VocalEssence Chorus; Christine Boone, soprano; Seth Bresky, baritone; Adam Hecker, baritone

CLOUDBURST

Sung in Spanish
The rain…
Eyes of shadow-water,
Eyes of well-water,
Eyes of dream-water.

Blue suns, green whirlwinds,
Birdbeaks of light pecking open
Pomegranate stars.

But tell me, burnt earth, is there no water?
Only blood, only dust,
Only naked footsteps on the thorns?

The rain awakens…
We must sleep with open eyes,
We must dream with our hands,
We must dream the dreams of a river seeking its course,
Of the sun dreaming its worlds,
We must dream aloud,
We must sing till the song puts forth roots,
Trunk, branches, birds, stars,
We must find the lost word,
And remember what the blood,
The tides, the earth, and the body say,
And return to the point of departure…
—Octavio Paz, 1914-1998. (Adapted by Eric Whitacre,
Translation by Lysander Kemp)