Kosko. Ensayos musicales.

Item Details

Cuzco (Koska), The author, 1935, Wrappers

First and only edition, Good

Wrappers. Small folio. Colophon states that the present edition is of 200 copies numbered and signed by the author; this copy, however, is not numbered or signed. Very good copy, wide strips of clear tape have been added by a previous owner along the spine, the lower edge of the front wrapper, the outer edge of the rear wrapper, and the inside edges of the rear wrapper. We think this tape could be removed without damage to the wrappers by a professional. The inside of the wrappers is blank and the tape strips along those edges could be left in place. There are small circular or butterfly-shaped marks around holes on the inside edges of the page pairs that appear to be the traces of a failed fiber binding; some small bits remain in the back pages. The musical pieces in the volume are each dedicated to an ambassador, beginning with the ambassadors of the United States and of Mexico, followed by Chile, Brasil, and Argentina. Each musical composition is decorated with friezes depicting Inca ceremonies. Lyrics are in Quechua, and each composition has an introductory page with the lyrics translated into English and Spanish. Francisco González Gamarra (1890-1972) was a painter, writer, pianist, and composer. This publication was created by him to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the founding of Lima, but his attention is turned away from the Spaniards' city to the Inca capital Cuzco (Koska). It is very rare. WorldCat shows only one copy, in the National Library of Chile. Performances of one of the pieces, under the spelling, Qosko Napaykukin, can be found on youtube.