Program Notes and Translations
Introduction
The title of my recital “My heart will wander to my home” was inspired by a lyric in
the song “My Native Land” by Charles Ives. The line spoke to me, as I haven’t been living at
home with my family for almost six years now, yet the relationships I have cultivated with
friends and my instructors have made me love my “homes away from home.” Although my
adventures away from home have been amazing, in my heart, nothing will replace the dry
hills and sunny blue skies of California. That got me thinking. A huge part of who I am is
where I come from and the people I have met along the way, and I wouldn’t be the same
without both.
Three of the sets I have chosen are each about a different culture, the Cinq Mélodies
Populaires Grecques, the set of Ives songs, and Siete Canciones Populares Españolas.
Although the subject matter of each set is different, they contain a strong sense of cultural
identity, which attracted me to the music. I feel very strongly about my roots; I have a huge
sense of pride that I am both American and Peruvian. Part of the human experience is
belonging to a tribe, and I am lucky enough to belong to two tribes. I open the recital with
the Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques to celebrate the pride we all have in our own
cultural identities. I end the recital in the two languages I know best, English and Spanish.
Having the nickname “Mignon” among my peers in the Vocal Arts Program and
being so drawn to numerous settings of Mignon monologues, I thought it essential to sing a
few of her songs on my recital. Through Mignon we can see what being cast away from what
we know and love can do to us, and how we should be grateful for having homes and
people who love us.
Who and what we love is also a part of identity. The songs “Oh! Quand je dors” and
“Traüme” as well as Messiaen’s Trois Mélodies are about a true and deep love. Without the
people I love I am nothing, and these songs express some of the different kinds of love one
can have in their life: romantic love, familial love, and the love of God.
I invite you to reflect upon the experiences and places in your life that shape your own
identity.
Thank you to my family, friends, and instructors for this remarkable twoyear journey. I would not be the artist I am today without your support
and presence in my life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank. You.
M y heart will wander to m y hom e
Kelly Newberry, mezzo-soprano
Wei Zhou, piano
Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques
Le réveil de la mariée
Là-bas, vers l’église
Quel galant
Chanson des cueilleuses de lentisques
Tout gai!
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Oh! Quand je dors
Traüme from Fünf Gedichte von Mathilde Wesendonck
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt Six Romances
Heiss mich nicht reden Lieder aus Wilhelm Meister
So lasst mich scheinen from Gesänge aus Wilhelm Meister
Kennst du das Land from Gedichte von J.W. v. Goethe
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Richard Wagner (1813-1833)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
Intermission
Trois Mélodies
Pourquoi?
Le sourire
La fiancée perdue
My Native Land
The Children’s Hour
Memories 1897 A- Very Pleasant/B- Rather Sad
Songs my mother taught me
Siete Canciones Populares Españolas
El paño Moruno
Seguidilla murciana
Asturiana
Jota
Nana
Canción
Polo
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)
Program Notes and Translations
Ravel was the firstborn to a Swiss lawyer and a Basque woman and was born in the
Basque village of Ciboure. He was raised in Paris, but felt a strong connection to his Basque
heritage, and by extension, Spain. Ravel was a lover of many cultures, and is famous for his
varied musical color palette. In 1907, shortly after the premiere of Ravel’s masterpiece
Shéhérazade, Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques, Ravel’s re-harmonizations of Greek folk
songs were published. In a similar vein to Shéhérazade, the Cinq Mélodies Populaires
Grecques were inspired by Ravel’s interest in a culture different from his own. The first
performance of this cycle was sung with the original Greek text, but the cycle is often
performed using Michel Calvoceressi’s French translation. It is admirable that Ravel
succeeded in setting these songs in his own style, without obscuring their association to
Greek culture. Each piece is like a window view into different aspects of Greek peasant life,
covering subjects such as marriage, death, courtship, longing, and of course, dancing.
Translations of folk texts by Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi (1877 – 1944)
Le Réveil de la mariée
The awakening of the bride
Réveille-toi, réveille-toi, perdrix
mignonne,
Ouvre au matin tes ailes.
Trois grains de beauté,
mon cœur en est brûlé!
Get out of bed, out of bed, my
adorable partridge,
Open your wings to the morning.
Three beauty marks
My heart is on fire!
Vois le ruban d'or que je t'apporte,
Pour le nouer autour de tes cheveux.
See the gold ribbon I have brought
you,
To tie around your hair.
If you’d like, my beauty, come let’s get
married!
In our two families, all are allies!
Si tu veux, ma belle, viens nous marier!
Dans nos deux familles, tous sont
alliés!
Là-bas, vers l’église
Over there, near the church
Là-bas, vers l'église,
Vers l'église Ayio Sidéro,
L'église, ô Vierge sainte,
L'église Ayio Costanndino,
Over there, near the church
Near the church Ayio Sidéro,
The church, Oh Virgin Saint
The church Ayio Costanndino
Se sont réunis,
Rassemblés en nombre infini,
Du monde, ô Vierge sainte,
Du monde tous les plus braves!
They are reunited
Assembled in infinite numbers
In the world, o Virgin Saint,
All the bravest of the world!
Quel galant
What Gallant
Quel galant m'est comparable,
D'entre ceux qu'on voit passer?
Dis, dame Vassiliki?
What gallant is comparable to me,
Of those that one sees passing by?
Tell me, Mistress Vassiliki?
Vois, pendus à ma ceinture,
pistolets et sabre aigu...
Et c'est toi que j'aime!
Look, hanging on my belt,
Pistols and a sharp sword…
And it is you whom I love!
Chanson des cueilleuses de
lentisques
Song of the lentisk gatherers
Ô joie de mon âme,
Joie de mon coeur,
Trésor qui m'est si cher ;
Joie de l'âme et du cœur,
Toi que j'aime ardemment,
Tu es plus beau qu'un ange.
Ô lorsque tu parais,
Ange si doux
Devant nos yeux,
Comme un bel ange blond,
Sous le clair soleil
Hélas ! tous nos pauvres cœurs
soupirent !
Oh joy of my soul,
Joy of my heart,
Treasure who is dear to me:
Joy of my soul and heart,
You whom I love ardently,
You are more beautiful than an angel
Oh when you appear,
Sweet angel,
In front of our eyes,
Like a beautiful blond angel,
Under the bright sun
Alas! All of our poor hearts sigh!
Tout gai!
All joyful!
Tout gai! gai, Ha, tout gai!
Belle jambe, tireli, qui danse;
Belle jambe, la vaisselle danse,
Tra la la la la...
All gay, gay, ha! All gay!
Lovely leg, tireli, that dances.
Lovely leg, the dishes dance.
Tra-la-la
In his own lifetime, Franz Liszt was not famous for his songs. He was following in the
footsteps of Franz Schubert and Carl Zelter, composers who had defined the genre of Lieder.
Liszt’s critics often called his song settings “too complicated” or “not simple enough” which
seems to have compelled Liszt to revise his songs numerous times. As a virtuoso pianist,
Liszt’s piano parts for his songs are extravagant and extremely difficult to play. Although Liszt
composed over eighty songs, only a small selection of them, including “Oh quand je dors”
are in the recital canon. The text is by his friend, French poet Victor Hugo, a man who greatly
inspired Liszt. The glorious vocal line and sensual text float over an extremely sensitive
harmonic landscape provided in the piano part. The song portrays an extreme longing for the
touch of the narrator’s beloved, an admiration and love best mirrored by Petrarch’s love for
Laura.
Oh! quand je dors
Victor Marie Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Oh! When I sleep
Oh! quand je dors,
viens auprès de ma couche,
comme à Pétrarque apparaissait Laura,
Et qu'en passant ton haleine me
touche...
Soudain ma bouche
S'entrouvrira!
Sur mon front morne où peut-être
s'achève
Un songe noir qui trop longtemps
dura,
Que ton regard comme un astre se
lève...
Soudain mon rêve
Rayonnera!
Puis sur ma lèvre où voltige une
flamme,
Éclair d'amour que Dieu même épura,
Pose un baiser, et d'ange deviens
femme...
Soudain mon âme
S'éveillera!
Oh! When I sleep,
come near by bed,
Like to Petrarch appeared Laura
And that in passing your breath
touches me
Suddenly my lips
Will part!
On my gloomy forehead where maybe
ends
A black dream that too long lasted
That your gaze like a star rises
Suddenly my dream
Will shine forth!
And then on my lip where flutters a
flame,
sparkling with love that God himself
purified, place a kiss, and from angel
become a woman
Suddenly my soul
will wake!
Franz Liszt’s daughter Cosima became Richard Wagner’s second wife. Before meeting
Cosima and whilst still in his first marriage with Minna, Wagner fell in love with Mathilde
Wesendonck. The wife of one of his patrons, Mathilde wrote poetry, and for her birthday
Wagner set five of her poems to create the famous Wesendonck Lieder. In fact, the love
between them also inspired Wagner’s masterpiece Tristan and Isolde, and a few of these
lieder were studies for his operas. These songs paid homage to their forbidden love. The text
of last song in the set, “Traüme” is about love’s ability to transcend our souls- even if only for
a short moment.
Traüme
Mathilde Wesendonck (1828 - 1902)
Dreams
Sag, welch wunderbare Träume
Halten meinen Sinn umfangen,
Daß sie nicht wie leere Schäume
Sind in ödes Nichts vergangen?
Say, which wondrous dreams
Hold my mind embraced,
That they have not, like empty seafoam into desolate nothingness
vanished?
Träume, die in jeder Stunde,
Jedem Tage schöner blühn,
Und mit ihrer Himmelskunde
Selig durchs Gemüte ziehn!
Dreams, they, in every hour,
Every day, bloom more beautifully,
And with their heavenly gifts,
Joyfully through the soul move!
Träume, die wie hehre Strahlen
In die Seele sich versenken,
Dort ein ewig Bild zu malen:
Allvergessen, Eingedenken!
Dreams, like sublime rays of sunlight
Shine through the soul and radiate,
There an eternal portrait is painted
Forgetting all, remembering only one!
Träume, wie wenn Frühlingssonne
Aus dem Schnee die Blüten küßt,
Daß zu nie geahnter Wonne
Sie der neue Tag begrüßt,
Dreams, like Spring’s light kisses
That awaken blooms from the snow,
With unsuspected bliss,
They greet the new day,
Daß sie wachsen, daß sie blühen,
Träumend spenden ihren Duft,
Sanft an deiner Brust verglühen,
So that they grow, so that they bloom,
Dreamily bestowing their fragrance
Glowing and gently fading on your
breast
And then sink into the grave.
Und dann sinken in die Gruft.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, one of the prominent leaders of the German Romantic
movement, achieved celebrity status when he published the best seller “The Sorrows of
Young Werther”. Goethe inspired people to look both within themselves and outwards to
nature to seek self-illuminating wisdom and knowledge. The next songs are settings of the
texts belonging to the character Mignon from Goethe’s popular novel Wilhelm Meister’s
Lehrjahre. Mignon’s words and story have captured the imaginations of several composers;
there are dozens of settings of her monologues. Mignon’s story is tragic: she was born in
Tuscany, and soon after her mothers untimely death was kidnapped and enslaved by gypsies.
Wilhelm, the protagonist of the novel, rescues Mignon from slavery, and becomes her
guardian, but unbeknownst to Wilhelm, Mignon falls madly in love with him. Unfortunately for
Mignon, the only feelings that Wilhelm has for her are fatherly. Subsequently, Mignon suffers
from several mental and physical ailments, and dies quite young. The biggest tragedy in
Mignon’s life is that she never returns to her homeland and never discovers her identity. Each
Mignon song chosen for this recital reveals the composers’ unique interpretations of this
tragic heroine’s life and character. While the circumstances of Mignon’s suffering are unique
to her situation, one can relate to her need for a home to call her own, her suffering, her
unrequited love, and of course her quest for self affirmation.
All texts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt
Only one who knows longing
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt
Weiß, was ich leide!
Allein und abgetrennt
Von aller Freude,
Only one who knows longing
Knows what I suffer
Alone and separated
From all joy
Seh ich ans Firmament
Nach jener Seite.
Ach! der mich liebt und kennt,
Ist in der Weite.
I look into the heavens
Toward that direction.
Ah! The only one who loves me
Has disappeared.
Es schwindelt mir, es brennt
Mein Eingeweide.
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt
Weiß, was ich leide!
It spins me, it burns
My insides
Only someone that knows longing
Knows, what I suffer
Heiß mich nicht reden
Don't ask me to speak
Heiß mich nicht reden, heiß mich
schweigen,
Denn mein Geheimnis ist mir Pflicht,
Ich möchte dir mein ganzes Innre
zeigen,
Allein das Schicksal will es nicht.
Don't ask me to speak - ask me to be
silent,
for my secret is my solemn oath.
I want to bare my soul to you,
Zur rechten Zeit vertreibt der Sonne
Lauf
Die finstre Nacht, und sie muß sich
erhellen,
Der harte Fels schließt seinen Busen
auf,
Mißgönnt der Erde nicht die
tiefverborgnen Quellen.
At the right time, the sun's course will
dispell
the dark night, and it must be
illuminated.
The hard rock will open its bosom; and
unbegrudgingly,
the earth will release deep hidden
springs.
Ein jeder sucht im Arm des Freundes
Ruh,
Dort kann die Brust in Klagen sich
ergießen,
Allein ein Schwur drückt mir die Lippen
zu,
Und nur ein Gott vermag sie
aufzuschließen.
Others may seek peace in the arms of
a friend;
there one can pour out one's heart in
lament.
But for me alone, a vow locks my lips,
So laßt mich scheinen
Let me appear
So laßt mich scheinen, bis ich werde,
Zieht mir das weiße Kleid nicht aus!
Ich eile von der schönen Erde
Hinab in jenes dunklen Haus.
Let me appear as what I will become
Do not take the white dress from me!
I rush from the beautiful earth
Down into the solid house
Dort ruh' ich eine kleine Stille,
Dann öffnet sich der frische Blick;
Ich laße dann die reine Hülle,
Den Gürtel und den Kranz zurück.
There I will rest for a short moment
There my gaze will be fresh and new
Then I will leave my pure garment,
The belt, and the wreath behind
but Fate does not allow it.
And only a god has the power to open
them.
Und jene himmlischen Gestalten
Sie fragen nicht nach Mann und Weib,
Doch fühlt' ich tiefen Schmerz genug.
Vor Kummer altert' ich zu frühe;
Macht mich auf ewig wieder jung!
And those heavenly beings
They will not ask if I am a man or
woman
And no clothes, no folds
Surround the transfigured body
It’s true I have lived without sorrow and
pain
But I have felt deep pain
Hardship has aged me too soon
Make me forever young!
Kennst du das land?
Know you the land?
Kennst du das Land, wo die Zitronen
blühn,
Im dunkeln Laub die Goldorangen
glühn,
Ein sanfter Wind vom blauen Himmel
weht,
Die Myrte still und hoch der Lorbeer
steht,
Kennst du es wohl?
Dahin! Dahin!
Möcht ich mit dir, o mein Geliebter,
ziehn.
Know you the land, where the lemon
trees blossom
In the dark leaves the gold oranges
glow
A gentle wind blows from the blue
heavens
The myrtles quiet, and high the laurel
stand,
Do you know it well?
There! There!
I want to go with you, my dearest!
Kennst du das Haus? Auf Säulen ruht
sein Dach.
Es glänzt der Saal, es schimmert das
Gemach,
Und Marmorbilder stehn und sehn
mich an:
Was hat man dir, du armes Kind,
getan?
Kennst du es wohl?
Dahin! dahin
Möcht ich mit dir, o mein Beschützer,
ziehn.
Know you the house? Where on pillars
rest its roof?
The hall gleams, there shimmers the
chamber,
And marble status stand and look at
me:
What have they done to you, you poor
child?
Do you know it well?
There! There!
I want to go with you, my protector!
Und keine Kleider, keine Falten
Umgeben den verklärten Leib.
Zwar lebt' ich ohne Sorg' und Mühe,
Kennst du den Berg und seinen
Wolkensteg?
Das Maultier sucht im Nebel seinen
Weg;
In Höhlen wohnt der Drachen alte Brut;
Es stürzt der Fels und über ihn die Flut!
Kennst du ihn wohl?
Dahin! dahin
Geht unser Weg! O Vater, laß uns
ziehn!
Do you know the mountain and its
cloudy-path?
The donkey looks in haze for its way.
In caves live the Dragon’s brood
The cliff falls off and it is flooded
Do you know it well?
There! there!
There goes our path! Oh father, let us
go!
The precocious Olivier Messiaen entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 15 in 1923.
After serving in the French army for a year during WWII and surviving imprisonment in a Nazi
POW camp, Messiaen returned to Paris in 1941 where he would begin his almost lifelong
tenure as a professor at the Conservatoire. Among Messiaen’s many students at the
Conservatoire, his two most famous were Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez.
Messiaen’s individual compositional style was so unique, that his friend Andre Jolivet and
several others inspired him to write Technique de mon language musical, a handbook and
study of his distinct musical language. Messiaen’s Trois Mélodies was published in 1930 and
dedicated to his mother, poet Cécile Sauvage, who died in 1927. Messiaen was a devout
catholic who focused intensely on New Testament stories such as the Nativity, the
Transfiguration, the Resurrection and the Ascension; religious subjects that inspired a large
portion of his compositions. His fervent faith is apparent in Trois Mélodies. The first song,
“Pourquoi”, poses the question “why are we here?” “Le Sourire” is a short song set to his
mother’s poetry about a tender and warm love. In “La Fiancée perdue” the narrator seems to
have found the answer for the question posed in “Pourquoi?: Jesus. “La Fiancée perdue” is a
prayer asking Jesus to protect “la douce fiancée”, perhaps his mother in death, perhaps his
bride to be, violinist Claire Delbos, who he married in 1932.
Pourquoi?
Olivier Messiaen (1908 - 1992)
Why?
Pourquoi les oiseaux de l'air,
Pourquoi les reflets de l'eau,
Pourquoi les nuages du ciel,
Pourquoi?
Pourquoi les feuilles de l'Automne,
Why the birds of the air,
Why the reflections of water,
Why the clouds in the sky,
Why?
Why the leaves of autumn,
Pourquoi les roses de l'Été,
Pourquoi les chansons du Printemps,
Pourquoi?
Pourquoi n'ont-ils pour moi de
charmes,
Pourquoi?
Pourquoi, Ah! Pourquoi?
Why the roses of summer,
Why the songs of spring,
Why?
Why don’t they have any charm over
me?
Why? Why, ah, why?
Le Sourire
Cécile Sauvage (1883 - 1927)
The smile
Certain mot murmuré
Par vous est un baiser
Intime et prolongé
Comme un baiser sur l'âme.
Ma bouche veut sourire
Et mon sourire tremble.
A certain word murmured
By you is like a kiss
Intimate and prolonged
Like a kiss on the soul
My lips want to smile
And my smile trembles
La fiancée Perdue
Oliver Messiaen
The lost fiancée
C’est la douce fiancée,
c’est l’ange de la bonté,
c’est un après-midi ensoleillé,
c’est le vent sur les fleurs.
C’est un sourire pur comme un cœur
d’enfant,
c’est un grand lys blanc comme une
aile,
très haut dans une coupe d’or!
Ô Jésus, bénissez-la! Elle!
Donnez-lui votre Grâce puissante!
Qu’elle ignore la souffrance, les
larmes!
Donnez-lui le repos, Jésus!
She is the gentle fiancée,
she is the angel of goodness
she is a sunny afternoon,
she is the wind on the flowers.
She is a smile as pure as a child’s heart,
she is a tall lily, white like a wing,
high up in a golden vase!
O Jesus, bless her! Her!
Bestow on her your powerful Grace!
May she never know pain and tears!
Bestow peace of mind on her, O Jesus!
After training to become a professional organist, Charles Ives settled into a long career
as a very successful insurance executive and would compose in his free time. Ives’
compositional styles ranged from tonal romanticism to atonal experimentation, and he often
mixed these styles within pieces, creating a unique and characteristic sound palette. Ives is
famous for quoting folk songs, hymns, and other music for thematic diversity, to evoke a
sense of nostalgia, and sometimes even to poke fun at a style. His use of American hymns and
tunes helps create a quintessentially “American” sound. The poetry of “My native land” is
based on a loose translation of a Heine poem. “The Children’s Hour” uses the first three
stanzas of a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem, and evokes the sweet image of a parent
playing with his children. Memories (A) Very Pleasant; (B) Rather Sad (1897) is a song with two
parts; the first describes the excitement of a night at the opera, while the second expresses
nostalgia and longing for an elderly relative. “Songs my mother taught me” is based on the
Dvorak song of the same title from his Gypsy Songs.
My native land
Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translated by Charles Ives
My native land now meets my eye,
The old oaks raise their boughs on high,
Violets greeting seem,
Ah! 'tis a dream.
And when in distant lands I roam,
My heart will wander to my home;
While these visions and fancies teem,
Still let me dream.
The Children’s Hour
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 –1882)
Between the dark and the daylight,
When the light is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
That is known as the Children's Hour.
I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.
From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending from the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.
Between the dark and the daylight,
When the light is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
That is known as the Children's Hour.
Memories 1897 A- Very Pleasant/B- Rather Sad
Charles Ives
A. Very Pleasant
We're sitting in the opera house;
We're waiting for the curtain to arise
With wonders for our eyes;
We're feeling pretty gay,
And well we may,
"O, Jimmy, look!" I say,
"The band is tuning up
And soon will start to play."
We whistle and we hum,
Beat time with the drum.
We're sitting in the opera house;
We're waiting for the curtain to arise
With wonders for our eyes,
A feeling of expectancy,
A certain kind of ecstasy,
Expectancy and ecstasy... Sh's's's.
B. Rather Sad
From the street a strain on my ear doth fall,
A tune as threadbare as that "old red shawl,"
It is tattered, it is torn,
It shows signs of being worn,
It's the tune my Uncle hummed from early morn,
'Twas a common little thing and kind 'a sweet,
But 'twas sad and seemed to slow up both his feet;
I can see him shuffling down
To the barn or to the town,
A humming.
Songs my mother taught me
Based on Čeština by Adolf Heyduk (1835 - 1923)
Translation by Natalie Macfarren (1826 - 1916)
Songs my mother taught me in the days long vanished,
Seldom from her eyelids were the teardrops banished.
Now I teach my children each melodious measure;
Often tears are flowing from my memory's treasure.
Manuel de Falla wrote the Siete Canciones Populares Españolas at the request of
soprano Luisa Vela, who sang the role of Salud in La Vida Breve. Vela wanted to showcase
songs in the Spanish style at a series of upcoming recitals. These seven popular indigenous
melodies come from several regions of Spain, and de Falla crafted his own harmonies around
these melodies. The songs were premiered in Madrid in 1915 with De Falla playing piano and
Vela singing. There are several reasons that these songs are the most performed of all
Spanish-language song: harmonic simplicity and rhythmic intensity create a unique balance,
they contain extreme musical drama that spans a range of emotions, and of course, they
provide a sophisticated yet accurate depiction of the Spanish sound. Numerous
transcriptions, including orchestral arrangements by Berio and Ernesto Halffter, attest to their
popularity. Each song comes from a different part of Spain and is based on a particular dance
style. The first and second songs come from Murcia in southeastern Spain, the former derived
from Moorish music, the second in a quick triple time flamenco rhythm. The Asturiana is a
lament from Asturias, the piano line evoking the sound of a guitar. The Jota is a dance form
Aragon, and is one of the most popular Spanish dance forms. “Canción” exemplifies the
indigenous music of Spain, with its irregular rhythmic stresses. “Nana” and “Polo” come from
Andalusia; Nana is like an improvised lullaby, and Polo evokes the passionate style of
flamenco.
El Paño Moruno
Gregorio Martínez Sierra (1881-1947)
The Moorish Cloth
Al paño fino, en la tienda,
una mancha le cayó;
Por menos precio se vende,
Porque perdió su valor.
¡Ay!
A fine handkerchief from the store
Was stained
For a cheaper price it is sold
Because it lost its value
Tsk!
Seguidilla Murciana- Folk Text
Seguidilla Murciana
Cualquiera que el tejado
Tenga de vidrio,
No debe tirar piedras
Al del vecino.
Arrieros semos;
¡Puede que en el camino
Nos encontremos!
Whoever has a roof
Made of glass
Should not throw stones
At their neighbor
We are muleteers
It could be that on the road
We’ll find each other
Por tu mucha inconstancia
Yo te comparo
Con peseta que corre
De mano en mano;
Que al fin se borra,
Y creyéndola falsa
¡Nadie la toma!
For your great amount of inconstancy
I compare you
To a coin that is passed
From one hand to the other
That becomes blurred
So people think it is counterfeit
Nobody wants it!
Asturiana- Folk Text
Asturiana
Por ver si me consolaba,
Arrime a un pino verde,
Por ver si me consolaba.
To see if it would console me
I moved close to a green pine
To see if it would console me.
Por verme llorar, lloraba.
Y el pino como era verde,
Por verme llorar, lloraba.
Seeing me weep, it wept too.
The pine, being green,
Seeing me weep, it wept too.
Jota- Folk Text
Jota
Dicen que no nos queremos
Porque no nos ven hablar;
A tu corazón y al mío
Se lo pueden preguntar.
They say that we don’t love each other
Because they don’t see us talking to
one another
To your heart and to mine
They can ask if it is so
Ya me despido de tí,
De tu casa y tu ventana,
Y aunque no quiera tu madre,
Adiós, niña, hasta mañana.Aunque no
quiera tu madre...
Now I say goodbye to you
From your house and your window
Although your mother disapproves
Goodbye, darling, until tomorrow
Although your mother disapproves…
Nana- Folk Text
Lullaby
Duérmete, niño, duerme,
Duerme, mi alma,
Duérmete, lucerito
De la mañana.
Nanita, nana,
Sleep, child, sleep
Sleep, my soul
Sleep, little light
of the morning
Nanita, nana,
Nanita, nana.
Duérmete, lucerito
De la mañana.
Nanita, nana.
Sleep little light
Of the morning
Canción- Folk Text
Song
Por traidores, tus ojos,
voy a enterrarlos;
No sabes lo que cuesta,
“Del aire”
Niña, el mirarlos.
“Madre a la orilla
Madre.”
For being traitors, your eyes,
I will bury them.
You don’t know how painful it is,
“I’m breathless”
To look at them.
“Mother, I’m on the edge
Mother.”
Dicen que no me quieres,
Ya me has querido...
Váyase lo ganado,
“Del aire”
Por lo perdido,
“Madre a la orilla
Madre.”
They say that you don’t anymore,
That you have already loved me…
Leave it as won,
“I’m breathless”
For what is lost
“Mother, I’m on the edge,
Mother.”
Polo- Folk Text
Polo
¡Ay!
Guardo una, ¡Ay!
Guardo una, ¡Ay!
¡Guardo una pena en mi pecho,
¡Guardo una pena en mi pecho,
¡Ay!
Que a nadie se la diré!
Ay!
I hold a,
I hold a,
I hold a deep pain in my chest,
I hold a deep pain in my chest
Ay!
No one will discover it!
Malhaya el amor, malhaya,
Malhaya el amor, malhaya,
¡Ay!
¡Y quien me lo dió a entender!
¡Ay!
Wretched is love, wretched,
Wretched is love, wretched,
Ay!
And the one who made me understand
that! Ay!