A girl from the suburbs

Sang by slovakian choir Omnia. Text by a writter called Jan Fratrik (in sheet accidentaly Jozef) was at a collection of his many poems to choose from to composittion at year 2015. Finally recorded at May of 2016 so I can post it here. Very simple harmonies, colors in the middle (although hard to understand words don't you think?).

The piece was also reworked and the silent spots have been reduced, harmonies (especially at the empty ending cadence) reworked, some rhytm altered in some cases where the nature of the words demanded it and solo added to the middle part. Also transposed to f minor as I felt sopranos at the premiere had a bit of problem to have a clear f2) If you want I can add the reworked sheet music but unless so I don't find it necessary to put it here since the recording is in this first version.

I'll try to translate the best I can:

Girl of pale cheeks,

you have the desires of swallows,

soft, velvet voice

smile always full of brightness.

Girl...from the suburbs.

With charm you know to wheedle,

you won't say about beauty,

when in shivers through my whole body

I loose myself in a white dream

even rhyme lost itself from poems,

and heavy smoke from cigarettes.

Stop oh stop the time,

may it flows by us,

may music sounds forever,

on precious noon.

To the girls...of our cities.

(By no means my translation represents the poem in an aesthetic way. I translated it only so you may know roughly what is it singing about if you don't speak slovak language.)

Hallo

Well, I love it. It's quite original. And effective, as in the part when the voices spread one over the other. Although you said harmonies are simple, they are beautifully used. Many times there is a feeling of "fullness" that I like, as if every space in the register was properly using the right notes.

About the language, for me is like an idiom from another world. That's the impression that latin-language-speakers (Spanish) have when we hear languages from East Europe (or easter from I am). But I love this kind of languages. Thanks for the translation.

You have a commanding sense of how chords work! I was admittedly a little bit off put by the 9th VI chords with fermatas, they just seemed like awkward pauses. You never seem to give the bass voices a break do you, haha.

Also maybe I just randomly lost my sense of pitch, but the A' section seems to be in Eb minor... different from the G minor key signature you had. Everything else is right...?

Anyway, very nice to listen to!

On 8/31/2016 at 10:14 PM, Monarcheon said:

You have a commanding sense of how chords work! I was admittedly a little bit off put by the 9th VI chords with fermatas, they just seemed like awkward pauses. You never seem to give the bass voices a break do you, haha.

Also maybe I just randomly lost my sense of pitch, but the A' section seems to be in Eb minor... different from the G minor key signature you had. Everything else is right...?

Anyway, very nice to listen to!

 

Oh sorry haven't been here for some time. Thanks for the comment. Not sure if "commanding sense of how chords work" is a compliment or not :D Not a native speaker and literal translation doesn't make sense to me.

And oh my you are absolutely right about the A' section. Even the text is wrong in the sheet music. I must have accidentally added a wrong pdf. A one without the change in text and change to a lower key. My attention to detail needs some more working on. Apologies. 

7 minutes ago, Kamil Adamčík said:

Oh sorry haven't been here for some time. Thanks for the comment. Not sure if "commanding sense of how chords work" is a compliment or not :D Not a native speaker and literal translation doesn't make sense to me.

And oh my you are absolutely right about the A' section. Even the text is wrong in the sheet music. I must have accidentally added a wrong pdf. A one without the change in text and change to a lower key. My attention to detail needs some more working on. Apologies. 

 

 

It's a good thing, haha. Just means you used your chords well.