What is "ollantay"

Ollantay is a dramatic play, originally written in the Quechua language. It is considered by some to be of Incan origin---and as such the oldest and deepest expression of Quechua literature---while others believe it to be of colonial Hispanic origin.

The oldest known manuscript of Ollantay belonged to the priest Antonio Valdes (18th century), who for some time was thought to be the original author; however, other differing manuscripts have been found that suggest the existence of a common, more remote, origin. The most widely accepted theory is that the story is of Incan origin and was preserved through oral tradition until it was adapted for theatrical presentation in colonial times.

Ollantay was first published in 1857 by Johann Jakob von Tschudi, in Quechua and German. The first Spanish version appeared in Lima in 1868, published by José Sebastián Barranca and subtitled "The tribulations of a father and the generosity of a king" (Los rigores de un padre y la generosidad de un rey); since then different versions have been published in a variety of languages.

Ollantay: Tres movimientos sinfónicos, Op. 17, is an orchestral triptych by Alberto Ginastera written in 1947. It is one of the last compositions of his first period, objective nationalism (1934-48). It was premiered on October 29, 1949 in Buenos Aires by the Regular Orchestra of the Teatro Colón conducted by Erich Kleiber.

It has been described as a three-movement symphonic poem. Inspired in the Quiché mythological corpus Popol Vuh like his later homonymous cantata, Ollantay depicts the confrontation of the sons of the Earth and the Sun, commanded by Ollantay and Inca respectively, which ends in the defeat of the earlier after a long siege. The work consists of three movements, to which Ginastera provided a short programme:

1. Paisaje de Ollantaytambo. In the lonely night of Ollantaytambo, Ollantay emerges evoking the outcry of disappeared cities.
2. Los guerreros. The warriors of Ollantay dance while they prepare for war. Excited, they imitate the armies in battle.
3. La muerte de Ollantay. Prisoner of Inca, Ollantay forecasts the destruction of the Empire and the disappearance of the race of the sons of the Sun. Ollantay dies and solitude invades the Andine valleys.