Reflections on Gonzalo Guerrero - Homestead combined Choirs + Orchestra скачать в хорошем качестве

Reflections on Gonzalo Guerrero - Homestead combined Choirs + Orchestra

Original work for choir and orchestra by Jeff Morton Gonzalo Guerrero was one of the first Europeans to assimilate into an indigenous community of the Americans. One of 10 survivors of a shipwreck in 1511, Guerrero was enslaved and later earned freedom and high ranking in a Mayan community. In 1519, Hernán Cortés, the chief officer of the Spanish in the region, made contact with Guerrero and tried to get him to rejoin the Spanish Conquistadors. In spite of multiple attempts, Guerrero refused. Guerrero ultimately died from Spanish gunfire, while fighting with his Mayan community to defend a neighboring tribe under siege by Spanish Conquistadors. There is much of this story that has enticed me over the years. The brutality on both side, however, was not one of them. As a composer, I wanted to spend my energy promoting topics that moved us forward and away from the brutality of that era. Yet the story always came back to me- the adventuring spirit or desperation that would lead someone to get on a Spanish ship in the first place, the shipwreck (movement 1) the ultimate of all “Plan Bs” when their ship was destroyed and they had no choice but to join in a completely foreign world (movement 2). Ultimately, the turning point for me to write this piece was movement 3. As we look at our current world, there is something more sinister, cruel, and evil about modern forms of exploitation: we do, after all, have more choices, especially those of use with economic privilege. While I don’t advocate for the types of violence of Guerrero’s world, I am even more strongly opposed to what we have today. Movement 4 reflections on what was not written and recorded: Guerrero’s 25 years in his Mayan society, which surely had many moments of joy, love, and satisfaction, as he chose to stay in his new life even when having several opportunities to leave. 1. 1511 Shipwreck: Storm The sea stirs, wind howls, whipping at the sails, Stirring sea winds howl, waves swell, stir the sea, Rising waves break, cresting higher, raging sea, Douse the sails, batten down the hatches, Windwhipped sails crashing down in the sea, Waves swell higher crashing on the bow, Waves crash down, the ship tips over, and crashes in the sea! …………. The sea stirs, wind howls, empty sea. Churning waves roll, still the waves roll on the empty sea. 2. 1522 Sunrise After the Storm Sunrise after the storm, Stranded on distant shores, The sea is calm, the tempest gone, Its fury rests in foam, The sky is clear, the stillness sheer, Driftwood dreams fade, our fate unknown. 3. 1513-20 Battles: Do You Judge Me?! Do you judge me, that I fight to survive, Kill for my tribe, strike down someone’s life? Do you judge me, with this tribe I align, on my chest burn their crest? Tattoos fill my arms, scars mark my body, Emblaze the story of life in my tribe. …………. Are the tribes of your world so much better? As the steal, pillage and exploit? As the reap, maim and plunder? Do your laws set you free, or hide the crime? Are the tribes of your world so much better? 4. 1519-1536: Beautiful World Beautiful girl, beautiful boy, with a new child so much beautiful joy. Beautiful boy, beautiful girl, bring a new child into this wonderful beautiful world. When I was young, how could I see this beautiful life ahead of me? Beautiful wife, beautiful child, beautiful life, beautiful world. …………. Here I am, my children growing strong, my wife is my all. Here I am, my tribe my home, my love my all, defend with all my might, and keep in my heart.