Y. Galatenko conducting Canticum Ostrava at Ostrava Days 2007 Festival
San Juan de la Cruz: Noche Oscura
Verse 6
En mi pecho florido,
que entero para él solo se guardaba,
allí quedó dormido,
y yo le regalaba,
y el ventalle de cedros aire daba.
Saint John of Cross: Dark Night
Verse 6
Upon my flowery breast,
Kept wholly for himself alone,
There he stayed sleeping,
and I caressed him,
And the fanning of the cedars made a breeze.
Translated by Eric Rosenbloom. Copyright 1999
There He Stayed belongs
to a series of pieces inspired by poetry of St. John of Cross. The composition
is based on the text of the sixth verse from St. John of Cross’
Dark Night and its hendecasyllabic structure.
The work explores vocal sonorities and sonorities of everyday objects
that lie on the border of hearing. The voices predominantly produce whisper
and colored noise. Everyday objects such as plastic bottles, pencils,
and paper sheets are manipulated, molded, and even broken in order to
produce sounds which complement the noisy vocal sounds.
Each choir member operates an empty 2-liter plastic bottle, the bottle
top, pencil, and a sheet of paper during the performance of There
He Stayed.
Duration: ca. 9’
To hear some audio examples, click here: Excerpt (measure 40 to the end; MP3, 2.7Mb)
Click to view the score exmples.
