FRANK La Centinela y la Paloma (The Keeper and the Dove, for mezzo-soprano and orchestra) by ScoresOnDemand

Gabriela Lena Frank Original texts by Nilo Cruz

La centinela y la paloma (The Keeper and the Dove)

From the G. Schirmer Rental Library Date of Printing________________

G. Schirmer, Inc. New York, NY

Gabriela Lena Frank Original texts by Nilo Cruz (used by permission)

La centinela y la paloma (The Keeper and the Dove)

I. La centinela de los fieles difuntos (The Keeper of the Faithful Dead) II. ยกQue viva la vida! (Long Live Life!) III. La ley de la muerte (The Law of Death) IV. El descenso (The Descent)

commissioned by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra

G. Schirmer, Inc. New York, NY

I. La centinela de los fieles difuntos

I. The Keeper of the Faithful Departed

Noviembre dos, desde el vacío y la indolencia del más allá, se abre el mundo para el ascenso.

November second, from the void and indifference from the beyond, the underworld opens for the ascension.

En este día, doy un regalo a mis almas: Una visita breve a la vida, a la mentira azucarada.

On this day, I gift my souls: A brief return to life, to the sugarcoated lie.

Yo soy Catrina, La Centinela de los fieles difuntos, colmada en truenos, mi rostro un cráneo, mi lengua un fuego.

I am Catrina, the Keeper of the faithful departed, full of thunder, my face a skull, my tongue made of fire.

¡Ahí estan, mis hijos! Caminando por el sendero de pétalos hacia los campos santos, con el afán de dar un beso y bailar otra vez

There they are, my children! Walking along a path of petals to the sacred grounds, with the urgent desire to give a kiss and to dance once again.

Miguel… ¡Miguelito! Despierta de tu sueño y recibe éste clavel rojo.

Miguel… Miguelito! Come out of your reverie and receive this red carnation.

¡Antonia! ¡Mi chimenea! Aquí: Cigarillos.

Antonia! My chimney! Here: Cigarettes.

¡Camilo, el ambriento! Una calavera de azúcar.

Camilo, the ravenous one! A sugar skull.

¡Orlando, mi viejito! Su bastón, señor.

Orlando, my little old man! Your cane, sir.

¡Aquí esta Frida! Mi palomita, la mas ingrata de mis difuntos, la que pintaba sus pesares: El filo del bisturí, el golpe del tranvía, el dolor de amor.

Here is Frida! My little dove, the most ungrateful of my dead, who painted her sorrows: The blade of the scalpel, the blow of the trolley, the pain of love.

¡Te daré un corsé para tus penas, querida!

I will give you a corset for your troubles, dear!

Noviembre dos… Solo dura un día la visita, y despues todo se desborona como una calavera de azucar.

November second… It only lasts one day, the visitation, and then it all crumbles like a sugar skull.

Yo soy Catrina, La Centinela de los fieles difuntos, y de todos, mi favorita, mi querida Frida.

I am Catrina, the Keeper of the faithful dead, and of all of them, my favorite, my darling Frida.

II. ¡Que viva la vida!

II. Long Live Life!

¡Que viva la vida! ¡Que viva! La sonrisa llena el aire cuando la vida y la muerte bailan juntas. Y yo, Frida, puedo volver a las calles de mi tierra, a mi Mejico dorado.

Long live life! To life! Laughter fills the air when life and death dance together. And I, Frida, can return to the streets of my land, to my golden Mexico.

¡Un corsé!

A corset!

Ha sido larga la espera para lucir mis flores otra vez. La vida me ata con sus colores: Amarillo, violeta, naranja, azul marino…

The wait has been long to wear my flowers again. Life corsets me in its colors: Yellow, violet, orange, aquamarine…

Resucitada por la luz, viajo hacia ti, mi adorable Diego, mi panzón, mi sapito.

Revived by light, I travel to you, my dear Diego, my potbellied one, my little frog.

Retazo por retazo, remiendo las ruinas de mi cara, las manos que pintaban.

Piece by piece, collecting the remains of my face, the hands that used to paint.

Me regocijo en mis vicios, como beber, como blasfemar como fumar otra vez y exhalar tu dulce aliento. Me muero por verte otra vez, querido.

I rejoice in my vices like drinking, like cursing, like smoking again and exhaling your sweet breath. I am dying to see you once again, darling.

III. La ley de la muerte

III. The Law of Death

No puedo besarte ni acariciarte.

I can’t kiss you nor touch you.

Es prohibido. No puedo ser tu dulce Frida. No soy Frida, ya no soy Frida, no mas Frida.

It is forbidden. I cannot be your sweet Frida. I am not Frida, no longer Frida, Frida no more.

Solo un espíritu, un fantasma, alma recondita sin entrañas

Only a spirit, a ghost, disembodied soul without entrails.

La noche escucha…

The night is listening…

Una maldición, una condena,

A curse, a condemnation

una venganza un castigo: Nada mas, éste retorno. ¿Diego?

a vengeance, a punishment: Nothing more, this return!

Propensa a las caídas, al dolor del bisturí, a los golpes, pero no hay nada igual a la pérdida de tu abrazo.

Prone to falls, to the pain of the scapel, to the accidents, but nothing equals the loss of your embrace.

Diego?

IV. El descenso

IV. The Descent

Sagrado retorno… (¿Dónde está esa Frida? ¿Dónde está?)

Sacred return… (Where is that Frida? Where is she?)

Sagrado adios… (¿Por que se tarda? ¿Dónde se esconde?)

Sacred goodbye… (Why is she late? Where is she hiding?)

La hora divina… (¡Ya debería estar aquí!)

The divine hour… (She should already be here!)

No huyas, Frida. No trates de escapar. No dejes que el corazón desvíe tus pasos. No desafíes a la bondad del otro mundo.

Don’t flee, Frida. Don’t try to escape. Don’t allow your heart to lead you astray. Don’t abuse the kindness from the otherworld.

¿A dónde vas, Frida? Corriendo como una gazela herida por flechas, de amor.

Where are you going,Frida? Running like a gazelle wounded by arrows, by love.

¡Te veo! La luna de plata te encontrará entren los árboles, las flores, los limones del vendedor, las mujeres con sus huipiles…

I see you! The silver moon gives you away among the trees, the flowers, the lemons of the fruit seller, the women with their huipiles.

No hay Dios que te ampare. ni el Dios de rios, ni el Dios de rayos y los relámpagos Nadie se escapa de la Catrina.

No god can help you. No god of rivers, no god of thunder and lightning. No one escapes Catrina.

Bienvenida, Frida. Sé que es dificil el despedirse. Deja que el silencio se deslize por tu espíritu. La noche ha terminado.

Welcome back, Frida. I know it is difficult to say goodbye. Let the silence slide through your spirit. The night has come to an end.

Yo soy Catrina, La Centinela de los fieles difuntos, siempre cruzando la estría de la vida y la oscuridad.

I am Catrina, the Keeper of the faithful departed, always crossing the divide between life and darkness. —Nilo Cruz

Instrumentation: 2 Flutes (2nd doubling Piccolo) 2 Oboes 2 Clarinet in B b Bass Clarinet 2 Bassoons 2 Horns in F 2 Trumpets in B b Percussion - 2 players Percussion 1: Marimba*; Tubular Bells; Snare Drum*; Bass Drum*; Large Triangle; Suspended Cymbal; Thunder Sheet; Tamtam *share these instruments with Percussion 2 Percussion 2: Xylophone; Marimba (with bow); Snare Drum; Bass Drum (mounted head up); 3 Wood Blocks, graduated (lowest possible range); Triangle; Crash Cymbals; Suspended Cymbal

Harp Piano (doubling Celesta) Solo Soprano Strings

duration ca. 24 minutes Program Note: La centinela y la paloma (The Keeper and the Dove), for soprano and chamber orchestra, finds its inspiration in two national treasures of Mexico: its annual Día de los muertos (Day of the Dead) folk-Catholic festival and iconic painter Frida Kahlo. A distillation of a large-scale opera in progress by playwright Nilo Cruz and composer Gabriela Lena Frank, this cycle of four songs features two characters: Catrina, the keeper of souls (also known as the Lady of Death), who bestows a gift but once a year to the spirits in her charge whereby they can visit their loved ones still living; and Frida, who, having predeceased her beloved husband Diego Rivera, yearns to see him once again. The four songs are: I. La centinela de los fieles difuntos (The Keeper of the Faithful Departed): Catrina, regal, all-powerful, and elusively ironical, announces the start of the night, watching as her spirits return to the cemetery grounds paved with petals by the living. Her favorite spirit is her dove Frida (¡Mi palomita!). II. ¡Que viva la vida! (Long Live Life!): Frida now takes center stage, reveling in her return to worldly pleasures. Most of all, she is dying to see Diego, her little frog (¡Mi sapito!). III. La ley de la muerta (The Law of Death): The night of visitation is coming to a close, and Frida is feeling Death’s inevitable claim as her physical form disintegrates. She can no longer experience either a satisfying semblance of life or her reunion with Diego. IV. El descenso (The Descent): Catrina calls to her spirits to return, angrily realizing that Frida is late, resisting the summons. As Frida tries to flee, Catrina admonishes and gives chase, ultimately triumphing to bring the night to a close. —Gabriela Lena Frank

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