Camino, Caminante
Stephen Hatfield (1956 - )
/ai ka mi nan te no ai ka mi no se a se ka mi no al an dar/
Ay ca-mi-nan-te, no hay ca-mi-no, se ha-ce ca-mi-no, al an-dar.
Ay traveler,
is no way,
becomes way, when walking.
/mi a mi mi a mi a mor/
Mi-a-mi mi a-mi a-mor.
/ka mi no ka mi nan te soi ko mo el ka mi nan te/
Ca-mi-no ca-mi-nan-te, soy co-mo el ca-mi-nan-te
Way traveler,
I am like the traveler
/mi a mi no ai ka mi no/
Mi a-mi no hay ca-mi-no
Camino, Caminante
Ay traveler, there is no path, the path is made by walking.
- translation by Stephen Hatfield
Note: While a partial word-for-word translation is offered here, don’t take it too
seriously. See the notes below for an explanation of the text.
Background
Camino, Caminante was written for The Miami Choral Society. Stephen Hatfield
(1956 - ) chose as the main part of the text an adaptation of two lines from the Spanish
Poet Antonio Machado (1875-1939): "Caminante, no hay camino.'Se hace camino al
andar." (Ay traveler, there is no path, the path is made by walking). Later in the text he
takes the name of the city of Miami and plays with it, breaking it up into various syllables
that at times become words for friendship and love in several Latin-based languages.1
Stephen Hatfield is a recognized leader in multiculturalism and musical folklore, an
interest which informs many of his compositions including African Celebration, La
Lluvia, and Las Amarillas. A native of Canada’s Pacific Coast, Stephen Hatfield has lived
most of his life in the rain forests of Vancouver Island, where his father is blood-brother
to the legendary Kwagiutl chief Jimmy Seawood. In addition to his choral works, he
enjoys composing for the theater.2
Recordings
A wonderful complete recording of this piece can be found at
http://www.stephenhatfield.com/Compositions/TrebleU2# by the Amabile Youth Singers
– scroll down to look for Camino Caminante – the titles are in alphabetical order.
1
2
Stephen Hatfield, Camino, Caminante, Boosey and Hawkes, 1999, p. 2.
Ibid, p. 3.
© Copyright 2014 Elizabeth Pauly. All rights reserved.
A nice YouTube recording can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPL_28DtjqM.
Analysis
Key: G Major
Meter: Begins in 3/2; then moves to 12/8 for the rest of the piece;
SECTION Introduction Section 1 Section 2 MEASURE EVENT AND SCORING 1-­‐16 Meter: 3/2; tempo – not too fast; Piece begins unaccompanied in unison on theme A. Theme A repeats at ms. 9, with part I on harmony and part II on melody. 17-­‐33 Ms. 17 – 24 Theme B: Miami mi ami amor -­‐ still unaccompanied; Meter shifts to 12/8; Theme B introduced – the two parts trade off singing the melody, but it is all in unison, almost like a call and response; Cowbell enters at ms. 20, shakers at ms. 25 Ms. 25 – 33 – Theme C: Camino caminante – contrasting melody and as before, the two parts continue to trade off singing the melody. Piano accompaniment introduced – shifts from G to D pedal tones; ms. 32-­‐33 is transitional material; 34-­‐58 Ms. 34-­‐41 – this is like Ms. 17-­‐24 Theme B – the main difference being the addition of piano pedal – rhythmically the same as Ms. 25-­‐33, but now remaining on G throughout; Hand claps begin at ms. 41 Ms. 42-­‐45 – Part I continues on Theme B – Miami mi ami amor, this time not trading with Part II, but singing the whole thing. Part II introduces a new theme (Theme D) that is sung as a countermelody against Part I. G piano pedal continues Ms. 46-­‐50 – Parts I and II sing Theme D in canon, beginning with Part II. Note slight variation in Part I. Piano pattern changes, right hand sharing melodic patterns with both parts I and II; all percussion out at 50 except hand claps. Ms. 50-­‐58 – Part I continues Theme D for 4 measures, then moves the theme up a third for 1 measure, followed by a short motive that is repeated four times; Part II sings Theme A as a countermelody; all percussion out. © Copyright 2014 Elizabeth Pauly. All rights reserved.
Section 3 Ms. 59-­‐90 Ms. 59-­‐67 – same as Ms. 25-­‐33, except that it begins slowly and gradually accelerates to the original tempo Ms. 68-­‐71 – Part I sings Theme B, Part II sings a G pedal against Theme B. Ms. 72-­‐83 – similar to ms. 42-­‐45 – sung twice with Theme B in Part I and Theme D in Part II. Piano part is a variation of previous parts – G pedal in right hand; Ms. 84-­‐90 – uses musical material from the second half of Theme A. Part II sings Theme A while Part I harmonizes; The final cadence has the two parts repeating and fading alternating short motives © Copyright 2014 Elizabeth Pauly. All rights reserved.