Duende

There’s a feeling we get when we experience art, whether it’s music, visual art, dance, theater. We experience it, and we are moved. It can be hard to explain exactly why we are affected. The Spanish word “Duende” doesn’t translate well into English, but it’s a word for this power that art has to move us. This piece is a setting of “Duende,” a poem in Julia Klatt Singer’s book “Untranslatable,” where she uses these kind of words that have no direct translation as a springboard for poetry.

When I was writing for Girls’ 21 from Cherry Creek High School, conductor Adam Cave wanted an upbeat piece with percussion, and at first glance this poem doesn’t lend itself to that kind of music. But upon closer inspection, there’s an underlying excitement in the words, a kinetic energy that can translate into powerful music. In the piece, we first hear an observation – a simple melody, stated twice, describing the intrinsic beauty of nature, and this erupts into a fast-paced exploration of how what we see affects us. We are moved by what we see, and these things – whether they are nature or art – become a part of us.

– Timothy C, Takach, 2016