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Mari Esabel Valverde
Mari Esabel Valverde
Oracle of Spring
Madrigal-like in style, this short, up-tempo work features unusual yet colorful harmonies and would be fitting for seasonal literature depicting springtime.
for SATB chorus a cappella
The “Oracle of Spring” is a lively bird that sings to announce the arrival of spring. Madrigal-like in style, this short, up-tempo work, sung in four parts a cappella without divisi, features unusual yet colorful harmonies and would be fitting for seasonal literature depicting springtime.
Composer’s Notes
The oracle is a lively bird that sings to announce the arrival of spring. “Madrigal-like” in style, this short work is fitting for seasonal literature depicting springtime. Composed in 2012, during graduate study at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, it is dedicated to the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco (IOCSF.org) who premièred it and subsequently recorded it on their album “Hope in Times of Disquiet.”
-Mari Esabel Valverde
Text
Du prophet’scher Vogel du,
Blüthensänger, o Coucou !
Bitten eines jungen Paares
In der schönsten Zeit des Jahres
Höre, liebster Vogel, du ;
Kann es hoffen, ruf’ ihm zu :
Dein Coucou, dein Coucou,
Immer mehr Coucou, Coucou.
Hörst du ! ein verliebtes Paar
Sehnt sich herzlich zum Altar ;
Une es ist bei seiner Jugend
Voller Treue, voller Tugend.
Ist die Stunde denn noch nicht voll ?
Sag’, wie lange es warten soll ?
Horch ! Coucou ! Horch ! Coucou !
Immer stille ! Nichts hinzu !
Ist es doch nicht unsre Schuld !
Nur zwei Jahre noch Geduld !
Aber wenn wir uns genommen,
Werden Pa-pa-papas kommen ?
Wisse, dass du uns erfreust,
Wenn du viele prophezeist.
Eins ! Coucou ! Zwei ! Coucou !
Immer weiter Coucou, Coucou, Cou.
Haben wir wohl recht gezählt,
Wenig am Halbdutzend fehlt.
Wenn wir gute Worte geben,
Sagst du wohl, wie lang wir leben ?
Freilich, wir gestehen dir’s,
Gern zum längsten trieben wir’s,
Cou Coucou, Cou Coucou,
Cou, Cou, Cou, Cou, Cou, Cou, Cou, Cou, Cou.
Leben ist ein grosses Fest,
Wenn sich’s nicht berechnen lässt.
Sind wir nun zusammen blieben,
Bleibt denn auch das treue Lieben ?
Könnte das zu Ende gehen,
Wär’ doch alles nicht mehr schön.
Cou Coucou, Cou Coucou,
Cou, Cou, Cou, Cou, Cou, Cou, Cou, Cou, Cou.
(Mit Grazie in infinitum.)
-Alfred Baskerville
“Frühlingsorakel” translated as “The Oracle of Spring” in The Poetry of Germany (1858).
TRANSLATION:
Cuckoo, thou prophetic bird,
Blossom-songster ! hear the word
Of a youthful loving pair,
In the sweetest time of year,
Do, thou charming warbler, thou,
May they hope ? sing to them now,
Thy cuckoo, thy cuckoo,
And again cuckoo, cuckoo.
Hear! a loving pair demand
At the altar soon to stand ;
They are in the bloom of youth,
Full of love, and full of truth.
Say, will it be soon or late ?
How long will they have to wait ?
Hark ! cuckoo ! hark ! cuckoo !
Silent now ? ’tis only two !
Mine is not the fault, nor hers,
Patience but for two more years !
But, when we are one become,
Will pa pa papas e’er come ?
We’ll rejoice if thou but criest,
And us many prophesiest,
One ! cuckoo ! two ! cuckoo !
And again, cuckoo, cuckoo, coo.
If we counted rightly, near
Half a dozen ’twould appear.
Wilt thou, if fair words we give,
Say how long we have to live ?
True, we fain would, if we can,
Live life’s very longest span.
Coo, cuckoo, coo, cuckoo, Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, &c.
Life is a great jubilee
When it cannot reckoned be.
If we e’er old age attain,
Will our faithful love remain ?
O, if that should e’er be o’er,
Nought on earth were lovely more:
Coo, cuckoo, coo, cuckoo, Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, &c.
(gracefully in infinitum.)
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