Dr. Vera Ivanova, Composer
Vera Ivanova,
composer

'...internationally recognized as an emerging artist of great talent.'

Campus Times (University of Rochester/Eastman)

Sea: The Soul of Spain

art song cycle (2007)

As the verse of the second poem from this cycle goes, "One would say that the earth is the way of the flesh, that the sea is the way of the soul." This poetic connection of a human soul to the sea inspired me to compose a song cycle for soprano and piano, based on three poems by three different Spanish poets, living in different epochs.

Program Notes:
As the verse of the second poem from this cycle goes, "One would say
that the earth is the way of the flesh, that the sea is the way of the soul." This poetic connection of a human soul to the sea inspired me to compose a song cycle for soprano and piano, based on three poems by three different Spanish poets, living in different epochs.
In each poem an emotional state of a heroine is reflected through the imagery of the sea. In the first poem, “Let me walk along where breaks the sea,” by Luis de Góngora (1561-1627), a desperate girl tries to find comfort in walking by the sea, after being left by her beloved. The second poem, “Dream Nocturne,” by Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881-1958) is a reflection on the thoughts of death, where the sea shows a soul the way to heaven, leaving all earthly suffering behind.
The third poem, “Great waves, crashing on desert shores” (from “Rhymes” by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, (1836-1870)) is an ultimate statement of despair: the poet asks the waves to carry him away from his misery.
This song cycle was commissioned by the First London Song Festival, where it received its premiere.

Sea: the Soul of Spain: Text
The original poems were published in Turnbull, Eleanor L., trans. Ten Centuries of Spanish Poetry: An Anthology in English Verse with Original Texts, from the 11th Century to the Generation of 1898. pp. 179, 369, 437. © 1955 The Johns Hopkins University Press. Reprinted with permission of The Johns Hopkins University Press. The texts as they appear below were edited by the composer.

Instrumentation
soprano and piano
Movements
3
Duration
c. 10 minutes
Premiere
October 9, 2007, The London Song Festival
Text
Luis de Góngora, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Language
English (translation)
Audio Samples
GreatWaves-fragment
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LetMeWalkAlong-fragment
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Score Samples
DreamNocturne-fragment
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GreatWaves-p1
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LetMeWalkAlone_pp1-2
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To purchase "Great Waves" (the 3rd song from the cycle), visit Quartz Music Limited website. Click here to contact composer about this piece.

Performances:

July 2nd, 2008
Sea: The Soul of Spain, art song cycle (2007)
Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London, U.K.)
Guildhall New Music Festival
October 9th, 2007
Sea: The Soul of Spain, art song cycle (2007)
Rosslyn Hill Chapel, Hampstead (London, U.K.)
The London Song Festival