Context: the evolving Mapuche imaginary

Chile has historically both exalted and demonized the Mapuche people, from the stereotype of a ‘heroic and invincible people’ – endlessly reproduced since the publication of La Araucana by Alonso de Ercilla – to the idea of a ‘savage, drunken, and unproductive people’ fostered by some authors in the second half of the nineteenth century, at a time when German colonization and the Chilean economic development model opposed the subsistence economy that the Mapuche people had maintained for centuries.Footnote ⁸

This oscillation between admiration and rejection has occurred at multiple moments in Chilean history – for example, in the post-independence context during the first part of the nineteenth century, when there was an instrumentalization of the Mapuche imaginary in a phenomenon that Andrea Larroucau has characterized as a process of construction of the ‘Arauco Myth’.Footnote ⁹ This involved a process of heroification of the virtues of the ancient inhabitants of Arauco and the appropriation of this narrative by the local elite with the objective of differentiating themselves from the Spanish colonial tradition. This process of exalting the Mapuche inevitably transforms them into a rhetorical tool,Footnote ¹⁰ a discursive object that nourishes the interests of the dominant elite of the time, inspiring emblems, hymns, and the construction of a nationalist rhetoric.Footnote ¹¹

In the early twentieth century, European racial paradigms began to influence Latin America, including Chile. By around 1902, Benjamín Vicuña Subercaseaux was already referring to the ‘practical and sober character of the Chilean race’, attributing to it the psychological traits of ‘selflessness, sobriety, and a warrior spirit’.Footnote ¹² According to Bernardo Subercaseaux, the use of the term ‘Chilean race’ emerged during the so-called ‘War of the Pacific’ (1879–1884), a period in which this term circulated in newspapers and magazines of the time. Over the years, it came to reflect a Chilean reception of racial theories and social Darwinism originating in Europe and promoted by authors such as Arthur de Gobineau (1816–1882), Gustave Vacher de Lapouge (1854–1936), and Gustave Le Bon (1841–1931) – one of the most widely read authors in Latin America, who laid the foundations for a new discipline known as ‘psicología social’ (social psychology). Within this framework, races are not only defined by biological components but are also understood to possess a distinct mental constitution – a ‘soul’ – manifested in various intellectual and moral characteristics that shape the development of a people.Footnote ¹³ Thus, the idea of race as an ethnic base on which to build a new nation began to spread in Chile: a set of characteristics that, when brought together, allowed for the unity of a culturally diverse population.

In that context, the most prominent work is the 1904 book authored by Nicolás Palacios titled Raza chilena: libro escrito por un chileno y para los chilenos (Chilean Race: A Book Written by and for Chileans), in which he presents his idea of a race formed by the conjunction of two warlike races: the Goths (represented by the Spanish conquerors) and the ‘Araucans’ (Mapuche people). Palacios argued that the Chilean was a ‘biologically and psychologically consolidated’ race, distinct from other mixed-race populations. He further posited that it was a patriarchal race, characterized by virility, a warrior spirit, and a conquering nature, in stark contrast to matriarchal races, which he viewed as submissive and feminine.Footnote ¹⁴ In his quest to emphasize the patriarchal and masculine nature of the Chilean race, Palacios defends the ‘Araucans’ and their indomitable spirit, confronting the elite’s perspective on the Mapuche people and further contributing to the construction of a national narrative that incorporates and appreciates the Mapuche people.

It is important to note that the publication of Palacios’s book sparked a vigorous debate within both the Chilean public sphere and the country’s intellectual circles at the time. Various authors, such as Ricardo Latcham with his 1912 article Elementos indígenas de la raza chilena (Indigenous Elements of the Chilean Race),Footnote ¹⁵ and Tomás Guevara with his 1905 work El libro ‘Raza Chilena’ y sus referencias sobre el sur (The Book ‘Chilean Race’ and Its References to the South), criticized and nuanced several of Palacios’s claims. In this regard, it is worth emphasizing that Tomás Guevara holds particular significance for Carlos Lavín, due to his direct influence on both Lavín’s academic writings and his musical output.Footnote ¹⁶

Drawing upon works by Guevara – such as Historia de la civilización de Araucanía (1898–1902), Psicolojía [sic] del pueblo araucano (1908), and Folklore araucano: refranes, cuentos, cantos, procedimientos industriales, costumbres prehispanas (1911) – Lavín found thematic inspiration for the creation of his composition Mythes Araucans, and incorporated transcriptions of traditional songs collected by Guevara. An example of this influence can be observed in 1928, when Lavín published a fragment of the suite Tres Cantos Araucanos: Lamentations Huilliches in issue no. 3 of Música Ilustración Iberoamericana, a journal based in Barcelona. The excerpt, titled Kontentan (Fatality), attributes the transcription of the original Mapudungun text to ‘M.T. Guevara’ and its adaptation into French by Émile Damais.Footnote ¹⁷

Musically, this period is widely characterized by Latin American composers’ turn towards the folkloric elements of their respective nations, driven by nationalist and/or indigenist sentiments. In the Chilean musical context, composers such as Carlos Isamitt and Pedro Humberto Allende served as significant inspirations for Lavín. Their collaborative efforts have left an indelible mark on the traditional musical historiographical narrative, positioning them as modernizing agents of the local musical tradition by synthesizing folklore, elements of Indigenous cultures, and cosmovision with elements of modern music.Footnote ¹⁸

We argue that the notion of belonging, underlying the concept of musical indigenism during this period, should be critically examined. In the Chilean context, the definition provided by Vicente Salas Viu, who described it as a ‘marriage between musical creation and aboriginal music’,Footnote ¹⁹ is commonly employed at the time. Nevertheless, we find this definition to be overly simplistic. Although, in a very reductive and synthetic way, indigenism is a movement that places the Indigenous peoples at the centre of the debate, it is crucial to question this dynamic by asking who positions the Indigenous peoples in this central role and for what purpose.Footnote ²⁰ The composer’s interest in engaging with Indigenous populations and preserving their traditions may stem from a ‘decadent perspective’, which prioritizes the rescue of the last ‘pure’ and original elements of these peoples before they are lost to mestizaje and Western influence.

It is crucial to critically examine the power dynamics between researchers and collectors and the Mapuche people, especially given that the Mapuche were undergoing a process of assimilation by the Chilean state, which involved exploitation, discrimination, and impoverishment. This extended a view of Indigenous peoples as a new resource, not natural but cultural, a form of cultural capital belonging to Chileans that could be exploited for the (re)construction of a national identity. Meanwhile, Mapuche organizations were actively engaged in the struggle for recognition of their rights. Groups like the Caupolicán Society were working towards a respectful integration into Chilean society.Footnote ²¹

In this context, it also becomes crucial to examine and analyse the Indigenous imaginaries of these musicians, as they are deeply intertwined with power dynamics in their different manifestations, and they serve as vehicles for obtaining and maintaining legitimacy.Footnote ²² To further explore these issues, it is essential to understand the motivations and imaginaries that these composers had about the Mapuche people, including Lavín.

Carlos Lavín: ‘the scientist’s focus and the artist’s sensitivity’

Carlos Lavín was a musicologist and musician born in 1883. His biographical narrative has always characterized him as a man not only with an artistic interest, but also with a scientific drive, linked to folklore, musicology, and the arts in general. This latter aspect led him to develop a career focused on the study of different Chilean cultures and traditions.

Lavín’s scholarly pursuits began with his self-directed study of the available literature on the Mapuche. His journey into this field was significantly influenced by a visit to Valdivia, in the south of Chile, in 1907, where his encounter with Manuel Aburto Panguilef’s Araucanian Song and Dance Company sparked a deep and lasting interest in the subject.Footnote ²³ In 1922, Lavín broadened his research to European institutions, working in various research centres in both Germany and France. There, he received training from renowned scholars such as Marcel Mauss at the Sorbonne University and Erich von Hornbostel at the University of Berlin. It was at the latter institution that he gained access to the Phonographic Archive of the Berlin Psychology Laboratory, where he conducted his research on Mapuche music through a comparative study of the music cylinders preserved there. Among the sources used by Lavín, we can point out the collection of the researcher Robert Lehmann-Nitsche, who made recordings of popular and Indigenous music in Argentina between the years 1905 and 1909.Footnote ²⁴ In that same laboratory, Lavín had access to the phonographic records of the Capuchin missionary Félix José de Augusta,Footnote ²⁵ which date back to 1911 and were collected in the surroundings of Panguipulli.Footnote ²⁶

In Lavín’s articles, we can observe the influence of comparative musicology through the study, transcription, and analysis of some of the aforementioned recordings, following the methodology and theoretical approach employed by Erich von Hornbostel. According to the perspective of Hornbostel, history was understood as a slow and continuous process marked by the evolution of societies, in which ‘each cultural region had experienced unique evolutionary processes leading, at an ultimate stage, to the development of musical, cultural, and racial idiosyncrasies’.Footnote ²⁷ In this sense, we consider Hornbostel to be an author influenced by various thinkers who contributed to the development and expansion of the theory of social Darwinism proposed by Herbert Spencer. This theory is characterized by applying the principles of Darwin’s theory of evolution of species to different human societies with the aim of classifying and describing the evolution of cultures and civilizations from a Eurocentric model that considers the technical, social, and religious behaviours of Europeans to be more evolved.Footnote ²⁸ This is stated, for example, in one of Hornbostel’s articles entitled ‘Die Probleme der vergleichenden Musikwissenschaft’ (The problems of comparative musicology, 1905), where he quotes Spencer and Darwin:

In the musical field, Lavín was seen by his contemporaries as a key figure in introducing modernism to Chilean music. A defender of the Impressionist and Expressionist currents, he was strongly influenced by European composers, particularly Claude Debussy, whose work he often referenced in his writings. Lavín’s worksFootnote ³⁰ were well received at the time, and his style was defined as a ‘primitivist fantasy’Footnote ³¹ by the Chilean composer and musicologist Jorge Urrutia Blondel (1905–1981), who met Lavín and had the opportunity to interact with him during his time in Paris. Urrutia Blondel was one of the critics who most meticulously analysed his work. In 1967, in a special issue of Revista Musical Chilena exclusively dedicated to Lavín, he introduced him as follows: ‘The multifaceted, inexhaustible, almost astonishing activity of Carlos Lavín in various fields of research, especially in that of Indigenous and folkloric music of Chile, was so intense that it overshadowed and limited his career as a creative musician.’Footnote ³² It is important to highlight that Lavín was a musical autodidact, as stated by Urrutia Blondel, who saw this as one of his most interesting traits but also his ‘most significant limitation’.Footnote ³³

In the 1920s, the press highly valued and recognized Lavín’s musical endeavours. This was particularly true following the publication of his works Mythes Araucans and Suite Andine by the French publisher Max Eschig, dedicated to twentieth-century music.Footnote ³⁴ This international publication allowed Lavín to establish a reputation among Chilean composers and in the eyes of the national press. Zig-Zag magazine declared in 1928 that Lavín was ‘the most distinctive of Chilean composers’;Footnote ³⁵ concerning his publication by Max Eschig, it added:

The press would also highlight his scientific work, adding: ‘It can be said of him that he is the first American to have placed Indigenous and Creole musical art in a purely scientific perspective that allows for the revelation of its aesthetic significance’.Footnote ³⁷ In doing so, the press downplayed the contributions and research on Indigenous and Creole music carried out in other parts of the Americas – for example, the work of Daniel Alomía Robles, Pedro Traversari, and Ramón de la Plaza, among many other scholarly endeavours of the period, which are also clearly present and significant in Lavín’s own output. This emphasis reveals the Chilean press’s interest in portraying him as both a musically accomplished and scientifically pioneering figure.

Carlos Lavín and the theory of bipartite tonal organization

Among Lavín’s numerous musicological works, we will delve primarily into three key publications: ‘La musique des Araucans’, featured in La Revue musicale (1925); ‘La musique en Amérique Latine’, published in La Guide du Concert (1925); and ‘El cromatismo en la música indígena sudamericana’, presented in the Gaceta Musical de Paris (1928–1929).Footnote ³⁸ In these writings, Lavín outlines his theories on the tonal bipartition of Latin American peoples and presents his vision of the Mapuche people. Lavín’s most popular work is the article ‘La musique des Araucans’. In this publication, the Mapuche people are presented as follows:

Two elements stand out when reading this presentation of the Mapuche people. The first, and most evident, is the representation of the Mapuche people as warriors. This is a clear reflection of the Araucanian myth of Ercilla, incorporating the Mapuche people’s historical resistance against the Inca Empire as a significant theme.

During this same period, composers in Argentina, Peru, and Ecuador turned towards Inca culture, creating performances that featured an idealized and romanticized Indigenous figure. These performances presented a reconstructed image of a mythical Indian from a pre-colonial past that no longer existed.Footnote ⁴⁰ The idea of an all-powerful Inca race was part of a reconstructed imaginary at the time. It is no coincidence that Lavín attempted to elevate the Mapuche people by contrasting them with the Inca Empire, emphasizing their ability to resist foreign invasions.

The second interesting element is the inscription of this people within a paradisiacal landscape; the Mapuche are characterized as inhabitants of virgin forests and perpetually snow-capped mountains, comparing the southern part of Chilean territory to Switzerland. Lavín emphasizes how landscapes can determine certain aspects of the Araucanian race. In this sense, the climatic characteristics of the national territory are a particularly important element for the positivist paradigm. Since at least the eighteenth century, writers such as Georges-Louis Leclerc (1707–1788) and Cornelius de Pauw (1739–1799) have considered that the American tropical climate generates lazy humans in contrast with cold climates, characteristic of hardworking and rational races.Footnote ⁴¹ Following this logic, Lavín makes a comparison to show their similarities, with the aim of uniting Chile and Europe based on climatic characteristics, harmonizing the industrious character of its inhabitants and the virility bequeathed by a warlike history, in a discourse that seeks to racially whiten the characteristics of the Chilean people and differentiate them from the inhabitants of other nations.Footnote ⁴² This vision and propaganda of Chilean territory is not merely a whim of Lavín’s, but rather an idea that is part of an imaginary shared by a sector of Chilean institutions at the time. For example, in 1929, in the context of the Ibero-American Exposition of Seville, the following curatorial text was presented at the Chilean pavilion: ‘The exceptionally benign climatic conditions of Chile, comparable to those of the most favoured regions of central and southern Europe, are admirably suited for the development of the white race’.Footnote ⁴³

As previously mentioned, evolutionary and Darwinian theories were widely circulated in the intellectual circles frequented by Lavín, and it is not surprising that many of his representations are also connected to race theorists such as Herbert Spencer. Spencer himself refers to and characterizes the Mapuche people in his work ‘The Comparative Psychology of Man’ (1876) in the following way: ‘Men of some inferior types, as the Mapuché [sic], are ungovernable; while those of other types, no higher in grade, not only submit to restraint, but admire the persons exercising it’.Footnote ⁴⁴

On the other hand, the idea that race is a confluence of elements shaped by the landscape in which different human groups live, can be traced back to the eighteenth-century philosophy of Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744–1803). For Herder, race is a confluence of genetic elements, landscape, and a people’s history.Footnote ⁴⁵ What is particularly interesting in this case is that Herder, in his Ideas for a Philosophy of the History of Mankind, also offers a description of both the Incas and the Mapuche people:

For Herder, the aforementioned factors also determine the expressive character of human beings. This character is an instinctive reflection of humankind in relation to its nature and existential condition, constituting a language that allows for the creation of a bond with the community. This language includes the different artistic expressions of a people, among them music.Footnote ⁴⁷ As will be seen later, Lavín’s academic work demonstrates an extensive use of this logic of thought.

In this manner, the aforementioned ideas and the method employed by Lavín align with the comparative musicological approach of his time. This is evident in his articles, where he compares and classifies different Indigenous peoples of the Americas based on their perceived level of development. In his 1925 article ‘La musique en Amérique Latine’, Lavín analyses various South American Indigenous musical traditions according to their degrees of evolution and states the following:

Lavín classifies the Inca and Aztec empires as the most evolved races. He then places the Chibcha peoples of Colombia, the Nahua and Quiché of Central America, and the Guaraní of Brazil and Paraguay at an intermediate level of culture. Finally, he situates the Araucans of Chile and Argentina, the Chiriguanos of Argentina, and the Cumanagotos of Venezuela at the lowest degree of civilization. According to Lavín, the advantage of these less influenced races is the supposed preservation of their primitive musical forms, undegenerated by miscegenation. These peoples would possess musical practices corresponding to an ‘original racial purity’:

Miscegenation is the key factor that supports the theory of tonal bipartition, as, according to Lavín, from California in the north to Colombia and Venezuela in the south, it is not possible to find intact Indigenous music of the populations that inhabited the area, since these have been ‘covered and disarticulated by the Gothic bimodalityFootnote ⁵⁰ imposed by the rigour of Catholic missionaries’.Footnote ⁵¹ Based on this idea, Lavín draws a geographical delimitation that is both racial and musical; a delimitation that will confront and differentiate two groups composed of a set of Indigenous peoples: on the one hand, the ‘Andean races’ and on the other, the so-called ‘Pampean races’. The former would occupy mostly the elevated and coastal territories of the republics of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia, while the latter would be located in the jungles and plains of all the other countries. For Lavín, this territorial and racial division also represents a ‘spiritual’ differentiation determined by elements belonging to the history and character of these peoples. For example, when defining the character of the Andean populations, Lavín explains:

In contrast to this population, the character and history of resistance of the Pampean groups, are described as follows:

Regarding the character of races and Lavín’s perspective on them, it is important to see how racial, geographical, and historical aspects converge in his theory. The Pampa and the Andes will influence the behaviour and character of their inhabitants. Lavín uses this type of logic in his writings, mentioning that the expressive development of Latin American Indigenous people is determined by their relationship with nature. For example, when characterizing the Tehuelches and comparing them with the Mapuche people, he comments:

Lavín constructs his theory by contrasting two racial groups: the Andean natives, characterized by resignation and submission, who express themselves through pentatonic music, and the Pampean natives, known for their warlike and free spirit, who primarily use a chromatic musical language. The differentiation in the character of these two races is central to Lavín’s theory, which describes the musical character of the Andean and Pampean races in the following way:

For Lavín, the structure and character of the supposed Inca music, more akin to the European ear due to its five degrees of just intonation, would suggest the descent and sinking into a structure that excludes modulation, exaltation and ‘frenzy’, thus determining and/or expressing the character of the Andean race:

In contrast, the Pampean race demands a concordance between music and word, a predominance of rhythm, and a sound organization that requires ‘virtuosity, a constructive spirit, and very often improvisation’.Footnote ⁵⁷ Finally, Lavín concludes:

Regarding this, Lavín emphasizes that the Mapuche people, among all the Pampean peoples, are the ones who achieved a more advanced degree of social and artistic development, highlighting especially the Tehuelche people as true ‘troubadours of this race’ and possessors of a ‘disconcerting fantasy’, giving us the transcription in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

In Carlos Lavín, ‘El cromatismo en la música indígena sudamericana’ (April 1928), 25.

Lavín seems to have based his theory on the musicological observations of three authors: Ramón de la Plaza, and Raoul and Marguerite d’Harcourt. Ramón de la Plaza, influenced by Darwinist and positivist theories,Footnote ⁵⁹ concludes from a musical and organological analysis that there are two predominant races in Latin America: the Mongoloid race (of Asian origin) and the Semitic race (of Egyptian origin), placing the Quichuas as representatives of the Semitic race. De la Plaza contrasts this musical structure of Semitic origin with a musical order based on chromaticism,Footnote ⁶⁰ which would manifest itself above all in the tribes of the ‘Caribe Tamanaco family’, more precisely in the Cumanagotos and Goajiro peoples, who possess a musical and racial link with the Patagonians of the southern zone of Argentina and Chile; compare the transcripts in Figure 2.

Figure 2.

De la Plaza, Ensayo sobre el arte en Venezuela, 65.

Additionally, we can refer to the d’Harcourts’, La musique des Incas et ses survivances (1925).Footnote ⁶¹ This work includes a brief discussion of the Mapuche people, based on the transcription of ten phonograms recorded by Félix de Augusta, and offers the following remarks:

Given the influence of De la Plaza and the d’Harcourts, Lavín’s ideas about chromaticism as a constitutive element of the Pampean races becomes easier to trace. However, Lavín goes a step further by revaluing the sonic imagery of the Mapuche people, aligning it more closely with European modern musical expressions. He argues that the Araucanian, Chiriguano, and Cumanagoto peoples, due to their expressive quality, could be considered as ‘the modernists’ of Indigenous America: ‘Araucans, Chiriguanos and Cumanagotos use a very bold, very expressive chromaticism, which resists all tonal systematization; they are in short the modernists of Indian America’.Footnote ⁶³

The use of the terms ‘modernism’ and ‘resistance’ is essential for understanding Lavín’s ideas regarding the Mapuche people. Historically, the Mapuche resisted both the Inca Empire and the Spanish conquistadors. According to Lavín’s perspective, the expressive character of the Pampean peoples – among them the Mapuche – constitutes a form of ‘expressive resistance’ that even escapes miscegenation, representing ‘purity’ and ‘authenticity’. This raises the question: how can such a character be represented musically? In Lavín’s view, the only means of capturing this resistance is through the expressive resources offered by modern music.

Upon returning to Chile from his European studies, Lavín continued his research. In 1954, he contributed a short article to the Pro Arte magazine titled ‘Los araucanos siguen bien . . . impresiones de una fiesta de la raza’ (The Araucanians are still doing well . . . impressions of a race festival). In this article, he focuses on the enduring presence of the Mapuche people.Footnote ⁶⁴ He also describes that on that occasion assemblies were held and the different representatives of the Mapuche people were able to present their petitions and aspirations to the authorities, more precisely the Minister of Finance and Economy, Guillermo del Pedregal. Regarding the petitions of the Mapuche people, Lavín does not give us information, but he describes in detail the physical appearance of the attendees, highlighting the strength and virility of the men:

Carlos Lavín’s discourse notably emphasizes the virile aspect of the Mapuche people. This highlights masculinity and virility as central themes in the discursive representation of the Mapuche, which also influences the composition of their music, as we will see later.

Next, we will carry out a musical analysis focused on identifying the features exposed in Lavín’s theory of tonal bipartition – that is, the identification of pentatonic scales or chromatic elements in the aforementioned works. In addition, we will establish connections that shed light on the influences and various sources in dialogue with his musical output.

Suite Andine: confluence between the Andean and Impressionism

Suite Andine is composed of three movements: ‘L’Aube’, ‘La Sieste’, and ‘Paysage Lunaire’. The first movement, ‘The Dawn’, begins with the introduction of several four-note clusters built from major second and perfect fourth intervals (chords in bars 1, 2, and 4 of Figure 3). This chord progression is based on the D major pentatonic scale. If we harmonize the notes of this scale, we obtain the chords in bars 1, 4, and the D9 chord in bar 5, which functions as the tonal centre of the section. The chord in bar 2 (composed of G¹–A¹–C²–D²), on the other hand, can be understood as the result of a parallel motion of the chord in bar 1. In this way, the chord sequence first descends directly, then ‘diatonically’, through the notes of the pentatonic scale – that is, from A¹, through G¹, then E¹ and D¹ – before reaching bar 6.

Figure 3.

Carlos Lavín, ‘L’Aube’, Suite Andine pour piano (Paris: Editions Max Eschig, 1929), bars 1–6.

Figure 3 Long description

Sheet music for piano featuring a grand staff with treble and bass clefs. The time signature is 3 over 4. The piece includes five measures. Measure 1: Right hand plays a sequence of eighth notes starting with E, G, and B, accented, with a forte dynamic. Left hand plays a chord with pedal marking. Measure 2: Right hand continues with eighth notes, including a slur and dynamic change to mezzo piano. Left hand maintains chordal accompaniment with pedal. Measure 3: Right hand plays accented eighth notes, transitioning to fortissimo. Left hand continues with chords and pedal. Measure 4: Right hand features a mix of eighth and quarter notes, accented, with a crescendo. Left hand sustains chords with pedal. Measure 5: Right hand concludes with accented eighth notes and a fermata. Left hand ends with a chord and pedal. The phrase ‘en retenant toujours’ indicates a tempo change. The octave indication ‘8va’ applies to the treble staff, raising the pitch by an octave.

The use of pentatonism has been a constitutive element of Andean musical language for Lavín and other composers. Since the late nineteenth century, the rediscovery of Andean music has aroused great interest among composers from various countries. According to Julio Mendívil, it was the composer José Castro who proposed that the pentatonic scale was legacy of the Inca past.Footnote ⁶⁶ This idea was disseminated primarily through the work of Daniel Alomía Robles and the research of the d’Harcourts, turning the scale into a central element in the construction of musical topoi associated with the Andes.Footnote ⁶⁷ However, the pentatonic scale is also a key characteristic of the Impressionist aesthetic of the early twentieth century, particularly in the music of Debussy, who found in Oriental music and anhemitonic scales an exotic sound source to explore. In this sense, Lavín’s use of the pentatonic scale resonates both with the foundations of the (re)imagined Andean music of the time and with the Impressionist musical aesthetic.

For example, in addition to the previously described ‘pentatonic clusters’, we find the chords in bars 3 and 6 of Example 3, which result from the harmonization of the hexatonic scale. The harmonization of the whole-tone scale was also studied and applied by Lavín. In 1915, he published an article titled ‘Los músicos ultra-modernos’ (The Ultra-Modern Musicians) in Revista El Pacífico, where he discussed the Impressionist aesthetic, the search for a harmonic emotion beyond tradition, and the use of the whole-tone scale:

Another stylistic element employed by Lavín is the use of ostinati, a technique prevalent in both suites. In ‘L’Aube’, for instance, there is a prominent ostinato consisting of two melodic patterns that spans forty-one bars (see Figure 4).

Figure 4.

Carlos Lavín, ‘L’Aube’, Suite Andine, bars 7 and 8.

The rhythmic inspiration for this section appears to be rooted in the yaraví, a genre with origins in the Incaic Harawi songs. The d’Harcourts’ collection of Indigenous and mestizo melodies from Peru and Ecuador includes the Yupayciska, documented by Marcos Jiménez de la Espada in 1881. This piece presents a yaraví in 3/4 whose description indicates the following:

When consulting the original manuscript, we observe the following note: ‘With this yaraví, the Indians of the haciendas immediately adjacent to Quito sing the Aldivino every feast day at three in the morning’.Footnote ⁷⁰ This provides a clue about the title of this work. If we continue examining the work of the d’Harcourts, we also find traditional dances in 6/8 time with rhythmic accompaniment in quavers, such as El Yumbo, which closely resemble the rhythm used in the ostinati of this section (see Figure 5).

Figure 5.

El Yumbo (Baile de los danzantes), bars 1 and 2. Collection Jiménez de la Espada (66. P.XIX), in d’Harcourt, La musique des Incas, 535.

Regarding the reception of the first movement of the Suite Andine, the Revista Musical Chilena published an article written by Jorge Urrutia Blondel entitled ‘Carlos Lavín, Composer’ (1967), in which he offers a detailed analysis of Lavín’s work. With reference to the first movement, ‘L’Aube’, Urrutia describes its opening as ‘cardboard-like in its rigidity, conventionalism, and extreme simplicity’.Footnote ⁷¹ He goes on to characterize the ostinato as a ‘type of obstinate bass, which turns out to be of an exaggerated immobility to suggest the changing beauty of dawn’.Footnote ⁷²

The second movement of Lavín’s Suite Andine begins with an evocative title, ‘La Sieste’ (The Nap), likely a nod to Debussy’s Prelude à l’apres-midi d’un faune. The aesthetics of dreams and distant lands are central to Lavín’s impressionistic approach in this work. He employs a pianistic technique that eschews traditional harmony, focusing instead on vertical development. In this context, chords and their movements become the primary protagonists.

At the beginning of the score, there is an indication that reads: Comme une guitare, au loin (Like a guitar, in the distance). It is important to note that the guitar symbolizes the criollo, the popular world, mestizaje, and the alterity of the gaucho.Footnote ⁷³ Lavín evokes the guitar on the piano, reflected in the logic of the chords he employs: in the right hand, these chords consist of four notes at a time, while for the left hand, two notes are played per chord – mimicking the motion of the right-hand thumb on the guitar, which typically alternates between two notes separated by perfect fourths or fifths.

The Impressionist influence in ‘La Sieste’ is also perceived in its harmony, characterized by the use of ninth, thirteenth, and suspended chords that give a sense of modal indeterminacy and move by parallel motion, much like a chord sliding along the neck of a guitar. Parallel motion is, moreover, a technique frequently used by the Impressionists, which Michel Fleury characterizes as ‘chord melody’.Footnote ⁷⁴ Lavín adopts this technique to evoke the sound of a traditional Latin American and Spanish guitar, restricting the piece’s composition to the capabilities of an imagined guitar. The piece also incorporates harmonizations and fragments of the ‘atonal scale’ described by Lavín. For instance, in bar 6 and bars 8–9, we can find chords based on the hexatonic scale (see Figure 6).

Figure 6.

Carlos Lavín, ‘La Sieste’, Suite Andine, bars 5–10.

Figure 6 Long description

Piano grand staff excerpt in standard five-line notation, laid out as two systems. Top system: Tempo text Un peu retenu is printed above the upper staff. The upper staff begins with a treble clef, a key signature of four flats, and a time signature of 2 over 2. The first notated event is a chord in the upper staff, followed by a single note later in the measure. Dynamic markings appear below the upper staff: ff near the opening chord, then p near the later single note. The lower staff begins with a bass clef, the same key signature of four flats, and the same time signature of 2 over 2. The lower staff shows repeated beamed notes grouped in threes, with slur marks under each group. A clef change to treble clef appears at the end of the first system in the lower staff. In the next measures of the top system, the upper staff shows repeated chord shapes. A pp marking is printed below the upper staff at the start of this section. The lower staff continues the repeated beamed-note groups with slurs. In the rightmost measure of the top system, the upper staff shows another chord with an accidental on one note. A p marking is printed below the upper staff. The lower staff continues the beamed-note groups, including a note with an accidental in one group. Second system: A measure number 8 is printed at the left margin. The upper staff continues with chord shapes similar to the previous system. The lower staff continues the repeated beamed-note groups with slurs, including notes with accidentals in some groups. In the middle of the second system, the upper staff shows another chord section with a ppp marking printed below the upper staff. The lower staff continues the same beamed-note pattern with slurs. Near the right side of the second system, a tempo text Au mov! is printed above the upper staff. A bass clef appears at the start of this right-side section in the upper staff, and the upper staff shows a chord followed by another chord with accidentals. A p marking is printed below the upper staff. The lower staff continues the repeated beamed-note groups with slurs, including notes with accidentals in the final groups.

The final movement of Lavín’s suite, ‘Paysage Lunaire’ (Lunar Landscape), is the most extensive and technically demanding. It features a series of ascending and descending arpeggios, chained together to create a motif with Lydian characteristics, giving the piece a brilliant character, as the composer notes in the score: Brillant et clair (Brilliant and clear).Footnote ⁷⁵ This contrasts with a slower middle section that explores minor and diminished chords, as well as hexatonic scale fragments, offering a moment of respite from the brilliance of the opening section.

After a brief pause, a new section in 2/4 begins, with the indication rapide, and composed of a series of sixteenth-note septuplet arpeggios. In this passage (Figure 7), Lavín indicates flottant while using a five-note pattern (D–F–G–A–B) in both the treble and bass clefs. This collection, however, does not correspond to the traditional D minor pentatonic scale (D–F–G–A–C). Furthermore, in bar 180, Lavín freely incorporates fragments of the hexatonic scale to solidify his flottant effect.

Figure 7.

Carlos Lavín, ‘Paysage Lunaire’, Suite Andine, bars 179–82.

Figure 7 Long description

Two-system excerpt of musical notation on a piano grand staff, with a treble staff above a bass staff joined by a brace. The key signature shows three sharps on both staves. The time signature is 2 over 4 on both staves. Top system. In the treble staff, the first note is a D with a natural sign, followed by a beamed run of small-note values grouped under a bracket labeled 7. The beamed run rises to a high D. Similar beamed groups repeat across the system, with slurs over each group. Dynamic text appears under the treble staff: mf near the start, the word flottant, then p near the middle, then mf again later in the system. In the bass staff, repeated beamed groups are marked with the number 3 above them. Each group shows three notes under a slur, repeating across the system. Second system. A measure number 181 appears at the left. A forte marking f appears under the treble staff near the start of this system. In the treble staff, a high note begins each beamed group, followed by descending notes under a bracket labeled 7. Two similar bracketed groups appear across the system. In the bass staff, beamed notes appear under the treble-staff septuplet groups. Near the left of the system, the bass staff includes notes labeled A natural, F sharp, and E. Later in the system, the bass staff includes notes labeled D, B, and G, with a tie into the final note at the right end of the excerpt. A final barline closes the excerpt at the far right.

The final section of ‘Paysage Lunaire’ (bb. 181–82) reflects Lavín’s appropriation of the Impressionist style, particularly in the septuplets passage, which appears to reference Maurice Ravel’s Jeux d’eau (1902). According to Fleury, this was the first work to explore the realm of pianistic illusion, developing ideas previously introduced in Liszt’s use of arpeggios (see Figure 8).Footnote ⁷⁶

Figure 8.

Maurice Ravel, Jeux d’eau, bar 68.

Figure 8 Long description

Grand staff with a brace at the left, showing an upper staff and a lower staff. At the far left of the upper staff, the number 68 appears. A key signature of four sharps appears on both staves. A common time symbol appears on both staves. A dashed bracket line runs near the top with the number 8 at the left. Across the upper staff, multiple groups of beamed notes appear. Each group has the number 7 printed above it. Each group is covered by a curved slur. The beamed notes in each group rise from lower positions to higher positions on the staff. Several notes in the groups show accidentals, including sharp signs and flat signs placed directly before noteheads. The lower staff shows long note values drawn as sustained notes with stems, placed under the upper-staff septuplet groups. The lower staff also shows occasional single notes aligned under the upper-staff groups. No lyrics are printed.

In this sense, Suite Andine may be understood as a work that appropriates elements of Impressionist aesthetics, nodding to composers like Ravel and Debussy not only in terms of musical form but also through its engagement with reception of the topics traditionally explored by them. Evocative titles like ‘L’Aube’, ‘La Sieste’, and ‘Paysage Lunaire’ exemplify this appropriation and reinvention of Impressionist themes, albeit with a restrained Andean evocation.

Mythes Araucans: chromatism, primitivism, and virility

Completed in 1926, Lavín’s Mythes Araucans is a four-movement composition centred on four mythical creatures of the Mapuche people. Rather than strictly adhering to an Indigenous Mapuche creation myth – complete with deities and foundational events – Lavín crafts a bestiary rooted in Mapuche culture, drawing on the collected works of various researchers. His aim is to represent these legendary creatures through the aesthetic associated of the Mapuche. In his writings, Lavín had already expressed his interest in appropriating this aesthetic in the service of developing a ‘more original musical style’.Footnote ⁷⁷

The selection of the Mapuche people and their mythology as the subject matter for this composition was not arbitrary. Indeed, in 1928, he would assert that the Mapuche people and their myths represent the pinnacle of Pampas cultural expression:

To capture the essence of the Mapuche people, the composer systematically employs chromaticism throughout the piece. His techniques include chromatic alterations in motifs and melodies, harmonic shifts produced by displacing internal voices within chords, and the direct ascending or descending displacement of the same chord. Additionally, he utilizes chromatic ornaments in the melodic lines. In the following analysis, we will examine some of the most salient features of each movement.

El Trucao, the opening movement of this suite, begins with the marking Sombre et soutenu (sombre and sustained). This instruction aims to evoke the image of a mythological creature described by Urrutia Blondel as an ‘omen bird, scaled rather than feathered’.Footnote ⁷⁹ The opening bars already showcase semiquavers rapidly connecting wide intervals – likely intended to evoke the song of the Trucao – accompanied by the indication chanté (sung) on the score. Such sudden, wide intervallic movement is also noted by Lavín in Mapuche instrumental music, making its use here unsurprising. One of the examples he cites in his article on Pampas chromaticism illustrates this clearly (see Figure 9).

Figure 9.

Carlos Lavín, ‘El cromatismo en la música indígena sudamericana’ (April 1928), 31.

The second movement of the suite corresponds to El Huallipen, a creature described in Tomás Guevara’s Psicolojía del pueblo araucano (Psychology of the Araucanian People, 1908) as ‘a deformed figure, with a calf’s head, a sheep’s body, twisted legs, and the hind legs immobile; it causes terror in people and serious illnesses in women, who become predisposed to conceive or give birth to phenomenal children’.Footnote ⁸⁰ Lavín’s Huallipen comprises twelve bars and begins with the instruction très lié avec une expression féline (very tied [legato] with a feline expression). It develops a melodic motif characterized by the presence of chromatic ornaments. The ‘feline’ quality of the opening transforms into a capricieux character in the second section, where the melody continues with chromatic acciaccaturas and leaps of major and minor sevenths, while the left-hand accompaniment unfolds a chromatic descent in intervals of tritones over the course of six bars (see Figure 10). This important detail does not escape the scrutiny of Urrutia Blondel, who emphasizes the piece’s exacerbated rigidity and chromatic character.Footnote ⁸¹

Figure 10.

Carlos Lavín, El Huallipen, in Mythes Araucans pour piano (Paris: Editions Max Eschig, 1929), bars 4–9.

Figure 10 Long description

Grand staff piano notation in two systems. The upper staff uses a treble clef and the lower staff uses a bass clef. At the top left, the tempo text reads Beaucoup plus animé, followed by quarter note equals 116. The time signature at the start is 3 over 4. First system: The marking mf appears below the treble staff near the start. The word Capricieux appears between the staves. The treble staff shows a melodic line with accidentals and short slurred figures, including a beamed pair leading to a higher note. The bass staff shows broken chord figures with accidentals, written as separated notes connected by beams and slurs. Second system: A measure number 7 appears at the left, followed by the text En animant toujours above the treble staff. The dynamic p appears below the treble staff at the start of this system. A crescendo hairpin appears under the treble staff leading toward mf, which appears later in the system. The treble staff continues with short note groups and accidentals, including beamed pairs. The bass staff continues with broken chord figures and accidentals, with repeated rhythmic groupings aligned under the treble staff. Near the right end of the system, a curved pause mark appears above the treble staff.

The third movement of the suite, titled El Guirivilo, evokes an aquatic creature. According to a quote by Julio Vicuña Cifuentes (Reference Vicuña Cifuentes1915), the Guirivilo is described as a creature with ‘a cat’s head and an extremely long fox tail’.Footnote ⁸² It is said to frequent the steps and eddies of rivers, where it uses its tail to entangle both humans and animals, dragging them to the bottom of the river and drinking their blood. To represent this creature, Lavín begins the piece with an ostinato in the bass clef that alternates major and minor seventh intervals, creating a persistent chromatic effect between the notes G¹, F#¹, and F¹ (bars 2–3, Figure 11).

Figure 11.

Carlos Lavín, El Guirivilo, in Mythes Araucans, bars 1–4.

Figure 11 Long description

Tempo marking at top: 168 equals quarter note. Time signature: 2 over 4. Key signature: two flats on both staves. Grand staff with treble clef on the upper staff and bass clef on the lower staff. Measure 1. Upper staff: quarter note C with an accent mark above it, followed by quarter note B with an accent mark above it. Dynamic marking p below the upper staff near the first note. Text léger below the upper staff. A crescendo hairpin begins under the upper staff and continues toward the end of the measure. Lower staff: a rest at the start of the measure, then three beamed sixteenth notes under a slur: G, E, G. Later in the measure, three beamed sixteenth notes under a slur: A flat, F, A flat. Measure 2. Upper staff: quarter note C with an accent mark above it, followed by quarter note B with an accent mark above it. Dynamic marking mf below the upper staff near the second quarter note. A crescendo hairpin begins under the upper staff and continues toward the end of the measure. Lower staff: a rest at the start of the measure, then three beamed sixteenth notes under a slur: F, D, F. Later in the measure, three beamed sixteenth notes under a slur: E, C sharp, E. Measure 3. Upper staff: quarter note G with an accent mark above it, followed by quarter note C with an accent mark above it. Dynamic marking f below the upper staff near the first quarter note. A crescendo hairpin begins under the upper staff and continues toward the end of the measure. Lower staff: a rest at the start of the measure, then three beamed sixteenth notes under a slur: F, E, F. Later in the measure, a rest, then three beamed sixteenth notes under a slur: D, B, D. Text sans Ped. appears below the lower staff near the left side, followed by a symbol.

Similar to the Huallipen, this piece features a descending motive characterized by chromaticism. This motive consists of groups of three notes separated by minor thirds, which descend in semitone intervals (see Example 12).

Figure 12.

Carlos Lavín, El Guirivilo, in Mythes Araucans, bars 33–35.

Figure 12 Long description

Piano score on a grand staff with treble clef above bass clef. The key signature shows five flats on both staves. The time signature is 2 over 4. At the top is the text subscript “brusque et trés mouvementé” and the tempo marking subscript “dotted quarter note equals 116”. Dynamics and text markings: subscript “ff” appears under the opening of the treble staff. The word subscript “bruyant” appears near the first system. Along the bottom is the text subscript “Tres lié (sans accent et sans nuances) lourd”. Pedal markings show subscript “Ped.” under each measure area, with a release mark shown as an asterisk. Notation layout across four measures: Measure 1: Treble staff begins with a single notehead with a slur tie extending to the next measure, followed by a rest symbol later in the measure. Bass staff shows a repeating broken-chord pattern of four notes written as beamed eighth notes, moving between a lower note and a higher note, then returning to a lower note and a higher note. Measure 2: Treble staff shows the tied note continuing into the measure, followed by a rest symbol later in the measure. Bass staff repeats the same four-note beamed eighth-note pattern. The last note of the bass pattern has an accidental sharp on the note. Measure 3: Treble staff shows a new single note with a slur tie extending forward, followed by a rest symbol later in the measure. Bass staff repeats the four-note beamed eighth-note pattern. The second note of the bass pattern has an accidental natural. Measure 4: Treble staff shows the tied note continuing, followed by a rest symbol later in the measure. Bass staff repeats the four-note beamed eighth-note pattern. The second note of the bass pattern has an accidental natural. Across the excerpt, the treble staff uses sustained notes tied across barlines with rests after the sustained note in each measure, while the bass staff maintains the repeated beamed eighth-note figure under each measure with pedal indications below.

Urrutia Blondel offers a strong critique of this piece, denouncing its monotonous character and Lavín’s purported attempt to depict this magical Mapuche being. Regarding the various sections of the work, he remarks:

To conclude, Lampalagua – a piece with 128 bars – is the final mythological creature Lavín addresses. Cifuentes describes this being as a formidable reptile with strong claws that moves underground through tunnels of its own making.Footnote ⁸⁴ Set in D minor, the piece opens slowly with the indication gravement chanté (sang gravely) and introduces a motive that will later be varied (see Example 13). The work maintains a steady rhythmic structure that descends towards the lower register of the piano, gradually introducing a chromatic contrast between the left and right hands. The stylistic elements that follow do not deviate from the previously cited strategies. The utilization of rhythmic pedals, ostinati, and various chromatic movements, whether through voice displacement or direct movements, are recurrent. A notable feature is Lavín’s direct appropriation and reinterpretation of a Tehuelche melody. This melody was originally transcribed from phonograms collected by the Berlin University Institute of Psychology and later published in his article ‘El cromatismo en la música indígena sudamericana’ (see Figure 13).

Figure 13.

(a) Carlos Lavín, El Lampalagua, in Mythes Araucans, bars 1–5. (b) Carlos Lavín, ‘El cromatismo en la música indígena sudamericana’ (April 1928), 25.

Figure 13 Long description

The sheet music is for piano, featuring a grand staff with treble and bass clefs. The time signature is 5 over 8, and the tempo marking reads Trés lentement with quarter note equals 69. The first system includes the text gravement chanté under the treble staff. Dynamics are marked mf at the beginning and f later, with crescendo and decrescendo hairpins. The treble staff shows single notes and beamed pairs, including eighth notes and quarter notes, with slurs connecting them across measures. The bass staff features chords with tied notes, aligning with the treble rhythm. The second system continues with similar notation, marked mf again, and includes slurs and beamed notes. The bottom excerpt is a single staff line with alternating time signatures of 5 over 8 and 4 over 8, showing short groups of notes separated by barlines. The excerpt ends with a final barline. The layout and positioning of notes and dynamics are clearly defined, providing a comprehensive understanding of the musical content.

When discussing this movement, Urrutia Blondel once again emphasizes the composer’s weaknesses, citing harmonic rigidity, poor melodic construction, and an overuse of harmonic or rhythmic pedals. He writes:

Urrutia Blondel’s comment is revealing, as it highlights the contrast between the ‘lascivious and soft sonorities’ of Impressionism and the ‘rigid, austere, and virile’ expressionist character Lavín employs to represents the Mapuche people:

Urrutia Blondel characterizes Lavín’s music as ‘virile’, reflecting Lavín’s own views of the Mapuche as a ‘racial collective’ with ‘natural arrogance’, ‘enviable physical strength’, and a ‘vigorous constitution’. This appears to be mirrored in his music, which features raw, simple, and expressive harmonies – qualities associated both with the Mapuche people but also with the dominant musical expressionism of the period.