A Un Niño Llorando: An Under-Rehearsed Reverie

“A un niño llorando” does not really mean an under-rehearsed reverie. It means “To a child crying in the freezing cold”-- Also translated as “A child crying in the ice” or “A child crying on ice” on YouTube.

Source: ErinNoiePhotography.com

“A un niño” will be performed by MCE in our winter concert as edited from a 16th century Spanish carol by Artistic Director, Dr. Linda Gingrich. I imagine her descending into the depths of a dusty archive, poring over an ancient manuscript and emerging, radiant, with an edited version of this piece, brought to new life for our era. So far, she has told me nothing to contradict this fantasy. 

As for the “under-rehearsed reverie”, do not worry. At this stage, the chorus has adequately rehearsed the piece, so that previously disjointed, raggedy fittings of the complex polyphonic parts have smoothed out. As we sing, each word and note falls into its inevitable groove.  As with many pieces that we rehearse, I enjoyed some aspects of the “under-rehearsed” stage even more than the adequately rehearsed version. 

Our first sing-through of an unfamiliar piece often has a soft, gentle, unfocused, tentative, tender, innocent, searching, exploring quality that appeals to me. It seems to me that in this early stage of rehearsal, there is  maximum potential and possibility alive in the music. No firm interpretation has been formed, and the piece could go in almost any direction. At this stage, I feel the most open to fanciful impressions -- So here we go!

“A un niño llorando” traditionally begins with a solo voice which introduces the melodic theme and makes a surprising announcement --"To a child who is crying in the freezing cold, three kings go to worship . . . ” Then the message passes to a chorus of voices which excitedly repeat and expand upon the good news --"The child can give us kingdoms, life, glory, and heaven!”

It is easy for me to imagine this message passed along from voice to voice in the manner of village gossip. The villagers do not completely understand the message, but that does not prevent them from repeating it to each other with increasing enthusiasm. Their exclamations and conversations develop into a polyphony of boisterous rejoicing.

When the chorus of voices fades at the end, a solo voice continues the pure line of the melody and floats above the joyous tumult as a reminder of the divine aspect of the scene. In our earlier stage of rehearsal this solo voice had, for me, the effect of a beam of light projected through the cloudscape of a darkened sky.

Source: rhyno214, deviantART

I found one beautiful, enjoyable version of this song on YouTube. It is performed in some European cathedral with an instrumental ensemble of three recorders and a cello.

The second link--I could not resist--is a very sweet demonstration by a Spanish-speaking couple of how to console a crying baby (Consolar a un bebé que llora). The father explains and demonstrates. It is all in Spanish, but the message is unmistakable.

Happy Holidays to all,

Roberta DeBruler

MCE Musical Correspondent