"¡Ay, ay, ay!", subtitled "Reminiscencias cuyanas", is a song composed in 1913 by the Chilean-born composer, pianist, singer and publisher Osmán Pérez Freire. [1] Freire (born in Santiago in 1880 [2]), who emigrated to Mendoza, Argentina in c.1886-1890, was a figure of some note in the evolution of Tango. [3] This song, however, known worldwide, is his most famous composition, and has never fallen out of fashion. [4] [5] It is equally suited to intimate performance with guitar or piano accompaniment, or to large-scale concert delivery with orchestral accompaniment, and has been sung by almost everyone, and especially favoured by some of the most famous tenors, since it was first written (see below). [6]
"Ay, ay, ay" is a Hispanic expression signifying dismay at a bad situation or state of affairs, rather more immediate and acute than the English "alas". Purely instrumental versions include arrangements for dance orchestras, jazz combinations and salon musicians. The autograph manuscript of the song is at PAU. This song should not be confused with the Mexican Cielito Lindo, the chorus of which begins, "Ay, ay, ay, ay". [1]
In what may be the earliest publication (by Breyer Hermanos, 414 Florida), the song is subtitled "Reminiscencias Cuyanas". [1] Although often mistakenly called a "Chilean" song, perhaps because of the place of birth of the composer, the style is in fact that of a traditional canción cuyana of the Cuyo region of north-west Argentina. [7] In publication it acquired subtitles as "Canción Criolla" or "Argentine Song", [1] and (in Schott's edition) "Kreolisches Wiegenlied" or "Argentine Lullaby". The spelling Ay-Ay-Ay, [8] though incorrect, occurs commonly in English sources. [1]
Lyrics
Si alguna vez en tu pecho,
- ¡ay ay ay!
mi cariño no lo abrigas,
engáñalo como un niño,
- ¡ay ay ay!
pero nunca se lo digas...
Recordings (examples)
- Enrico Caruso for HMV
- Miguel Fleta for HMV (1930)
- José Mardones for Columbia-Rena (1920)
- Tito Schipa for HMV (1922 and 1926)
- Umberto Urbano
- Conchita Supervia for Parlophone
- Dmitri Smirnoff for Parlophone (1929)
- Richard Tauber for Odeon Records
- Jussi Björling
- Giuseppe di Stefano (1952)
- Mario Lanza
- Alfredo Kraus
- The Three Tenors
- Julio Iglesias
- In 1956, Les Baxter, included a version on his "Caribbean Moonlight" LP. [9]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Ay-Ay-Ay ...Osman Perez Freire", in J.J. Fuld, The Book of World-Famous Music: Classical, Popular, and Folk, 5th, Revised and Enlarged Edition (Dover Publications, Inc., New York 2000), at p. 121 (Google).
- ^ Sources differ, some say 1878. A 6-peso stamp was issued in Chile in June 1980 to commemorate the centenary of his birth and 50th anniversary of his death in 1930: The American Philatelist, Vol. 94, issues 7-12, p. 1980-939.
- ^ A. Acevedo Hernández, Canciones Populares Chilenas (Ediciones Ercilla, Santiago de Chile 1939), pp. 61-62.
- ^ H. Garvin, Fun and Festival from Latin America (The Friendship Press, New York 1935), p. 28: "The whole continent loves his song, Ay, ay, ay."
- ^ R. Lado and E. Blansitt, Contemporary Spanish (McGraw-Hill, 1967), p. 588: "Y luego, algunas canciones hispano-americanas de vasta difusión: canciones como Ay, ay, ay! de Pérez Freire... conocido en todo el continente."
- ^ J.P. González Rodriguez, Historia Social de la Música Popular en Chile, 1890-1950 (Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile, 2005), p. 52: "Este es el caso de Ay, ay, ay (1915), de Osmán Pérez Freire, su canción de mayor difusión internacional, que llegó a formar parte del repertorio de tenores de gran prestigio artístico, como Tito Schipa (1888-1965) y Miguel Fleta..."
- ^ J. Teófilo Wilkes and I. Guerrero Cárpena, Formas Musicales Rioplatenses, Su Origen Hispanico (Cifras, Estilos y Milongas), (Publicaciones de Estudios Hispanicos, Buenos Aires 1946), p. 141: "En la transición se exhalaba el típico ¡Ay, ay, ay! de la canción cuyana. La frase es, en realidad, la misma de la tonada andina, un tanto desfigurada por mala memorización o quizá para mejor adaptarla al ritmo del estilo."
- ^ E.g. The title of a 1963 album by Luigi Alva.
- ^ "Les Baxter – Caribbean Moonlight (1956, Vinyl)". Discogs.
