Cancion de Jinete (c) 2009 Mattroi Berger
Whirling us in from intermission, Cancion de Jinete is the celebratory Act 2 opener of Nilo Cruz’s Lorca in a Green Dress (Spring 2009, UC Irvine). The show is richly colored with Lorca’s gorgeous, expressive poetry, dream-like and death-bound imagery, and the fantastic rhythms and minor melodies of Flamenco and cante hondo.
The director wanted a truly upbeat tune here, to immediately grab her audience back into the show. She also urged me to utilize her talented ensemble in some way.
If there was ever an occasion to approach a song with my rays set fully to ‘Flamenco,’ it was here. The large group and party-vibe naturally lend themselves to the dance, and all it’s rich flavors. For the first section of the song, I kept the vocal focus on our protagonist, Lorca in Blood, and composed hand claps for the ensemble, leaving them free to dance and create the atmosphere of the party. The second section pulls back, and harmonies emulate a soft wind behind our protagonist’s nostalgic wandering - cool night in the open air. Finally, we end with a cathartic cry to the moon and stars - we are awake, alive.
Under the dark moon the gypsies sing their cries
Ah, little black horse, where do you carry your dead rider?
Where do you carry your dead rider?
The hard cries of the motionless gypsy that lost the reins
Oh, cold little horse.
The smell of the flower of the knife!
The smell of the flower of the knife!
Vocals: Melissa Lusk
Lyrics by Lorca, from Nilo Cruz’s Lorca in a Green Dress.
