Across the ocean!

I'm here in Grinnell Iowa where the Grinnell College Singers directed by John Rommereim will sing my extended work El Limonar Florido (The Lemon Grove in Blossom) later today, with texts by the 20th century Spanish poet Antonio Machado.

And as I look at the hits from around the globe on my website, what pops up but this- a hit, looking at real pieces by moi- so therefore not a totally accidental error hit, by someone in Fuchal, on the island of Madeira! Madeira is the Portuguese controlled island out in the Atlantic Ocean, where my Portuguese ancestors (yes, the Carey dude is not totally Irish) lived for I don't know exactly how long. And it's that Portuguese bloodline that subtely influences my family, in some Portuguese noses, skin tone, and in my love for Portuguese/Spanish, ie. Iberian music. So how cool is it to see a hit show up on my stat counter from this tiny island, which for centuries has been famous for the fortified wine called Madeira, and more recently as a swanky resort destination.

The world keeps shrinking, usually in good ways! Also, btw, just now another hit-- this one from the Catalonia region in Spain, looking at my arrangement of the Catalonian Christmas Folk Song El Noi de la Mare, and then apparently exploring my wacky All Cat Love Song!

Here is a map of recent webpage hits- Madeira is that hit right in the middle, out to the west of Spain and Portugal in the Atlantic:

http://statcounter.com/project/standard/visitor_map.php?project_id=2320101


And here is a link to the webpage for my piece "El Limonar Florido":

http://paulcarey.net/Music/El_Limonar.htm

And if you'd just like to see the beautifully lyrical texts here they are:

I. Tal vez la mano, en sueño del sembrador de estrellas, hizo sonar la música olvidada como una nota de la lira immense, y la ola humilde a nuestros labios vino de unas pocas palabras verdaderas.	Perhaps the hand in dreaming of being a star sower made forgotten music echo like a note from an enormous lyre, and to our lips a tiny wave came with a few true words.
II. Tarde tranguila, casi con placidez de alma, para ser joven, para haberlo sido cuando Dios quiso, para tener algunas alegrías…lejos, y poder dulcemente recordarlas.	Tranquil afternoon, almost with placidity of soul, to be young, to have been so when God willed it, to have had some joys…far away, and be able tenderly to recall them.
III. Desgarrada la nube; el arco iris brillando ya en el cielo, y en un fanal de lluvia y sol el campo envuelto. Desperte. ¿Quien enturbia los magicos cristales de mi súeno? Mi corazón latía atónito y disperse. …¡El limonar florido, el cipresal del huerto, el prado, verde, el sol, el agua, el iris!... ¡el agua en tus cabellos!... Y todo en las memoria se perdia como una pompa de jabón al viento.	The torn cloud, the rainbow now gleaming in the sky, and the fields enveloped in a beacon of rain and sun. I woke. Who is confounding the magic crystal glass of my dream? My heart was beating aghast and bewildered. The lemon grove in blossom, cypresses in the orchard, the green meadow, the sun, water, rainbow, the water in your hair! And all in my memory was lost like a soap bubble in the wind.
IV. Luz del alma, luz divina, Faro, antorcha, estrella, sol… un hombre a tientas camina; lleva a la espalda un farol. Amoche soñé que oía a Dios, gritándome: ¡Alerta! Luego era Dios quien dormia, y yo gritaba: ¡Despierta!	Soul light, holy light, beacon, torch, sun, star. A man stumbles on a road, a lantern on his shoulder. Last night I dreamt I heard God shouting at me: Take care! Later, God was sleeping and I shouted: Awake!

I'm totally looking forward to the performance today- which also includes works by Arvo Part and the very talented Tarik O'Regan.

Adios for now,

Paul