PROGRAM NOTE
“Quiéreme entera” uses the text of the poem Si me quieres, quiéreme entera, by Cuban poet Dulce María Loynaz del Castillo (1902-1997). The poem presents a woman’s desire to be loved without reserve. “If you love me,” she says, “love me entirely. Do not love only parts of me. Love me black, white, gray, green, blonde, brown. Love me entirely, do not cut me short, love me entirely.”
In the piece, sopranos and altos sing independently most of the time, as if they were demanding with their own voices, with their own color and personalities, for this kind of love.
The music is a plea, a gentle demand.
-Ivette Herryman Rodríguez
TEXT (Spanish and English translation)
Si me quieres, quiéreme entera
Si me quieres, quiéreme entera
No por zonas de luz o sombra.
Si me quieres, quiéreme negra
Y blanca. Y gris, y verde,
y rubia,
Y morena.
Quiéreme día,
Quiéreme noche.
¡Y madrugada en la ventana abierta!
Si me quieres,
no me recortes:
¡Quiéreme toda…
o no me quieras!
If you love me, love me entirely
If you love me, love me entirely
Not by zones of light and shade.
If you love me, love me black
And white. And gray, and green
and blonde.
And brown.
Love me day,
Love me night.
And dawn in the open window!
If you love me
Do not cut me short:
Love me entirely…
Or do not love me!
Text by: Dulce María Loynaz del Castillo.
Performers
Elektra Women’s Choir (Vancouver, CA)
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