On Tuesday night 8/25 at 8pm CST (9pm La Paz, Bolivia time), tune in to the Open Classical At Home Showcase (http://www.facebook.com/openclassical.org/live) to see pianist Masaru Sakuma and I perform âPiedraâ (âStoneâ), the third and final movement of contemporary Bolivian composer OldĆich Halasâ song cycle CANTOS LITICOS (Lithic Songs)!
In âPiedra,â Halas sets poet Jaime Choqueâs words in an epic, majestic way, showcasing the note âdoâ as the foundation of sound, just as Choque exalts stone as the source of all matter in the universe.
Masaru and I have had the opportunity to work with OldĆich Halas virtually as we prepared for these performances of his CANTOS LITICOS, and have learned so much in the process.
Weâll see you at the broadcast on Tuesday!
In the meantime, here is the poem and its translation...
(1927-2008, La Paz, Bolivia)
Piedra, materia de alma triunfante,
en la hora menos comĂșn de las horas
cuando la soledad se viste de silencio
y se enjoya de paz, entonces,
la rosa de mis palabras florece
de la mĂĄs remota antigĂŒedad...
que en tu espiral de recuerdos
sigue vibrando de plétora
la contundente revelaciĂłn del prodigio del
Stone, triumphant soul matter,
in the hour least common of the hours
when loneliness dresses in silence
and bejewels itself with peace, then,
the rose of my words blooms
to praise you as if you were a sister,
or the anonymous princess
of the most remote antiquity...
that in your spiral of memories
continues to vibrate overabundantly
the resounding revelation of the prodigy of
