Cantos del alma

Songs of the Soul

Suite-Fantasy for soprano,

clarinet and orchestra

ON POEMS BY
JUAN RAMÓN JIMÉNEZ

COMMISSIONED BY MAESTRO
JESÚS LÓPEZ COBOS

• 1. ¡Pájaro del agua! (Water Bird!) 
     ¡Pájaro del agua! describes the total fascination felt by a young soul listening to the beautiful sounds of this water bird.
  2. Tientos de la alborada (Dawn Tientos)
     In Tientos de la alborada, a dance-song of sephardic character (given the title Naked by the poet), two souls dance the Tiento and complain about the eternal delay – “I will say to you, ‘Today!’… and you will slip away and say to me: ‘Tomorrow!’ ”
  3. Serenata antillana (Antillian Serenade)
     Serenata antillana offers a little tribute to Zenobia Camprubí, the wife of the poet, Juan Ramón Jiménez. Zenobia’s family came from Puerto Rico, “the island of charme” as the poet used to call it and indeed the charme of this island always brought the couple closer together. The soul of Zenobia suggests rhythms and cadences… the sensuality of the antillian nights.
  4. Viaje a la luz (Journey to the Light) 
     Viaje a la luz is the transition to the celestial sphere where young souls enjoy themselves and play at the entrance to “The White Palaces”.
  5. Los palacios blancos (The White Palaces) 
     Los palacios blancos is based on the poem “Silence!” where the tenderness of the poet’s soul reaches limits that few poets were ever able to achieve. The thin orchestral texture accompanies the lyrical plaintive song of mourning the death of a child.
     Lorenzo Palomo
     English translation by Graham Wade