(1) Read this bio for Spanish poet, Frederico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936)
LORCA WIKIPEDIA BIO
(2) Read the texts and translations for the four poems from Rautavaara's "Suite de Lorca"
I. CANCION DEL JINETE
Córdoba.
Lejana y sola.
Jaca negra, luna grande,
y aceitunas en mi alforja.
Aunque sepa los caminos
yo nunca llegaré a Córdoba.
Por el llano, por el viento,
jaca negra, luna roja.
La muerte me está mirando
desde las torres de Córdoba.
¡Ay qué camino tan largo!
¡Ay mi jaca valerosa!
¡Ay, que la muerte me espera,
antes de llegar a Córdoba!
Córdoba.
Lejana y sola.
I. SONG OF THE HORSEMAN
Cordoba.
Far off and solitary.
A black horse, a round moon,
there are olives in my pack.
Although I know the roads
I will never get to Cordoba.
Across the plain, into the wind,
a black horse, a red moon.
Death is staring at me
from the towers of Cordoba.
Oh, how long is the road!
Oh, how brave is my horse!
Oh, see how death is waiting for me,
before I get to Cordoba!
Cordoba.
Far off and solitary.
I. SONG OF THE HORSEMAN (SONG OF THE RIDER), alternate translation
Cordoba.
Distant and alone.
A black nag, the giant moon,
and olives in my saddlebag.
Even if I know the way,
I never will reach Cordoba.
Over the plain, through the wind,
A black nag, the bloody moon.
The Reaper is watching me
From the tall towers of Cordoba.
Oh, such a long road!
Oh, my valiant nag!
Oh, the Reaper awaits me
before I ever reach Cordoba!
Cordoba.
Distant and alone.
NOTE: A related poem also by Lorca entitled "Cancion del Jinete (1860)" evokes an earlier time of smuggling through the Sierra Morena. It is as if the poet is playing out a story with the same character in two different poems:
Canción de Jinete (1860)
En la luna negra
de los bandoleros,
cantan las espuelas.
Caballito negro
¿Dónde llevas tu jinete muerto?
…Las duras espuelas
del bandido inmóvil
que perdió las riendas.
Caballito frío. Little cold horse.
¡Qué perfume de flor de cuchillo!
En la luna negra,
sangraba el costado
de Sierra Morena.
Caballito negro
¿Dónde llevas tu jinete muerto?
La noche espolea
sus negros ijares
clavándose estrellas.
Caballito frío.
¡Qué perfume de flor de cuchillo!
En la luna negra,
¡un grito! y el cuerno
largo de la hoguera.
Caballito negro
¿Dónde llevas tu jinete muerto?
THE SONG OF THE HORSEMAN (1860)
In the black moon
of the highwaymen
the spurs sing.
Little black horse,
Where are you taking your dead rider?
…The hard spurs
of the motionless bandit
who lost his reins.
Little cold horse.
What a scent of knife-blossom!
In the black moon
bled the mountain-side
of Sierra Morena.
Little black horse,
Where are you taking your dead rider?
The night spurs
her black flanks,
pricking her with stars.
Little cold horse.
What a scent of knife-blossom!
In the black moon,
a shriek! And the long horn
of the bonfire.
Little black horse,
Where are you taking your dead rider?
***
II. EL GRITO
La elipse de un grito,
va de monte
a monte.
Desde los olivos,
será un arco iris negro
sobre la noche azul.
¡Ay!
Como un arco de viola,
el grito ha hecho vibrar
largas cuerdas del viento.
¡Ay!
(Las gentes de las cuevas
asoman sus velones)
¡Ay!
II. THE SCREAM (THE CRY) (THE SHRIEK)
The ellipse of a cry
sighs from hill
to hill.
Rising from the olive trees,
it appears as a black rainbow
upon the azure night.
Ay!
Like the bow of a viol,
the cry causes the long strings
of the wind to vibrate.
Ay!
(The people of the caves
hold out their oil lamps.)
Ay!
II. THE SCREAM (THE CRY) (THE SHRIEK), alternate translation
The arc of a cry
curves from hill
to hill.
From the olive trees,
a black rainbow
over the blue night.
Ay!
Like a viola's bow.
the cry has made the long
strings of the wind vibrate.
Ay!
(The people of the caves
put their oil lamps out.)
Ay!
NOTE: You may want to have a look at "Shrik" ("The Scream"), a famous painting by Norwegian Expressionist artist Edvard Munch (1863-1944). Many art historians have remarked on the rippling effect of the scream around and beyond the foreground figure's head. This reminds me so much of Lorca's line "the ellipse of a cry sighs from hill to hill".
***
III. LA LUNA ASOMA
Cuando sale la luna
se pierden las campanas
y aparecen las sendas
impenetrables.
Cuando sale la luna,
el mar cubre la tierra
y el corazón se siente
isla en el infinito.
Nadie come naranjas
bajo la luna llena.
Es preciso comer
fruta verde y helada.
Cuando sale la luna
de cien rostros iguales,
la moneda de plata
solloza en el bolsillo.
III. THE MOON RISES
When the moon comes out
the bells fade away
and impenetrable paths
appear.
When the moon comes out,
the ocean covers the earth
and the heart feels itself
island in the infinite.
No one eats oranges
under the full moon.
Better to eat fruit
green and icy.
When the moon
of a hundred equal faces
comes out,
the silver coins
weep in the pocket.
III. THE MOON COMES FORTH, first alternate translation
When the moon is out
The bells die away
And impenetrable
Paths come to the fore.
When the moon is out
Water covers land
And the heart feels itself
An island in infinity.
No one eats oranges
Under the full moon.
It is right to eat
Green, chilled fruit.
When the moon is out
With a hundred faces all the same,
Coins of silver
Start sobbing in the pocket.
III. THE MOON APPROACHES, second alternate translation
By the rising of the moon
the bells all fade away,
and sealed pathways
appear.
By the rising of the moon
the sea covers the land
and the heart feels like
an isle in the infinite.
Nobody eats oranges
under the full moon.
One must eat fruit
that is green and cold.
By the rising of the moon
with its hundred similar faces
the silver coin
sobs out in our pockets.
***
IV. MALAGUEÑA
La muerte
entra y sale
de la taberna.
Pasan caballos negros
y gente siniestra
por los hondos caminos
de la guitarra.
Y hay un olor a sal
y a sangre de hembra,
en los nardos febriles
de la marina.
La muerte
entra y sale
y sale y entra
la muerte
de la taberna.
IV. MALAGUEÑA
Death
enters, and leaves,
the tavern.
Black horses
and sinister people
travel the deep roads
of the guitar.
And there’s a smell of salt
and of female blood
in the fevered tuberoses
of the shore.
Death
enters and leaves,
and leaves and enters
the death
of the tavern.
IV. MALAGUEÑA, alternate translation
Death
comes and goes
from the tavern
Passing along the deep
paths of the guitar are
midnight horses
and sinister personas
There is the smell
of brine and the blood
of female comrades
in the sickly ferns of the
shipyard
Death
comes and goes
goes and comes
from the tavern
***
(3) Create a blog post of about one page typed sharing your thoughts about the poems, their meaning, their eerie connection to Lorca's life, the way Rautavaara has set them, etc. I am including some guiding questions for you to consider. You DO NOT have to answer all of these specific questions:
*What is your overall impression of the poems? Do you like them?
*Do you think Lorca effectively creates an "atmosphere" in each of these poems? What specific images does Lorca use throughout the poems that are particularly affecting?
*Are there any common themes/threads between and among the four poems?
CANCION DEL JINETE -
*Who might the horseman be, and what reason might he have to be riding to Cordoba?
*How does Rautavaara build tension in his setting of "Cancion del Jinete"? What specific musical devices does he use?
EL GRITO -
*What is the possible meaning of the first stanza?
*What is going on with the cave people?
*Do you think Rautavaara has effectively set this poem? What are some particularly effective moments in the piece?
LA LUNA ASOMA
*Bells...oranges...and sobbing silver coins - a rather esoteric poem. What possible meaning can you assign to these images? (you may need to do a little research)
MALAGUEÑA
*Are there any political ramifications to the alternate translation of the poem?
*What musical and poetic connections are there between this poem and its setting by Rautavaara and the "Cancion del Jinete"?
OTHER THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS?
