sedna [echo]
"the myth of sedna" ZJC (2006)
It is raining in Michigan. It is raining out on the lakes. My dear friend Sedna, with her rich songs of betrayal, death and resurrection, sent me a lament. I have been thinking of laments a lot of late. The Spanish poet, Federico Garcia Lorca, wrote a fine lament, foreshadowing his own death, in Casida Del Llanto. This here is my own translation:
Casida of the Lament
I have shut my balcony
for I do not want to hear the weeping,
and still, from behind grey walls
there is nothing else but weeping.
There are very few angels that sing,
there are very few dogs that bark,
and a thousand violins can fit in the palm of my hand.
But the weeping is a enormous dog
and the weeping is a enormous angel,
and the weeping is a enormous violin,
in the tears that muzzle the wind
nothing else is heard but the weeping.Casida Del Llanto
He cerrado mi balcón
porque no quiero oír el llanto
pero por detrás de los grises muros
no se oye otra cosa que el llanto.
Hay muy pocos ángeles que canten,
hay muy pocos perros que ladren,
mil violines caben en la palma de mi mano.
Pero el llanto es un perro inmenso,
el llanto es un ángel inmenso,
el llanto es un violín inmenso,
las lágrimas amordazan al viento
y no se oye otra cosa que el llanto.
What I present to you are two songs. The pink mp3 player (at the top) is Sedna's original song. She is accompanied by the Serbian guitarist Davor Lazic. The orange mp3 player (at the bottom) is my contribution; for better or for worse. She had written asking if I could add "dark sax" to the mix, which is all echo and reverb. To my ear it sounded a bit odd to have a crystal clear guitar being drowned out by a muddy, echoing saxophone. But Senda requested, "why don't you try to add something dark in the far end of the listening scale … like the horn is still miles away, frantic but whispering … going crazy but hardly noticeable … I would like that … me and the guitar in one room and outside in the night there is this little light peeking over the horizon that is your horn … will the dawn once again bring relief or will it be the final Judgment day … Armagadon."
I am sorry Sedna, I failed with that request but I did create something else. Here it is. Enjoy.