To Be the Sun

Learn more about the music

“Piedra de sol invites listeners and performers alike on a journey of infinite dimensions – a voyage whose course bends, advances, recedes, comes full circle and arrives forever.”  – Joby Talbot

Adela Pineda-Franco, Director of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, reveals the cultural and historical significance of Octavio Paz and Piedra de Sol in this captivating overview.

Read Joby Talbot’s complete composer note to learn more about how Piedra de Sol impacted Joby and what you will hear in the music.

Preview the program booklet including the full libretto.

Mexican Poet Octavio Paz was a Nobel Prize winning author and diplomat. The Nobel Prize organization described his Piedra de Sol (Sunstone) this way in a press release announcing the honor:

“One of the high points of Paz’s poetry is the long poem Sun Stone (1957). This was inspired by a magnificent calendar stone, which still stands as an heirloom from the Aztecs, whose calendar was based on the conjunctions of Venus and the sun. The 584 days of this cycle are matched by the 584 lines of the poem. This suggestive work with its many layers of meaning seems to incorporate, interpret and reconstrue major existential questions, death, time, love and reality.” 

Learn more about the poem, the influences of Aztec cosmology and surrealism in this article about one of the available English translations.

Listen to Octavio Paz read Piedra de Sol beginning at1:02:30.

Recommended Listening

Joby Talbot and Craig Hella Johnson on Classical Connections

Composing Myself: Joby Talbot This engaging short film provides a rare window into the mind and inspiration of this highly acclaimed composer. From the hugely popular Ballet Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to the sublime pathos of the large scale choral work Path of Miracles, Talbot is at the top of his game, writing music that truly communicates to audiences on every level.

This overview of Ocatvio Paz’ highlights the cultural and events that shaped his life and writing.

Artistic Personnel

Craig Hella Johnson, conductor

SOPRANO
Emily Yocum Black – Paducah, KY
Chelsea Helm – Washington, DC
Gitanjali Mathur – Austin, TX
Elijah McCormack – Bridgeport, CT
Savannah Porter – London, England
Kathlene Ritch – Santa Fe, NM
Tiana Sorenson – Chicago, IL

ALTO
Sarah Brauer – Eugene, OR
Lauren McAllister – Cincinnati, OH
Laura Mercado-Wright – Austin, TX
Katrina Saporsantos – Austin, TX
Zerrin Agabigum Martin – Tampa, FL

TENOR
Haitham Haidar – Montreal, QC
Noah Horn – Amherst, MA
David Kurtenbach Rivera – San Francisco, CA
Wilson Nichols – New York, NY
Dann Coakwell – Ithaca, NY

BASS
Robert Harlan – Austin, TX
Enrico Lagasca – New York, NY
Tim O’Brien – Austin, TX
Jonathan Woody – New York, NY
Paul Max Tipton – New York City, NY
Glenn Miller – Birmingham, MI

INSTRUMENTALISTS:
Tom Burritt, Percussion  – Leander, TX
Joseph Choi, Rehearsal Pianist – Austin, TX