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Song of Hope   Triumphal March   Autumnal Song in Springtime   The Inner Kingdom   Venus   Cyrano in Spain

This is a collection of tone poems that make a direct allusion to the poetry of Rubén Darío. Each piece is named after a poetic work that reflects a kindredship between his words and my music (rather than the common practice of basing the music on the literary work). I have done the same with certain pieces in previous CDs, although they were merely presented as autonomous and occasional pieces. This time, with the music fully orchestrated and guitar playing interpreted homogeneously, it became an intentional effort to connect these selections with specific poems by Darío (I went as far as naming this CD after one of his books). For my greatest amusement, the match turned out to be some kind of art of witchcraft, and I would have liked to think it was a lucky coincidence. But this is something I have been dying to achieve since long ago.

There was never a time in my childhood when the name Rubén Darío was not mentioned. In his growing years, he had already moved from Nicaragua to El Salvador, my homeland. He was enthusiastically hailed as the "child poet"; a child prodigy worth the president's doting and admiration, in spite of his erratic and eccentric demeanor. My first crucial encounter with the poetry of Darío was when I was 7 years old. It was a vinyl record containing declamations of his work. I memorized "The Motives of the Wolf" word by word and with exactly the same dramatic eloquence as that of the recording orator. I flaunted and paraded my accomplishment everywhere and anywhere to the marvel of everyone. Some even thought I was going to be a writer, which led me to daydream of the possibility of becoming one and to start savoring the perks of the suave occupation - until I had my first formal guitar lesson.

During university I attended the performance of "Don Quixote", a tone poem by Richard Strauss. Inspired by this orchestral piece, I started to compose something similar, of course, using poetry by Darío. But the rigors of academia and the lack of experience and resources sadly made me realize that it was best to leave this warm reencounter for later in life. Still, during my breaks and bus rides I squeezed into my reading Darío's "Autobiography" and "Azul". This time, I didn't memorize anything. But just as with a beautiful wine, I slowly sipped the words which like a piece of baroque music, it sparkled with flavor and unfolded fine golden trills in my palate, swooned my taste buds and, the same as a lover late at night, entered deliciously into my bloodstream. Ah, euphoria. One hundred years after being penned, this poetry came off the page still fragrant of Nicaraguan forest and feverishly romantic. It was only a matter of time for us to meet again. Once I graduated as an opera composer, I toyed with the idea of writing a stage piece based on his autobiography and using his poetry as lyrics. It would have been a wonderful thing, but unfortunately, life and work got in the way.

What is meant to happen, will happen. So today, thanks to a wonderful team, with nothing to get in the way and composed with all the bells and whistles of the tricks of the trade, I finally unveil before you one of my life-long dreams: a complete CD tribute to Rubén Darío. Finally out of my chest, finally all grown up and ready to go, with a tinge of fatherly sadness, I can finally let go and let it fly solo and hope this child of mine gets the best in life. With this joyful feeling of relief inside, life and work waiting for me and after such a long journey, I certainly know I'll rest easy and sleep well tonight.

Roberto Serpas

(M. Mus.)

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