Singers, spice up your winter with a taste of LATINIDAD!
Choral conductor Marg Stubington has selected an eclectic repertoire for this exciting weekend, coming up from April 14 to 16, 2023.
YA BASTA!, by Val Regan
with text from a poem by the Spanish poet Antonio Machado
Ya Basta! is a Spanish saying that roughly translates to “Enough is enough!”. The song has an exuberant and carefree energy, expressing the freedom to walk wherever you choose and to make your own path.
FUN FACT:
“Walker there is no path, the path is made by walking. Enough is enough!”
Composer Val Regan saw this quotation from the Spanish poet Antonio Machado on a shoebox made by the ethical labour company No Sweat and was inspired to turn the poem into a song. She added the words “Ya basta!”, which was the slogan of the 1994 Mexican Zapatista movement, which inspired anti-globalization protests around the world.
LIBERTANGO, by Astor Piazzolla
Arr. for SATB voices and piano by Oscar Escalada
Libertango is one of Piazzolla’s greatest hits, composed in 1974, shortly after a period of upheaval in his life that included a heart attack and a move to Milan.
Piazzolla composed the piece in response to pressure from his European agent to compose “airplay-friendly” pieces. Europeans gladly accepted the tango and it ultimately symbolized his break from classical tango.
Libertango is considered to be one of Piazzolla’s pure concert tangos for its compact and dynamic composition. While originally an instrumental piece, the Argentine poet Horacio Ferrer added lyrics in 1990 with freedom as the theme.
THE GIFT TO SING, by Matthew Emery
Text by James Weldon Johnson
The Gift to Sing is a setting of the poem of the same name by revered African American poet and civil rights leader James Weldon Johnson. Canadian composer Matthew Emery’s (b. 1991) unique ability to tell a story through song is perfectly coupled with Johnson’s hopeful and inspiring words on the power of singing to overcome grief, strife, and adversity. The work utilizes a somewhat varied strophic form, though phrases are slightly varied and developed. Different textures are created so that each section presents the main theme, and various voices add counterpoint which cause the piece to blossom.