Sinfonía a Granada

Granada Symphony

For soprano, guitar and orchestra

On poems by
Luis García Montero

commissioned by the
DIPUTACIÓN of GRANADA

• 1. Paisajes con fábricas de sueños (Landscapes with Dream Factories)
     With the sound of the guitar and the lively bulerías rhythm of the orchestra, a voice relates how the diverse kaleidoscope of the city is encapsulated in its history, its dawns, its late violets, its song, its colours, its light, its landscapes with fabrics of dreams that bring us in a state of fascination to experience “love for Granada”.
  2. Subiendo a la Alhambra (Going up to the Alhambra)
     As if in a dream “let us go up to the Palace”. The twinkling guitar invites us “to listen to the water’s voice”. The harp sounds, the song sounds, the scene lights up.
     “Let us go up to kindle
     the light of the dawn.”
  3. La tierra y el mar (The Land and the Sea)
     The vivid rhythm of the bulerías resounds through the countryside and on the sea of Granada. Country dwellers and mariners tell of their troubles and laments. In a distant tavern an anguished voice and a guitar can be heard:
     “Time rolls on
     between what is lost
     yet remains.”
  4. Danza del Sacromonte (The Sacromonte Dance)
     A couple of years ago I was spending the night in the company of the great flamenco singer, Enrique Morente, and other friends in the narrow streets of Sacromonte. A gypsy girl came out of a cave some distance from us. She was very graceful, with long hair, and carrying a guitar. The tapping of her shoes resonated loudly in my ears. Her silhouette lit up by the moon, stood out marvelously in the night. That image fascinated me. Although Granada Symphony was dedicated to the Regional Government of Granada, the scene inspired me to write Dance of Sacomonte, which I dedicate also to those dancers and singers, male and female, whose names will never be known but who contributed so much to the world of flamenco and the musical life of Granada.
  5. Cielo pintado de nieve (A Snow Painted Sky) 
     This calm and serene song takes us to the quietness of the Sierra Nevada. The snows bring us near the sky of Granada.
     Lorenzo Palomo
     English translation by Graham Wade