Historietas del Viento

Composed by: Alejandro Yagüe

Year composed: 2004

Text by: Federico García Lorca

Publisher: CM Ediciones Musicales S.L.

Duration: 8:40

Program Notes:

“This is a wonderful suite of four Stories of the Wind by contemporary Spanish composer Alejandro Yagüe. The Spanish texts are by Federico García Lorca. Yagüe sets each poem in a delicate, miniature, through-composed setting for SSAA choir and, in a total of 9 minutes, the suite takes us through a wide variety of moods, textures and tempi. This is a mature piece that requires a high skill level of both vocal technique and harmonic understanding. I conducted these over two seasons with Elektra and always enjoyed rehearsing and performing them because there was so much scope to try to reflect the characters of the various types of winds, from stagnant, oppressive ones to playful breezes. We (Elektra) first learned this suite under the direction of Javier Busto, when we had him in Vancouver to conduct Elektra in a concert called Songs of Sanctuary, of which half the repertoire was Spanish, brought by Busto for us. My understanding is that Busto asked Yagüe to write this work specifically to be premiered by Elektra that year.”

— Morna Edmundson, Artistic Director, Elektra

Additional Notes

Vocal Parts: SSA
Is a capella: Yes
Language: Spanish

Text:

1.

El viento venía rojo / The wind came in red
por el collado encendido / through the burned-over pass
y se ha puesto verde, verde / and changed into green
por el río. / down by the river.
Luego se pondrá violeta y amarillo / And it will change into violet and yellow
y… / and…
Será sobre los sembrados / Over fields sown with seed,
un arco iris tendido. / an elongated rainbow.

 

2.

Viento estancado. / Stagnant wind.
Arriba el sol. / Sun above you.
Abajo las algas temblorosas / Below you the tremulous
de los álamos. / algae of aspens.
Y mi corazón temblando. / And my heart trembling too.
viento estancado / Stagnant wind
a las cinco de la tarde / at five in the afternoon and
Sin pájaros. / no birds.

 

3.

La brisa es ondulada / The breeze so wavy
Como los cabellos / like the hair of certain girls.
de algunas muchachas. / Like the oceans made small
Como los marecitos / in certain old panels.
de viejas tablas.
La brisa / The breeze
brota como el agua / now gushes like water,
y se derrama, / now overflows –
tenue un bálsamo blanco, / tenuous balsamic white –
por las cañadas, / through the canebrakes,
y se desmaya / now faints,
al chocar con lo duro / where it crashes against
de la montaña. / the rock of a mountain.

 

4.

Maestro: ¿Que doncella se casa con el viento? / Teacher: What maiden will marry the wind?
Niño: La doncella de todos los deseos. / Child: The maiden of all our desires.
M: ¿Que la regala el viento? / T: What does the wind give the maiden?
N: Remolinos de oro y mapas superpuestos. / C: Whirlwinds of gold. A pileup of maps.
M: ¿Ella le ofrece algo? / T: And she gives him what in return?
N: Su corazón abierto. / C: Her heart laid bare.
M: Decid cómo se llama. / T: Tell me her name.
N: Su nombre es un secreto. / C: Her name is a secret.