Exile Lamentations

Lamentaciones de Jeremias Propheta, Op. 14

ALBERTO GINASTERA (1916-1983)

(LAMENTATIONS OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH) I.

O VOS OMNES QUI TRANSITIS PER VIAM

II. EGO VIR VIDENS PAUPERTATEM MEAM III. RECORDARE DOMINO QUID ACCIDERIT NOBIS

HORIZONS

PÉTER LOUIS VAN DIJK (B. 1953)

Sarah Harrison, conductor; Kirk Schjodt, Baritone; Matthew Eschliman, Tenor

WHITE-KNUCKLE STROLL

CASEY CANGELOSI (B. 1982)

Justin Douté, Marimba

EL ULTIMO HILO “El Último Hilo” was commissioned for Kantorei, Joel Rinsema, Managing Artistic Director (Denver, CO USA) and Vocalis (Guatemala) by the Olson-Vander Heyden Foundation.

Ryan Garrison, Baritone; Justin Douté, Marimba; Sarah Whitnah, Violin I; Emily Lewis, Violin II; Stephanie Mientka, Viola; Andrew Brown, Cello

I.

EN MI LENGUA

II. CUANDO LA TIERRA CANTABA III. CANTOS DE PAJAROS IV. RESISTIENDO V. EL ULTIMO HILO VI. ORACION VII. INSISTO

These concerts are sponsored in part by Denver Arts & Venues Music Advancement Fund and First Plymouth Foundation

JAKE RUNESTAD (B. 1986)

Notes by Dr. Leah Weinberg

PROGRAM NOTES The task of Jeremiah, the Old Testament prophet, was to inform the people of Jerusalem that their sinfulness would lead to their destruction. When the Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar, invaded in 586 BC, Jeremiah was left to lament over the sacked city. His cries appear in the Book of Lamentations, and are some of the most emotionally powerful words of the Bible. Many composers who have suffered political or religious oppression, most prominently Thomas Tallis (a recusant Catholic in militantly Protestant Elizabethan England) have found special inspiration in Jeremiah’s mourning for his conquered home. Let us now fastforward about 2,500 years.

Alberto Ginastera gained early fame in his native Argentina with his opus 1, the ballet Panambí (1937), based on a precolonial Argentinean legend. With the Danzas argentinas for piano (1937) and a second ballet, Estancia (1940), his rise to prominence seemed unstoppable. However, in 1945, Ginastera signed a petition in support of civil liberties and was promptly blacklisted by Juan Perón’s military regime. During a year of self-imposed exile in the United States, Ginastera heard his music in performances by major ensembles such as the NBC Orchestra, and he developed a close friendship with Aaron Copland. It was during this time that Ginastera turned to the words of Jeremiah’s Lamentations, mourning for his own troubled homeland just as Jeremiah had pined for his destroyed city. Ginastera would indeed eventually return to Argentina, but continued military rule led him increasingly to find his future elsewhere. His later works for orchestra (especially Variaciones concertantes, the Harp Concerto, and the First Piano Concerto), piano (First Piano Sonata), and chamber ensemble (Second and Third String Quartets) are some of the most important classical music of the postwar era. He eventually settled in Switzerland in 1971.

Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah is Ginastera’s only major work for unaccompanied voices, but it is one of the great choral masterpieces of the mid-twentieth century.

Composed neither to commission nor to fit any specific liturgy, it was simply his personal response to political oppression. In addition to minor-key tonality, Ginastera frequently invokes quartal harmonies—based on the interval of a fourth, rather than the traditional third. This gives the entire work a harmonic restlessness, shifting back and forth with sometimes dramatic results. For example, the first movement begins with anguished cries based on the fourth between B and E, culminating in a prominent fourth of E and A, but proceeds immediately to a fugue subject (“et videte si est dolor…”) roughly in the key of E minor. This harmonic tension is built on

the text: when Jeremiah expresses his own feelings, the music is in minor, but quartal harmony predominates when God’s qualities or actions are recounted.

After the whirlwind of the first movement, the second comes as a contrasting oasis. Ginastera again begins with a fugue in the bass. A special highlight of this movement occurs as Jeremiah recalls “light” (“lucem”), and we hear a brief moment of major tonality. However, quartal harmony soon returns to the fore. At “In tenebrosis” (“In dark places”), the tenors and basses move in a quartal ostinato (with hints of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms), while the sopranos and altos move freely, neither tonal nor quartal, as if it is too dark to see the harmonic structure. The first movement had begun impassioned, high and loud; the second ends low and soft, as Jeremiah reaches deepest despair.

After an initial quartal fugue, the third movement is the work’s harmonic tour de force. Beginning with “converte nos Domine ad te” (“turn us, Lord, to you”), Ginastera shifts so frequently from tonal to quartal sonorities that there is no true harmonic home. Once again, the text reveals the composer’s intention: Jeremiah, in thirds, is in conflict with God, in fourths. At the climax of the movement’s second fugue (“Tu autem Domine”—“You, however, Lord”), the choral acclamations of “generationem” (“generations”) go unheeded by the sopranos, who continue the fugue subject. After such harmonic and emotional travails, Ginastera’s grandly triumphant culmination is all the more breathtaking.

— Dr. Gary D. Cannon cannonesque.com In a cave, somewhere in the Western Cape region, is a welldocumented San (Bushman) painting of a Dutch (or perhaps English) ship, resplendent with flags and sails, rounding the Cape. The painting dates back to the early 1700s and serves as a poignant reminder of the incredible powers of observations of these now virtually extinct people.

Sadly, the very people the San saw as gods, certainly in terms of stature and relative opulence, were to become their executioners... Physically small, the San described their larger neighbours as animals without hooves and were often mistakenly regarded as cowardly due to their nonconfrontational approach to conflict with friend and foe alike.

PROGRAM NOTES The eland (a large antelope) represented more than just food and took on an almost supernatural significance, while the rain was seen, supernaturally, to be either male or female (either rain-cow or rain-bull) depending on its intensity.

Horizons was written at the request of the King’s Singers for their 1995 South African tour and commissioned for them by the Foundation for the Creative Arts (South Africa).

— Peter Van Dijk, composer El Último Hilo (World Premiere), commissioned by the Olson-Vander Heyden Foundation, grew out of two close artistic relationships. The first, between Kantorei and the Guatemalan choir Vocalis, began when members of Vocalis traveled to Denver in 2017 to attend a Kantorei concert and blossomed into a warm creative exchange that will continue as Kantorei travels to Guatemala in June 2022 to perform this piece for audiences throughout the country. The second, between Kantorei and Jake Runestad, began when Kantorei devoted a program to the young composer’s work in fall of 2018, which can be heard on the choir’s recording Sing, Wearing the Sky (2020). Uniting these relationships, Kantorei spearheaded a collaborative project with Vocalis featuring poems by the beloved Guatemalan and Ki’iche’ Mayan poet Humberto Ak’abal (1952–2019) and music by Jake Runestad (b. 1986) for choir, string quartet, and marimba, the national instrument of Guatemala.

Ak’abal was one of the most important poets in Central America. His poems explore the Guatemalan Civil War, the genocide of his Mayan peoples, the earth, spirituality, and the importance of supporting indigenous culture. They have inspired millions across Central America and the world. El Último Hilo (The Last Thread) is based on one of Ak’abal’s poems: The last thread of the light of day bends under the weight of the night and does not break

The United States and Guatemala have a complex history, and there is a great deal of pain in our past. This collaboration between a Guatemalan poet and a US composer, and choirs from both countries (Guatemala’s Vocalis, and the USA’s Kantorei), is a beautiful exchange in our desire to move beyond our history into a future of unity. “I’m so excited for this project,” says composer Jake Runestad. “Ak’abal’s works have changed me and it is a privilege to bring them to life through music.”

The poems featured in this work communicate the power of art for positive change and survival in spite of adversity.

Runestad has selected several poems, in Spanish and K’iche’, to express the ideas, dreams, and wisdom of Ak’abal. “Reading Humberto’s poetry,” Runestad writes, “is like living through the depths of history, like being gut-punched with core-shaking truths, like dancing with water, trees, and birds; a true Mayan Mystic. Ak’abal lived through the horrific civil war that plagued Guatemala from 1960 to 1996 during which around 200,000 people died or disappeared — mostly of the indigenous Mayan population. He considered his art an act of protest, of truth-telling, and a deeply-felt expression of the human condition.”

Ak’abal also considered language essential to one’s sense of self. As Runestad writes in his notes on the work, “Humberto believed that reading was one of the most important gifts we can give to ourselves — to learn about the world around us, to foster compassion, and to grow as people. A sign in his home reads ‘Quien lee no está haciendo algo, se está haciendo alguien’ (When you read, you are not doing something, you are becoming someone). For El Último Hilo, I collected several of Ak’abal’s poems in hopes of sharing his story as an artist, as an important voice for his community, and as a human grappling with the complexities of existence. The music draws upon repertoire from Guatemala’s national instrument, the marimba (with inspiration from the melody ‘Tristezas Quetzaltecas’), and seeks to amplify Ak’abal’s compelling poetic voice.”

With the enthusiastic blessing of Mayulí Bieri, Ak’abal’s widow, this project builds a bridge between diverse cultures and inspires us to live in ways of justice, love, and peace.

It’s like hope

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HUMBERTO AK'ABAL Featured Poet

Humberto Ak'abal was a prolific and influential K'iche' Maya poet from Guatemala. His poetry has been published in French, English, Estonian, Scots, German, Arabic and Italian translations, as well as in the original K'iche' and Spanish. His book Guardiàn de la caída de agua (or Guardian of the Waterfall) was named book of the year

by Association of Guatemalan Journalists and received their Golden Quetzal award in 1993. In 1995 he received an honorary degree from the Department of Humanities of the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. He passed away unexpectedly on January 28th, 2019 and left behind an important body of work. Ak' abal contributed greatly to gaining recognition for indigenous Guatemalan poetry and arts. The K'iche' language has no word for poet; he is called 'singer'.

Photo courtesy of Alexander Ambrosio

Considered "one of the best of the younger American composers" (Chicago Tribune), award-winning composer and conductor Jake Runestad has received commissions and performances from leading ensembles and organizations including Voces8, Washington National Opera, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, the Netherlands Radio Choir, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Seraphic Fire, the Dallas Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, the Pacific Chorale, and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. "The Hope of Loving," the first album dedicated to Runestad's choral music, recorded by Craig Hella Johnson and Conspirare, received a 2020 GRAMMY® Award nomination.

In 2019, Jake became one of the youngest composers ever awarded the prestigious Raymond C. Brock commission by the American Choral Directors Association.

JAKE RUNESTAD Featured Composer

Photo courtesy of Travis Anderson

Dubbed a "choral rockstar" by American Public Media, Jake is one of the most frequently performed composers in the world and has traveled to work with ensembles on all but one continent. Jake Runestad holds a Master's degree in composition from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where he studied with Pulitzer Prizewinning composer Kevin Puts.

Learn more at: JakeRunestad.com

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Joel M. Rinsema joined Kantorei in 2014, becoming the second conductor in its history. During his tenure, Kantorei has experienced tremendous growth of its audiences, nearly tripled its budget size, and launched an ambitious recording strategy. A frequent collaborator and champion of new works for chorus, Joel has commissioned and premiered work of many of today’s leading composers including Kim André Arnesen, Mason Bates, René Clausen, Ola Gjeilo, Jocelyn Hagen, Mark Hayes, Cecilia McDowall, David Montoya, Sarah Quartel, Jake Runestad and Eric Whitacre. In the summer of 2018, Joel conducted the Central American premiere of Ola Gjeilo’s “Dreamweaver” in Guatemala City and Antigua, Guatemala with Capella Cantorum de Guatemala.

Joel is a passionate advocate for the professional choral art form, and he frequently consults with other choral arts organizations around the country. Because of his leadership in his field, he received the Louis Botto Award for “Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal” from Chorus America, the industry’s advocacy, research, and leadership development organization for choruses, choral leaders, and singers.

JOEL M. RINSEMA Managing Artistic Director

He is an accomplished conductor of major works for choir and orchestra and was one of eighteen conductors chosen nationally through audition to participate in master classes and workshops presented by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association and Chorus America. As a tenor soloist, Joel performed across the United States, in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.

Joel is also the Director of Music and Technology in Worship at First Plymouth Congregational Church in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado and served as the North American Choral Promotion Manager for Oxford University Press based in Oxford, England from 2017 to 2020. He holds music degrees from Arizona State and Whitworth Universities and is a member of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammys), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and Colorado Music Educators Association (CMEA).

Joel came to Kantorei from the Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Chorale.

Throughout his 23-year tenure with the Phoenix Chorale, he served in nearly every capacity with the organization including his last 15 years as President & CEO and Assistant Conductor. He negotiated an ongoing recording contract with the prestigious U.K.-based Chandos Records, and Phoenix Chorale recordings earned a total of eight Grammy nominations and two Grammy wins during his tenure. Joel appears on all of the Phoenix Chorale recordings and was a soloist on the Grammy Award-winning “Spotless Rose: Hymn to the Virgin Mary.”

In addition to his work with the Phoenix Chorale, Joel served as the Director of Music at Church of the Beatitudes United Church of Christ in Phoenix for 15 years, and was the founding chorus master of the Arizona Musicfest Chorus.

Kantorei is a Denver-based, choral ensemble comprised of volunteer singers under the direction of Artistic Director Joel M. Rinsema.

Formed in 1997 under the leadership of six friends and artistic director, Richard Larson Kantorei has established itself as one of the nation’s premier choral ensembles. Our choral artists have studied at schools with strong music programs across the United States such as Baylor University, Brigham Young University, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, St. Olaf College, Wartburg College, and Westminster Choir College.

Kantorei’s singers reside throughout the greater Denver area.

Some serve as choral music educators, church choir conductors, and vocal instructors. Others are doctors, social workers, optometrists, counselors, clinical psychologists, accountants, realtors –all brought together in weekly rehearsals for shared artistic excellence and community.

Kantorei has performed for major choral conventions across the U.S., toured the world, and has commissioned and premiered new choral works from such renowned composers as Kim André Arnesen, Eric William Barnum, Abbie Betinis, René Clausen, Ola Gjeilo, Jocelyn Hagen, Sarah Quartel, Jake Runestad, Joshua Shank, and Eric Whitacre.

Kantorei has released two recordings on the Naxos label.

“Sing, Wearing the Sky” (2020) choral music of Jake Runestad reached the #3 best-selling classical album on iTunes, #4 on the Traditional Classical Billboard Charts, and the top ten in both the best-selling classical album and new classical release categories on Amazon. “Infinity: Choral Works of Kim André Arnesen” (2018) climbed to the #2 best-selling classical album on iTunes, #6 on the Traditional Classical Billboard Charts and #19 on the overall Classical Billboard charts. Santa Barbara Music Publishing Inc., publishes the Kantorei Choral series.

Kantorei’s mission is “to elevate the human experience through choral excellence.”

" That its mission is 'to elevate the human experience through choral excellence' makes it the perfect match for Runestad's music."

-Textura, September 2020 (Read the full review here)

"Kantorei handle a wide variety of texts...with attentive simplicity... a wholly earned outbreak of joy and playfulness..."

-Brian Morton, Choir and Organ, October 2020 (Read the full review here)

“…Always engaging and colorful…sung with depth and conviction by Kantorei.”

– Karl W. Nehring, Classical Candor, December 2020 (Read the full review here)

Competition 2018, Winner of Emerging Young Artist Award for Chamber Orchestra of the Springs 2020, and finalist at Lamont School of Music’s Concerto competition 2020. In 2018 Justin attained the prestigious Charlie Owen Fellowship at The Aspen School of Music and Festival.

JUSTIN DOUTE Featured Percussionist

Photo courtesy of Justin Douté

A native of Denver, Colorado, Justin attended the Denver School of the Arts High School for Music earning an arts-endorsed diploma and the Manhattan School of Music. While an undergraduate, he overcame three leukemia diagnoses and later completed his Bachelor’s in Music Performance at the University of North Florida.

He then went on to achieve a Masters in Music from Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music.

His awards include winning the Aspen School of Music Solo Percussion Competition, Semi-Finalist for Young Concert Artist Guild in NYC, Winner of the Denver Philharmonic’s Concerto Competition, and winner of the Manhattan School of Music’s Concerto Competition; most recently he was awarded Gold Medal and Grand Prize at Young Texas Artist Music

He was also the Winner of Shepherd School of Music Concerto Competition, second-place winner of Blackswamp Percussion Solo Percussion Competition, winner of the Denver Concert Bands Concerto Competition, Finalist in the PRISMA concerto competition, finalist in Denver Young Artists Orchestra Concerto Competition and has published through Bachovich Music Publications and Tapspace Publications. Recently he was featured on CPR during the pandemic and won the Timpani Category of the PAS individuals competition in 2021.

Justin has and continues to perform with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Abilene Philharmonic, TX, Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, CO, Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, CO, Greeley Philharmonic, Boise Philharmonic, ID, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and various other symphony orchestras and groups. With pianist Yukino Miyake his wife, he commissions and performs new music for piano and percussion in a duo titled JUKINO. duo. They have commissioned and performed for 7 years together. Justin is a Salyers Percussion Company Endorsee.

THE CHOIR SOPRANO

ALTO

TENOR

BASS

Victoria Bailey Karin Bruns ѻ Mary Christ Kimberly Dunninger Christina Graham Heather Gunnerson Stacie Hanson Becca Hyvonen Shannon Lemmon-Elrod Sara Michael * Martina Richardson Alicia Rigsby ◊ Pearl Rutherford Christianna Sullins Laura Tribby

Emily Alexander Lindsey Aquilina Lizabeth Barnett Lyn Berry-Helmlinger Sarah Harrison * Melissa Menter Erin Meyerhoff Jennifer Moore Tegan Palmer Allison Pasternak Emma Tebbe Andrea Ware-Medina Jane Wright

Benjamin Corwyn Joshua Corwyn Kai Berry-Helmlinger * Matthew Eschliman Keith Ferguson Mason France Keith Harrison Bryce Kennedy Samuel Low Alex Menter Jonathan Meyer Zachariah Smith John Wright

John Bartley Michael Bizzaro * Jordan Black Michael Boender Adam Cave Garth Criswell Ryan D. Garrison Scott Horowitz Brad Jackson Brad Larson John Ludwig Marc Petersen Kirk Schjodt John Schaak Griffin Sutherland Matt Weissenbuehler

* Section leader ◊ Collaborative Pianist ѻ Vocalis

STAFF MEMBERS Sarah Harrison

Assistant Conductor

Alicia Rigsby

Accompanist, Collaborative Pianist

Sara Michael

Business Manager

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jennifer Moore

Matthew Gierke

Leslie Britton

Melissa Menter

President

Vice President

Treasurer

Secretary & Development Committee Chair

MEMBERS AT LARGE John Bartley

Keith Ferguson

Judy Bloomberg Schenkein

J. Scott Pusey

TEXT & TRANSLATIONS Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah I. O vos omnes qui transitis per viam

II. Ego vir videns paupertatem meam

Lamentations 1:12, 20, 16; 3:66

Lamentations 3:1-2, 4, 6, 8, 18

O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus: quoniam vindemiavit me, ut locutus est Dominus in die iræ furoris sui.

Vide Domine quoniam tribulor, conturbatus est venter meus, subversum est cor meum in memet ipsa, quoniam amaritudine plena sum: foris interficit gladius, et domi mors similis est.

Idcirco ego plorans, et oculus meus deducens aquas: quia longe factus est, a me consolator, convertens animam meam: facti sunt filii mei perditi, quoniam invaluit inimicus.

Persequeris in furore, et conteres eos sub cœlis, Domine.

Ego vir videns paupertatem meam in virga indignationis eius.

Me minavit et adduxit in tenebras, et non in lucem.

Vetustam fecit pellem meam, et carnam meam, contrivit ossa mea.

In tenebrosis collocavit me, quasi mortuos sempiternos.

Sed et cum clamavero, et rogavero, exclusit orationem meam.

Et dixi: periit finis meus, et spes mea a Domino.

O, all you who pass this way, behold and see if there be any sorrow like my sorrow: For the Lord has afflicted me, as He said in the day of his raging anger.

See, Lord, I am troubled, my bowels writhe in anguish, my heart is turned within me, for I am full of bitterness: abroad the sword destroys, and at home is death.

For that reason I lament, and my eye pours down water: for the consoler, who may renew my soul, is taken from me: my sons are desolate, for the enemy grows victorious.

Persist in fury, and crush them under the heavens, Lord..

I am the man who sees my poverty under the rod of His indignation.

He has led me away and suspended me in darkness, where no light is.

He has made my skin and flesh old, and has broken my bones.

He has put me in dark places, like those long dead.

But whenever I cry out and plead, He shuts out my prayer.

And I said: my strength has perished, and my hope, because of the Lord.

III. Recordare Domine quid acciderit nobis Lamentations 5:1, 21, 19 Recordare Domine quid acciderit nobis, intuere et respice opprobrium nostrum.

Converte nos Domine ad te, et convertemur: innova dies nostros, sicut a principio.

Tu autem Domine in æternum permanedis, solium tuum in generationem et generationem.

“Kantorei is a gem in the American choral scene. I love the passion of the singers and the familial quality of the group. They are continually working together to achieve a high level of musicality as well as deepening their personal relationships. I felt so welcomed into their family and this album was a beautiful collaboration in which every moment was handled with such care and such deep, spacious musicality.” -Jake Runestad, Explore Classical Music, August 2020

Remember, Lord, what has befallen us: look and consider our disgrace.

Turn us back to you, Lord, and we shall come back: renew our days as in the beginning.

You, however, Lord, forever will remain, your throne for generations and generations.

And they came, came across the waters: Gods in galleons, bearing bows of steel, Then they killed us on the far horizon…

El Último Hilo Humberto Ak’abal; trans. Miguel Rivera, Jake Runestad

Horizons Péter Louis Van Dijk Sleep, my springbok baby, Sleep for me, my springbok child, When morning comes I'll go out hunting, For you are hungry and thirsty, thirsty and hungry.

Small moon, Hai! Young moon, When the sun rises you must speak to the Rain, Charm her with herbs and honeycomb, O speak to her, that I may drink, this little thing, that I may drink...

She will come across the dark sky: Mighty Raincow, sing your song for me That I may find you on the far horizon.

Sleep, my springbok baby, Sleep for me, my springbok child, When morning comes I'll go out hunting, For you are hungry and thirsty, thirsty and hungry.

O Star, Hai! Hunting Star, When the sun rises you must blind with your light The Eland's eyes, O blind his eyes, that I may eat, this little thing, that I may eat...

He will come across the red sands: Mighty Eland, dance your dance for me, That I may find you on the far horizon.

Sleep, my springbok baby, Sleep for me, my springbok child, When morning comes, they'll come a-hunting, For they are hungry and thirsty, thirsty and hungry.

They will come across the waters: Mighty saviours in their sailing ships, And they will show us new and far horizons.

I. En Mi Lengua | In My Language En mi lengua poesía se dice: Aqajtzij (palabramiel).

Je'ltzij (bellapalabra).

Pach'umtzij (trenzapalabra).

En fin, no sé para qué sirve, aun asi insisto.

In my language poetry is called: Aqajtzij (honey words).

Je'ltzij (beautiful words).

Pach'umtzij (embroidered words).

After all, I don't know what it serves, even so, I persist.

II. Cuando La Tierra Cantaba | When the Earth Sang i pudieramos regresar a aquellos tiempos cuando la tierra cantaba con los hombres. l cielo abre su boca y traga el grito que ahoga la muerte.

TEXT & TRANSLATIONS ¿Por qué ese odio, esa sed de sangre? ¿Por qué somos perseguidos los indios? ¿Qué te hemos hecho, Guatemala?

Pajaritos de los barrancos: vengan a llorar conmigo.

If only we could go back to those times when the earth sang with men.

The sky opens its mouth and swallows the cry which smothers death.

Why the hatred, the thirst for blood?

Why are we Indians persecuted?

What have we done to you, Guatemala?

Little birds of the mountainsides: come and cry with me.

III. Cantos de Pájaros | Song of the Birds Klis, klis, klis…

Ch’ok, ch’ok, ch’ok…

Tz’unum, tz’unum, tz’unum…

B’uqpuriz, b’uqpuriz, b’uqpuriz…

Wiswil, wiswil, wiswil…

Tulul, tulul, tulul…

Ch’owix, ch’owix, ch’owix…

Xar, xar, xar… (no translation)

¡Que arrojen fuego! ¡Que se raje la tierra y se trague todo, todo, todo ... ! ¡Sol! Volvete humo, tizná el cielo, quemá la tierra, estamos de duelo.

Nos han robado tierras, árboles, agua.

De lo que no han podido adueñarse es del nawal.

Ni podrán.

Lord of the heavens, Lord of the earth: Where were you when these things happened, why do you favor the murderers?

We resist from the depths of our culture.

Erupt, volcanoes!

Burn, fire!

Earth, split open and swallow everything, everything, everything ... !

Sun! Turn into smoke, smear the sky, burn the earth, we are in mourning.

They have stolen from us lands, trees, water.

What they have not been able

IV. Resistiendo | We Resist

to possess is the nawal.

Señor de los cielos, Señor de la tierra: ¿En dónde estás cuando pasan estas cosas, por que consentis a los asesinos?

They never will.

Resistiendo desde nuestra cultura. ¡Que estallen los volcanes!

V. El Último Hilo | The Last Thread El último hilo de la luz del dia se arquea

bajo el peso de la noche y no se rompe, se parece a la esperanza.

May the door of the sun be opened, may the door of the moon be opened.

Let it be clear in the sky, let it be clear on the earth,

The last thread

let it be clear in the soul;

of the light of day bends under the weight of the night and does not break,

so that the light does not let the darkness take over, and the markings of our road

it’s like hope.

will remain.

VI. Oración | Prayer

VII. Insisto | Persist

Que se abra la puerta del sol, que se abra la puerta de la luna.

En fin, no sé para qué sirve, aun asi insisto.

Que haya claridad en el cielo, que haya claridad en la tierra, que haya claridad en el alma; que la luz no le dé paso a la oscuridad, para no perder la seña de nuestro camino.

All in all, I don't know what it serves, even so, I persist

“Kantorei is an outstanding choir…excellent ensemble balance, fine intonation and musical expression…high level of energy.”

– Bruce McCollum, MusicWeb International, January 2021 (Read the full review here) "...Always engaging and colorful...sung with depth and conviction by Kantorei."

- Karl W. Nehring, Classical Candor, December 2020 (Read the full review here) “…This is an impressive ensemble, always precise and always well-blended.”

- Raymond Tuttle, Fanfare Magazine, July 2018 “What finer advocates for his music could a composer have than these excellent singers of Kantorei?”

- David Vernier, Classics Today, April 2018

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