To Be the Sun

What does it mean to be on our human journey? Joby Talbot’s Piedra de Sol (Sunstone), a setting of Octavio Paz’ epic poem in the original Spanish, asks this question as it explores themes of love, identity, and cycles of time.  22 of Conspirare’s GRAMMY®-winning singers’ will be joined by Tom Burritt at the marimba for this immersive musical evening.

Choral music fans know Joby Talbot for his epic work Path of Miracles. His opera Everest has been widely-acclaimed. Talbot also composed music for the films Sing, Sing 2, and Wonka!

Thank you to the Tejemos Foundation and the Joel Brauer Fund for New Music for supporting this concert.

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

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.

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.” 

View the Piedra de Sol libretto in advance. 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

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

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

Zerrin Agabigum Martin – Tampa, FL

TENOR

Haitham Haidar – Montreal, QC

David Kurtenbach Rivera – San Francisco, CA

Wilson Nichols – New York, NY

Dann Coakwell – Ithaca, NY

BASS

Robert Harlan – Austin, TX

Michael Hawes – Pflugerville, 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