians, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed biographical guide to musicians and musical groups on Wikipedia. | ||
 |
This article is supported by the Peru WikiProject.
This project provides a central approach to Peru-related subjects on Wikipedia. |
|
| B | This article has been rated as B-Class on the Project's quality scale. (If you rated the article please give a short summary at comments to explain the ratings and/or to identify the strengths and weaknesses.) |
|
Contents |
[edit] Birth year
An anoymous contributor recently changed the birth year from "1922?" to a confident 1927. I believe that this is a matter of no small controversy. I'd like to see some citations on birth year. - Jmabel | Talk 07:20, 28 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Range
There is no recorded evidence that Yma Sumac sings more than a whole tone outside of four octaves. A four-octave range is EXCEPTIONAL, and I wish we could start crediting her with this range instead of categorizing her range as this "somewhere between four and five octaves, depending on whether or not we count the last note as another octave" BS.
As cited, she hits her highest recorded note, the fourth C# above middle C, in "Chuncho." Conveniently, she hits the second B below middle C in the same song, cementing her range at just over four octaves. This low note is a bit breathy, but you can hear a clearer example of her chest register in "Incacho," the track just before, where she hits the first C# below middle C, exactly four octaves below the high note in "Chuncho."
This really could not be any more clear-cut. Five C#'s make four octaves. The end of the ruler barely going past 12" does not add another whole foot. Let's put this to rest, please. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Skotoseme (talk • contribs) 31 March 31 2006.
Then it begs the question; what about five-octave singers? Wiki credits Dame Julie Andrews with a five-octave voice and I don't recall Julie's voice reaching the heights that Either Ms Sumac or Maria Carey do, I am confused. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.38.182.251 (talk • contribs) 15 June 2006.
Definitely sounds fishy. I remember reading somewhere in print that Ms. Andrews had four octaves: the four C's she could hit equaled a four octave range, nevermind that four C's is actually just three octaves. These things get written by people with no real musical background and just stick. Remember Mariah Carey's published "seven octaves"? As deep as the lowest Russian concert bass and then stretching all the way up to an octave above the piano's range. Completely fabricated. Getting back to Yma, I think the three octave thing currently cited on the article is fair. The tessitura of most her songs only rarely lies more than a note or two outside of three octaves. Skotoseme | Talk
[edit] And again
This edit: bizarre. So as not to stir up controversy, you are changing this to an imprecise statement with a vague citation made only in the edit summary? - Jmabel | Talk 19:40, 4 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Birthplace/Name Hoax
References or more information is sorely needed regarding the "hoax" that she is Amy Camus from Brooklyn or Canada. I suggest removing that line or changing it from hoax to rumor. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Xee (talk • contribs) 18 April 2006.
For those who are familiar with the quechua, this is very simple Yma Sumac means pretty flower, a lot of peruvian singers use a stage name in quechua. So there is no reason to believe that she is Amy Camus
- I think I understand what you are saying, but I'm not sure. Are you saying that we should not call it a "hoax" unless there is a clear perpetrator? Or are you saying something else? Because, clearly, she is Peruvian. - Jmabel | Talk 17:45, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
-
- IMDB may not be an authoritative source, but they claim the following: "An urban legend that she is really "Amy Camus," a nice Jewish girl from Brooklyn, originated in 1951 with a joke amoungst musicians repeated in one of Walter Winchell's gossip columns." Burschik 06:53, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
- This is also the version given at her homepage. And see also this alleged letter. Burschik 07:04, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
According to my sources, "Yma Sumac" means "Que lindo!" or "How beautiful!" In current Quechua orthography in Peru, this would be "Ima Sumac." "Pretty flower" would be "sumac t'kika". Cuhihuamán, Diccionario Quechua Cuzco-Collao, 2001, p. 47, 103, 170. Interlingua 14:55, 21 May 2006 (UTC)
The point is that the citation for "hoax" is simply Yma Sumac's homepage, and thus a poor citation. Either improve it or remove it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 207.118.25.183 (talk • contribs) 19 September 2006.
- I'm sorry, I'm still not following this. Can you indicate what you think this should say? I can't tell at all how much of this you think should be removed. Certainly the rumor existed. Certainly it was false. Is your problem just with the word "hoax", or what? - Jmabel | Talk 06:28, 22 September 2006 (UTC)
There is apparently a 1992 German documentary Yma Sumac: Hollywood's Inca Princess that gets into this matter, if anyone cares to track it down. I gather that it also would be a good source for more biographical detail on her career. - Jmabel | Talk 06:31, 22 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Spelling
What is the basis for writing her name in an English-language encyclopedia as "Yma Súmac" rather than "Yma Sumac"? Isn't it almost universally written without the accent in the English-speaking world? -- Jmabel | Talk 00:49, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Providing vocals for Disney's "Sleeping Beauty"
I believe this is a mistake, caused by her 1988 contribution to the Disney Cover album "Stay Awake", doing a good (but not better) covering of Mary Costa's 1958 Princess Aurora vocals for the original animated film. (John Stubberud, Oslo, Norway)
